MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
WHY IS PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INTERNATIONALLY IMPORTANT?
A. FINANCIAL BENEFIT – A LEGAL MONOPOLY.
A person who has invented something unique from his own conscious effort and diligence is entitled to claim benefit for the same. The protection which the law gives allows a person to fully maximise gain financially through advertising and marketing of this product.
B. REPUTATION – A WORLD OF GOODWILL.
The personhood theory opines that our creations become an added advantage to how we are seen and addressed. When someone creates something new, it belongs to him and should be given that honour. The absence of this protection can lead to the loss of this recognition.
C. ENCOURAGE NEW CREATIONS FOR HUMAN BENEFIT.
This is one of the most essential reasons why Intellectual Property requires protection. Inventors became scared of exhibiting their creations; this led to their absence from the international convention which was held up. If the rights of inventors are dully protected, new inventors will be encouraged and further inventions will be realised.
D. DEVALUATION OF ASSET.
A work or product remains unique as long as it is original. If others have stolen it, the value is quickly debased, leaving you trying to defend why it is worth more even when its originality is lost.
E. LAWS DIFFER FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY .
Not living in the same country as the offender will make taking someone to court very difficult, not only may it be costly, but some countries do not see these issues as criminal behaviour. Trying to get a court to take action against a foreigner may be even more difficult. And in the best case scenario, where one wins the case, the offender may not have anything to recompense the victim so basically he/she walks away with impunity. International protection helps to provide uniform laws for all such crimes.
F. CONSUMER INTEREST – CUTTING DOWN COUNTERFEITING.
By the virtue of local and international protection, consumer interest is protected since they are guided to the original quality goods and not substandard. They are helped to avoid scam.
MAJOR CONVENTIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
• World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) 1967
For the protection of Industrial property, the following are the major treaties:
• The Paris Convention 1883
• World Trade Organisation (WTO)- Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
• Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) 1970
• Trademark law Treaty (TLT) 1994
• Patent Law Treaty (PLT) 2000
• Lisbon Agreement 1958
• Hague Agreement 1925
• Madrid Agreement 1891.
For the protection of Copyright and related right, the following are the major treaties:
• Berne Convention 1886
• Vienna Agreement
WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANISATION (WIPO)
This is one of the oldest agencies of Unites Nations. It was signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, entered into force in 1970 and was amended in 1979. WIPO is an intergovernmental organization that became in 1974 one of the specialized agencies of the United Nations system of organizations. The origins of WIPO go back to 1883 and 1886 when the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, respectively, were concluded. Both Conventions provided for the establishment of an “International Bureau”. The two bureaus were united in 1893 and, in 1970, were replaced by the World Intellectual Property Organization, by virtue of the WIPO Convention.
MAIN OBJECTIVES
A. To promote the protection of intellectual property worldwide
B. To ensure administrative cooperation among the intellectual property Unions established by the treaties that WIPO administers.
C. To assist developing countries in the fields of both industrial property and copyright.
In the field of Industrial property:
i) To encourage and increase in quality and quality of patentable inventions in developing countries by their own nationals.
ii) To improve conditions for acquisitions of foreign patented technology.
iii) To increase competitiveness in developing countries through better protection of trademarks and
iv) To make it easier and cheaper for developing countries to locate technological information contained in patented documents.
In the field of Copyright:
i) To encourage and increase creation of literary and artistic works in developing countries by their own nationals and thereby maintain their national culture and language, ethnicity and traditions.
ii) To improve conditions for acquisition of right to use or enjoy literary and artistic works in which copyright is owned by foreigners.
MAIN FUNCTIONS
A. NORMATIVE ACTIVITIES.
i) Revision of existing treaties
ii) Simplifying of procedure at national and regional levels for granting intellectual property rights.
iii) Enforcement of rights bestowed.
iv) Manages collection of IP documents used for search and references and devices means to make information easily accessible.
v) Maintenance and updating of International classification systems.
vi) Compiles statistics
vii) Collection of various country laws on Intellectual property
viii) Promotes acceptance by fostering treaties between countries.
