Operations – NJQ & Associates

NORTHERN IRAQ (KURDISTAN OF IRAQ): IP OFFICE CLOSURE

NJQ & Associates — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 06:07:48 +0000

ERBIL – The Department of Trademark Registration under the Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced a temporary suspension of operations. The office will be closed from 15 December 2025 until 11 January 2026, during which time no new filings or pending trademark applications will be processed.

Applicants and agents are advised to plan filings accordingly and to anticipate delays in examination, publication, and other procedural matters after this period.

For further information or assistance, please contact: erbil@qumsieh.com.

SYRIA: REOPENING PATHWAYS FOR IP PROTECTION AND INVESTMENT

NJQ & Associates — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 06:06:54 +0000

DAMASCUS – After years of procedural stagnation due to the region’s complex political landscape, there are emerging signs that Syria’s intellectual property system is gradually regaining operational stability. This comes as part of broader indications of administrative normalisation, allowing rights holders and foreign investors to cautiously re-engage with Syria’s trademark and patent frameworks.

The Syrian Trademark Office has resumed the examination and acceptance of new applications, including those filed by previously restricted nationalities. While no comprehensive reforms to IP legislation have been announced, the reactivation of services signals a renewed commitment by the authorities to process and enforce registered rights within Syria’s legal framework.

Notably, while the infrastructure is functional, delays in processing and publishing remain common due to ongoing administrative limitations.

For guidance on trademark and patent filings in Syria, please contact syria@qumsieh.com.

LIBYA: TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS TMO OPERATIONS AMID ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSITION

NJQ & Associates — Sat, 23 Aug 2025 08:00:22 +0000

TRIPOLI – The Libyan Council of Ministers has recently issued Decision No. 366 of 2025, transferring the administrative responsibilities of the Trademark Office (TMO) to the Commercial Registration Authority as of early August 2025. The TMO will remain under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy and Trade.

This shift requires some time, during which the TMO is not accepting new trademark applications. Additionally, trademark transactions with deadlines falling during the suspension period will not be abandoned. Instead, these deadlines will be automatically carried forward and processed once the TMO resumes its operations.

Our firm continues to monitor the situation closely and will provide timely updates as soon as additional information becomes available.

For more information, please contact libya@qumsieh.com.

LIBYA: NEW APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED STARTING 2 SEPTEMBER 2024

NJQ & Associates — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 09:24:42 +0000

TRIPOLI – The Ministry of Commerce and Trade announced that it will commence its operations and start accepting new trademark applications on 2 September 2024.

This comes after a closure of many years due to civil unrest.

For more information, please contact libya@qumsieh.com.

SUDAN: THE TRADEMARK OFFICE RESUMES ITS OPERATIONS

NJQ & Associates — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 07:52:53 +0000

The Trademark Office in Sudan resumed its operations on 11 February 2024, after it was suspended for almost 10 months. It is now accepting new applications for registration, renewals, and recordals. The TMO will process new applications, put them on hold, and continue processing older pending applications.

Please note that the Trademark Office has relocated from Khartoum to Port Sudan.

For more information, please contact sudan@qumsieh.com.

LIBYA: THE TRADEMARK OFFICE RESUMES ITS OPERATIONS

NJQ & Associates — Mon, 29 May 2023 07:31:49 +0000

TRIPOLI – The Trademark Office of the Ministry of Economy and Trading resumed its operations on 28 May 2023.

There’s a new regulation to be followed where a legalised power of attorney and a company registration document must accompany the application; the late filing of such documents is only allowed for applications claiming priority. If this happens, the legalised documents must follow within forty (40) days from the date of the application.

For more information, please contact libya@qumsieh.com.

LEBANON: THE IPO RESUMES OPERATIONS

NJQ & Associates — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 05:38:55 +0000

BEIRUT – The Ministry of Economy & Trade has announced that the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will resume its operations for all IP-related matters.

The IPO will prioritise the processing of already filed applications, renewals, and recordals with due dates.

Trademark applications, however, may be filed through the Ministry’s online filing portal every Wednesday.

For urgent trademark applications, applicants may file a petition before the head of the IPO requesting an expedited process. Said petition must explain the reasons for the request.

For more information, please contact lebanon@qumsieh.com.

JORDAN: TRADEMARK OFFICE TO RESUME ITS ONLINE FILING SYSTEM

NJQ & Associates — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 07:20:42 +0000

AMMAN – The Trademark Office in Jordan is expected to resume the acceptance of trademark applications and other trademark-related transactions via its online portal by the beginning of October 2021.

The online filing system was shut down for a few months in early 2021 and has only recently started to accept trademark search applications. It is expected to be fully operational next month.

For more information, please contact jordan@qumsieh.com.

NORTHERN IRAQ (KURDISTAN OF IRAQ): CLOSURE OF THE TRADEMARK OFFICE

NJQ & Associates — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 05:59:18 +0000

ERBIL – The Head of the Trademark Office in Erbil announced that the Office will be closed from 15 December 2020 until 7 January 2021. During this period, it will not be possible to file new trademark applications, and the Office will not render any services.

For more information, please contact erbil@qumsieh.com.

LEBANON: IP OFFICE WILL RESUME ITS OPERATIONS NEXT WEEK

NJQ & Associates — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 09:46:20 +0000

BEIRUT – We were made aware that the Intellectual Property Office in Lebanon is planning to re-open the beginning of next week, after being closed for almost two weeks as a result of the blast in the port.

The officials were able to restore all data and records from the backup servers, the premises has also been refurbished, and the Office will work at full capacity.

For more information, please contact lebanon@qumsieh.com.