Provides advice on IPR protection, including information on the registration of patents and trademarks.
Last Published: 6/3/2019

In any foreign market, companies should consider several general principles for effective protection of their intellectual property.  For background, please access our article on Protecting Intellectual Property and Stopfakes.gov for more resources.
Although Lebanon is not a member of the WTO, its intellectual property rights (IPR) legislation is generally compliant with Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) standards.  However, IPR enforcement is weak.  Counterfeit products found in the local market generally fall in the following categories: alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, apparel, luxury consumer goods, CDs/DVDs, and pharmaceuticals.  There is no evidence that counterfeits have substantially affected imports or production of these categories of goods.  The Ministry of Economy and Trade's Intellectual Property Protection Office (IPPO) has led efforts to improve the IPR regime but suffers from limited financial and human resources, and insufficient political will within the Lebanese government.  IPR enforcement by Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) and Customs is relatively weak.  The understanding of IPR within the Lebanese judiciary has improved in recent years but gaps remain in awareness of the economic repercussions of IPR violations, judicial prosecution of IPR cases, and strong court decisions with punishments prohibitive enough to deter future infringements.  The Ministry of Economy and Trade’s new draft laws and amendments to existing laws designed to improve the IPR environment await parliamentary approval.
IP Attaché Contact Lebanon
Peter Mehravari
U.S. Embassy P.O Box 77 Safat 13001, Kuwait, Plot No.14 Block 6 Masjed Al-Aqsa Street Kuwait City, Kuwait +965 2259 1455
Peter.Mehravari@trade.gov
 

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