B. REGISTRATION ACTIVITIES.
It generally involves direct services to applicants for, or owners of IP, they concern:
i) Receiving and processing international applications for protection of inventions or registration of marks/industrial designs.
ii) Signing International agreements on Intellectual property protection.
iii) Applying administrative functions of Paris and Berne unions
iv) Collecting, disseminating information, conducting research and publishing results.
v) Applying any other appropriate actions.
C. ASSISTANCE TO DEVELOPING COUNTIRES.
This is done by:
i) Training groups or personnel for experience and exchange of information.
ii) Promotion of creative activities and technology transfer.
iii) Provides advice on laws and regulations.
iv) Manages Industrial property offices and copyright collective societies.
v) Provides equipment.
vi) Provides technology information contained in patent.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership in WIPO is open to any State that is a member of any of the Unions and to any other State satisfying one of the following conditions:
(i) it is a member of the United Nations, any of the specialized agencies brought into relationship with the United Nations, or the International Atomic Energy Agency;
(ii) it is a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice; or
(iii) It has been invited by the General Assembly of WIPO to become a party to the Convention.
There are no obligations arising from membership of WIPO concerning other treaties administered by WIPO .
STRUCTURE
The WIPO Convention establishes three main organs:
• THE WIPO GENERAL ASSEMBLY. The WIPO General Assembly is composed of the Member States of WIPO which are also members of any of the Unions. Its main functions are, inter alia, the appointment of the Director General upon nomination by the Coordination Committee, review and approval of the reports of the Director General and the reports and activities of the Coordination Committee, adoption of the biennial budget common to the Unions, and adoption of the financial regulations of the Organization.
• THE WIPO CONFERENCE. It is composed of the States party to the WIPO Convention. It is, inter alia, the competent body for adopting amendments to the Convention.
• THE WIPO COORDINATION COMMITTEE. It is composed of members elected from among the members of the Executive Committee of the Paris Union and the Executive Committee of the Berne Union. Its main functions are to give advice to the organs of the Unions, the General Assembly, the Conference, and to the Director General, on all administrative and financial matters of interest to these bodies. It also prepares the draft agenda of the General Assembly and the draft agenda of the Conference. Where appropriate, the Coordination Committee nominates a candidate for the post of Director General for appointment by the General Assembly .
The biggest failure and drawback of WIPO is its difficulty in enforcing its rules and regulations on member states as it lacks real powers to do so.
THE PARIS CONVENTION 1883
It is one of the first and most important of all multilateral treaties protect properties. Due to the difficulty in obtaining protection in various countries because of diversity of laws and publication in one country destroying novelty in another, a strong desire to overcome them arose and thus, led to the conference in Paris on March 20, 1883, which ended with final approval and signature of Paris convention for the protection of industrial property and it became effective on March 7, 1884 .
MAIN PRINCIPLES OF PARIS CONVENTION
A. PRINCIPLE OF NATIONAL TREATMENT.
Article 2 of the convention stipulates that states should not subject foreigners to higher protection standards than those applicable to its citizens. This principle first applies to nationals of member countries, both natural and legal persons, and then to nationals of non-member countries, if they are domiciled or have an industrial or commercial establishment in a member country. An exception to this rule is that states can refuse protection to non-member countries as it wills.
B. PRINCIPLE OF RIGHT OF PRIORITY .
The right of priority means that, on the basis of regular application for industrial property right filed by a given applicant in one of the member countries, the same applicant or his successor in title may, within a specified period of time, apply for protection in all other member countries. These later applications will be regarded as if they were filed on the same day as the earliest application. They enjoy a priority status in respect to all applications on same invention.
