As of September 2009, the Syrian Trademarks Office has been granting waivers to trademark applicants who no longer need to submit an Israel Boycott Declaration for applications filed under the new Intellectual Property Law No. 8/2007 which took effect in 12 April 2007. Thus first-time applicants from outside Syria now can file their trademark applications in Syria without the declaration, whereas previously, applications accepted by the Registrar were referred to the Boycott Office to clear the applicant’s company name and first-time applicants with no prior IP registrations or clearance were required to submit the declaration and only once clearance was obtained, could the application proceed to registration.
It is not clear that Israeli companies can file trademarks in Syria however. With Druse crossing the border, it is not hermetic, so this is an issue. That said, Syria is not high on the list for Israeli manufacturers. It is not clear if this signifies a breakthrough in the Middle East peace process and a thaw in Israel-Syria relations. Meanwhile, snow is predicted on the Hermon.
