The Trademark Office in Lebanon introduced revised procedures related to the recordal of assignments and mergers.

Effective June 29, 2018, applicants must submit the original certificate of registration along with the application for the recordal of an assignment and/or merger as an additional documentary requirement. The TMO will then issue a new certificate afterwards, instead of a simple declaration. It remains unclear whether the certificate will be issued in the name of the assignee or the new entity following the merger, or if it will list the details of the recordal as an endorsement while keeping the name of the first owner. Upon the completion of the recordal of an assignment and/or merger, the original certificate of registration will not be returned.

It is worth noting that the application for the recordal of assignment and/or merger will not be processed in the event that the original certificate of registration is not submitted. Owners who do not have the original certificate may not be able to complete the recordal for the time being. Moreover, obtaining a certified copy is not a possible alternative given the absence of an archiving system at the TMO. Given these facts, further discussions are being held at the TMO to examine all possible options and solutions.

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