C. INDEPENDENCE OF PATENTS.
This implies that patents granted for inventions in member countries to nationals or its residents should and must be treated as independent of patents for invention obtained for the same invention in other countries, including non-member countries. It clearly implies that the grant of patent by one country does not impose on any other country to grant patent for the same invention. More on that, granting of patent cannot be refused by any member country on the ground that a patent for the same invention has been refused by another country.
RULES OF PARIS CONVENTION
They are related to a) Acquisition of right
b) Content of Right
A. RULES RELATING TO ACQUISITION OF RIGHT.
a. PROHIBITED MARKS.
It states that members must prohibit trademark protection of certain official emblems of states, signs of control and guarantee of international organisations and inter- governmental organisations.
b. SERVICE MARKS.
In article 6 of the convention agreement, member states must protect service marks and may also be protected under other rules like unfair trade practices.
c. COLLECTIVE MARKS.
Article 7 speaks of the obligation on its members to protect collective marks as long as they belong to associations.
d. NATURE OF GOODS TO WHICH MARK IS APPLIED.
The nature of goods to which marks should apply should not stop the registration of the mark e.g. if marketing of a good is prohibited, its registration may still be registered.
e. TEMPORARY PROTECTION.
That member has an obligation to grant temporary protection to trademarks during international exhibitions.
B. RULES RELATING TO CONTENT OF RIGHT.
a. USE.
The states may require that trademark holder effectively uses it. On the instance of non-use of trademark within reasonable time with no valid reason, the owner may be deprived of such trademark ownership.
b. CO-OWNERS.
Simultaneous use of trademark by co-owners should not stop the protection of trademark so long as it does not deceive the public and not contrary to public interest.
c. AGENTS/REPRESENTATIVES.
If a representative fraudulently registers a mark belonging to a true trademark owner, the right holder can seek for nullification of that mark.
d. ILLEGAL AMRK.
A product bearing an illegal trade or service mark may be seized upon importation into member state where mark is entitled for protection.
e. SPECIFIC MENTION.
Member states may not require a specific mention as a ground for protection. All the rules of Paris convention also apply to TRIPS.
Paris Convention currently has 176 contracting parties.
WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION (WTO) – TRADE RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (TRIPS) 1994
TRIPS is an international agreement administered by WTO, which sets standards for intellectual property. It was negotiated at the end of Uruguay round of the general agreement on tariff and trade in 1994. The agreement lays down general principles applicable to Intellectual property and came into force on 15th January 1995. It is also the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on Intellectual Property.
TRIPS consist of 7 intellectual property items namely:
a. Copyright and other related rights
b. Trademark
c. Industrial designs
d. Geographical Indications
e. Patents
f. Integrated circuits
g. Undisclosed information.
MAIN FEATURES OF TRIPS
A. STANDARD.
It stipulates the minimum standard of protection, definition, subject matter to be protected, and rights conferred on copyright owner, permissible exceptions to those rights and duration.
B. ENFORCEMENT.
Domestic procedures and remedies for enforcement of Intellectual Property, general principles applicable, requirements and how Intellectual property holders can enforce these rights.
C. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT.
It proposes to make disputes between WTO members subject to WTO dispute settlement procedures.
PRINCIPLES OF TRIPS
A. It indicated the principle of National treatment from Paris convention.
B. Most favoured nation/No discrimination (It goes beyond Paris convention). According to Article 4, all favours, privileges, or immunities granted by members to its own citizens will immediately be extended to all members. It applies from the date TRIPS entered into force.
GENERAL RULES OF TRIPS
It is divided into two:
a. Protectable marks
b. Formal requirements
A. PROTECTABLE MARKS
All marks capable of distinguishing are to be protected.
Marks that cannot be visually perceived should be excluded from protection.
Non distinctive and deceptive marks should also not be allowed for protection.
Marks contrary to public policy and order should be rejected.
B. FORMAL REQUIREMENTS.
Details of application, registration and cancellation proceedings should be provided; taking into account general principles in Article 62(1) to (5).
Obligation to publish trademark before and after registration to allow for opposition.
The rights of a trademark holder should be recognised.
