Copyrights are governed by Arrete No. 2385 of January 17, 1924, revised by the law of January 31, 1946 Law No. 20/69 of May 23, 1969 and the recently adopted copyright revised Law No. 75 of April 3, 1999.

The protection is available to all manifestation of human intelligence, whether written, plastic, graphic or oral including computer software. In order to gain protection, the work must be deposited with the Office of Protection of Commercial, Industrial, Literary, Artistic and Musical Property at the Ministry of Economy and Trade. Protection is available to nationals and foreigners for the lifetime of the author and for a period of 50 years after his death. Should the work be published in the name of a company the duration of the protection shall be fifty years from the date of publication of the work.

Infringements are prosecuted before the Civil Court of Lebanon and infringers will be penalized by a fine or imprisonment.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property Bulletins

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