A trademark holder can forbid third parties from using the registered mark and can authorise them to.
Recognises exclusive right to use trademark in relation to goods and services listed during registration.
Compulsory licenses can also be issued on certain circumstances according to Article 21 which states that Trademark is subject to compulsory licenses.
Members may specify in their national laws measures to prevent unfair competition on trademark.
No discrimination against foreign licensing by members which it does not regulate from domestic licenses.
Rights can be assigned by the owner of such right. Third party mat use if authorised by owner through licensing or assignment. He is free to assign his trademark without transferring the business to which trademark belongs.
TRIPS members are free to regulate conditions and effects of trademark licensing.
BERNE CONVENTION OF 1886
It was first accepted in Swiss in 1886 for the protection of literary and artistic works and has been revised at Paris till 1971. The Berne Convention, concluded in 1886, was revised at Paris in 1896 and at Berlin in 1908, completed at Berne in 1914, revised at Rome in 1928, at Brussels in 1948, at Stockholm in 1967 and at Paris in 1971, and was amended in 1979 . It deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors. It provides creators such as authors, musicians, poets, painters etc. with the means to control how their works are used, by whom, and on what terms. It is based on three basic principles and contains a series of provisions determining the minimum protection to be granted, as well as special provisions available to developing countries that want to make use of them .
PRINCIPLES OF BERNE CONVENTION
A. NATIONAL TREATMENT.
Works originating in one of the Contracting States (that is, works the author of which is a national of such a State or works first published in such a State) must be given the same protection in each of the other Contracting States as the latter grants to the works of its own nationals.
B. AUTOMATIC PROTECTION.
Protection must not be conditional upon compliance with any formality.
C. INDEPENDENCE OF PROTECTION.
Protection is independent of the existence of protection in the country of origin of the work. If, however, a Contracting State provides for a longer term of protection than the minimum prescribed by the Convention and the work ceases to be protected in the country of origin, protection may be denied once protection in the country of origin ceases.
RULES OF BERNE CONVENTION
A. INCLUSION OF LITERARY AND ARTISTIC WORKS.
Books, pamphlets, writings, lectures, addresses, seminars etc.
Dramatic, musical, chronological works.
Musical compositions.
Drawing, paintings, sculptures, architecture, engineering, lithography, photographic works.
Works of applied arts, illustrations, translations, maps, plans, sketches, 3-Ds.
Translations, adaptations, arrangement of music etc.
Term of protection, lifetime of author plus 50 years after death.
B. RIGHTS WHICH ARE EXCLUSIVE.
Rights to translate.
Right to make adaptations.
Right to perform in public.
Right to communicate to public.
Right to broadcast.
Right to make reproductions.
Rights to use work as basis for audio visual works.
Moral rights include
a. claim authorship
b. objection
C. DURATION OF WORK.
Lifetime plus 50 years.
In case of anonymous works, 50 years after publication.
In cinematographic works, 50 years after publication
In case of applied art and photographic works, duration for protection is 25 years from creation.
D. NON VOLUNTARY LICENSES.
E. EXCEPTION TO ECONOMIC RIGHTS/FREE USE.
STRUCTURE AND MEMBERSHIP
The Berne Union has an Assembly and an Executive Committee. Every country that is a member of the Union and has adhered to at least the administrative and final provisions of the Stockholm Act is a member of the Assembly. The members of the Executive Committee are elected from among the members of the Union, except for Switzerland, which is a member ex officio. The Convention is open to all States. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.
MADRID AGREEMENT 1891
Madrid Agreement was the first to introduce Intellectual Property single filing system internationally and was launched for trademarks and Geographical indications. According to the Madrid Agreement, all goods bearing a false or deceptive indication of source, by which one of the Contracting States, or a place situated therein, is directly or indirectly indicated as being the country or place of origin, must be seized on importation, or such importation must be prohibited, or other actions and sanctions must be applied in connection with such importation. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is governed by the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891, and the Protocol relating to that Agreement, concluded in 1989. The system makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that has effect in each of the designated Contracting Parties.
The Madrid System for registration of marks is governed by two treaties:
A. Madrid Agreement and
B. Madrid Protocol.
MADRID AGREEMENT
It provides for a simple registration procedures by filing a single application upon the payment of a single fee. The procedure includes:
Who may use the system
An application for international registration (international application) may be filed only by a natural person or legal entity having a connection – through establishment, domicile or nationality – with a Contracting Party to the Agreement or the Protocol.
A mark may be the subject of an international application only if it has already been registered with the trademark office of the Contracting Party with which the applicant has the necessary connections (referred to as the office of origin). An international application must be presented to the International Bureau of WIPO through the intermediary of the office of origin.
The International Application.
An application for international registration must designate one or more Contracting Parties in which protection is sought. Further designations can be effected subsequently. A Contracting Party may be designated only if it is party to the same treaty as the Contracting Party whose office is the office of origin. The latter cannot itself be designated in the international application.
International applications can be filed in English, French or Spanish, irrespective of which treaty or treaties govern the application, unless the office of origin restricts that choice to one or two of these languages. The filing of an international application is subject to the payment of a basic fee.
International Registration.
Once the International Bureau receives an international application, it carries out an examination for compliance with the requirements of the Agreement, the Protocol and their Common Regulations. This examination is restricted to formalities, including the classification and comprehensibility of the list of goods and/or services. If there are no irregularities in the application, the International Bureau records the mark in the International Register, publishes the international registration in the WIPO Gazette of International Marks (hereinafter referred to as "the Gazette"), and notifies it to each designated Contracting Party.
Statement of grant of protection or refusal of rejection.
The office of each designated Contracting Party shall issue a statement of grant of protection under Rule 18ter of the Common Regulations. if some substantive provisions are not complied with, they have the right to refuse protection in their territory. Any such refusal, including an indication of the grounds on which it is based, must be communicated to the International Bureau, normally within 12 months from the date of notification. The refusal is communicated to the holder of the registration or the holder's representative before the International Bureau, recorded in the International Register and published in the Gazette.
Effects of International Registration.
The protection of the mark is, from the date of the international registration, the same as if it had been registered by the office of that Contracting Party.
An international registration is effective for 10 years. It may be renewed for further periods of 10 years on payment of the prescribed fees. Protection may be limited with regard to some or all of the goods or services or may be renounced with regard to some only of the designated Contracting Parties. An international registration may be transferred in relation to all or some of the designated Contracting Parties and all or some of the goods or services indicated .
MADRID PROTOCOL 1989
It was signed in June 1989 and it permits application based on national registration. The applicant must be a citizen or resident or intends to in state where protection is sought. The national office then submits the application to the WIPO international office. The process is the same as in Madrid agreement.
PATENT LAW TREATY 2000 (PLT)
The Patent Law Treaty (PLT) was adopted in 2000 with the aim of harmonizing and streamlining formal procedures with respect to national and regional patent applications and patents and making such procedures more user-friendly. With the significant exception of filing date requirements, the PLT provides the maximum sets of requirements the office of a Contracting Party may apply. The PLT was concluded in 2000, and entered into force in 2005.
OBJECTIVES
A. Unification of patent law.
B. Simplification of procedures.
C. Reduce cost.
D. Enable offices to maintain quality.
E. Avoid duplication.
F. Meet needs of large and medium offices.
G. Assist developing countries.
H. Integrate between Patent Law treaty and Patent Cooperation treaty.
GENERAL RULES OF PATENT LAW TREATY
A. Offices must award a filing date to applicants with 3 requirements.
B. Content of international applications must be documented.
C. A specified model for international forms.
D. Priority should be give based of first to file.
E. Sufficient disclosure.
F. Novelty.
G. Grace period.
PATENT COOPERATION TREATY 1970
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an "international" patent application. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. It may generally be filed with the national patent office of the Contracting State of which the applicant is a national or resident or, at the applicant's option, with the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva.
If the applicant is a national or resident of a Contracting State party to the European Patent Convention, the Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (Harare Protocol), the Bangui Agreement, or the Eurasian Patent Convention, the international application may also be filed with the European Patent Office (EPO), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) or the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO), respectively.
The Treaty regulates in detail the formal requirements with which international applications must comply.
Filing a PCT application has the effect of automatically designating all Contracting States bound by the PCT on the international filing date. The effect of the international application is the same in each designated State as if a national patent application had been filed with the national patent office of that State.
The international application is subjected to an international search. That search is carried out by one of the competent International Searching Authorities (ISA) under the PCT [1] and results in an international search report, that is, a listing of the citations of published documents that might affect the patentability of the invention claimed in the international application. In addition, a preliminary and non-binding written opinion on whether the invention appears to meet patentability criteria in light of the search report results is also issued.
The international search report and written opinion are communicated to the applicant who, after evaluating their content, may decide to withdraw the application, in particular where the content of the report and opinion suggests that the granting of patents is unlikely, or the applicant may decide to amend the claims in the application.
If the international application is not withdrawn, it is published by the International Bureau, together with the international search report. The written opinion is not published at that time.
Before the expiration of 19 months from the priority date, the applicant has the option to request a Supplementary International Searching Authority (SISA) (an ISA willing to offer this service) to carry out an additional search of relevant documentation, specifically focusing on documents in the particular language in which that authority specializes. The goal of this additional search is to reduce the likelihood of further documents coming to light in the national phase that would make granting the patent unlikely.
An applicant that decides to continue with the international application with a view to obtaining national (or regional) patents can, in relation to most Contracting States, wait until the end of the thirtieth month from the priority date to commence the national procedure before each designated office by furnishing a translation (where necessary) of the application into the official language of that office, paying to it the necessary fees and acquiring the services of local patent agents.
The procedure under the PCT has great advantages for applicants, patent offices and the general public:
A. applicants have up to 18 months more than if they had not used the PCT to reflect on the desirability of seeking protection in foreign countries, appoint local patent agents in each foreign country, prepare the necessary translations and pay national fees;
B. Applicants can rest assured that, if their international application is in the form prescribed by the PCT, it cannot be rejected on formal grounds by any designated office during the national phase;
C. On the basis of the international search report and the written opinion, applicants can evaluate with reasonable probability the chances of their invention being patented;
D. Applicants have the possibility, during the optional international preliminary examination, to amend the international application and thus put it in order before processing by the various patent offices;
E. The search and examination work of patent offices can be considerably reduced or eliminated thanks to the international search report, the written opinion and, where applicable, the international preliminary report on patentability which are communicated to designated offices together with the international application;
F. Since each international application is published with an international search report, third parties are in a better position to formulate a well-founded opinion about the potential patentability of the claimed invention; and
G. For applicants, international publication puts the world on notice of their applications, which can be an effective means of advertising and looking for potential licensees.
Ultimately, the PCT:
brings the world within reach;
Postpones the major costs associated with international patent protection;
provides a strong basis for patenting decisions; and
It is used by the world's major corporations, research institutions and universities in seeking international patent protection.
The PCT created a Union which has an Assembly. Every State party to the PCT is a member of the Assembly. Among the most important tasks of the Assembly are the amendment of the Regulations issued under the Treaty, the adoption of the biennial program and budget of the Union and the fixing of certain fees connected with the use of the PCT system.
Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) 1994
The aim of the Trademark Law Treaty (TLT) is to standardize and streamline national and regional trademark registration procedures. This is achieved through the simplification and harmonization of certain features of those procedures, thus making trademark applications and the administration of trademark registrations in multiple jurisdictions less complex and more predictable. The great majority of the provisions of the TLT concern the procedure before a trademark office which can be divided into three main phases:
A. APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION.
the Contracting Parties to the TLT may require, as a maximum, the following indications: a request, the name and address and other indications concerning the applicant and the representative; various indications concerning the mark, including a certain number of representations of the mark; the goods and services for which registration is sought classified in the relevant class of the Nice Classification (established under the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (1957)); and, where applicable, a declaration of intention to use the mark. Each Contracting Party must also allow that an application can relate to goods and/or services belonging to several classes of the Nice Classification. As the list of permissible requirements is exhaustive, a Contracting Party cannot require, for example, that the applicants produce an extract from a register of commerce, an indication of a certain commercial activity, or evidence to the effect that the mark has been registered in the trademark register of another country.
B. CHANGES AFTER REGISTRATION.
It concerns changes in names or addresses and changes in the ownership of the registration. Here too, the applicable formal requirements are exhaustively listed. A single request is sufficient even where the change relates to more than one – possibly hundreds – of trademark applications or registrations, provided that the change to be recorded pertains to all registrations or applications concerned.
C. RENEWAL.
The TLT standardizes the duration of the initial period of registration and the duration of each renewal to 10 years each. Furthermore, the TLT provides that a power of attorney may relate to several applications or registrations by the same person or entity.
MEMBERSHIP
The TLT was concluded in 1994 and is open to States members of WIPO and to certain intergovernmental organizations. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.
LISBON AGREEMENT 1958
The Lisbon Agreement provides for the protection of appellations of origin, that is, the "geographical denomination of a country, region, or locality, which serves to designate a product originating therein, the quality or characteristics of which are due exclusively or essentially to the geographic environment, including natural and human factors". The Bulletin "Appellations of Origin" is the official publication of the Lisbon system. The Lisbon Agreement, concluded in 1958, was revised at Stockholm in 1967, and amended in 1979. The Lisbon Agreement created a Union which has an Assembly. Every State member of the Union that has adhered to at least the administrative and final clauses of the Stockholm Act is a member of the Assembly.
Since January 2010, Contracting States have had the option to issue a statement of grant of protection, thus improving communication regarding the status of international registrations in member countries. These statements can be issued by Contracting States that know, well before the expiry of the one-year refusal period under Article 5(3), that they will not issue a declaration of refusal of protection; or the statement can take the place of the notification of withdrawal of a refusal already given.
MEMBERSHIP
The Agreement is open to States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.
HAGUE AGREEMENT 1925
The Hague Agreement governs the international registration of industrial designs. First adopted in 1925, the Agreement effectively establishes an international system – the Hague System – that allows industrial designs to be protected in multiple countries or regions with minimal formalities. Two Acts of the Hague Agreement are currently in operation – the 1999 Act and the 1960 Act. In September 2009, it was decided to freeze the application of the 1934 Act of the Hague Agreement, thus simplifying and streamlining overall administration of the international design registration system.
An international design registration may be obtained only by a natural person or legal entity having a connection – through establishment, domicile, and nationality or, under the 1999 Act, habitual residence with a Contracting Party to either of the two Acts.
The Hague Agreement allows applicants to register an industrial design by filing a single application with the International Bureau of WIPO, enabling design owners to protect their designs with minimum formalities in multiple countries or regions. The Hague Agreement also simplifies the management of an industrial design registration, since it is possible to record subsequent changes and to renew the international registration through a single procedural step.
PROCEDURE
International design applications may be filed with the International Bureau of WIPO, either directly or through the industrial property office of the Contracting Party of origin if the law of that Contracting Party so permits or requires. In practice, however, virtually all international applications are filed directly with the International Bureau, and the majority are filed using the electronic filing interface on WIPO's website.
International applications may include up to 100 designs, provided they all belong to the same class of the International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification). Applicants may choose to file an application in English, French or Spanish. International applications must contain one or several reproductions of the industrial design(s) and must designate at least one Contracting Party.
REFUSAL
Each Contracting Party designated by the applicant may refuse protection within 6 months, or possibly 12 months under the 1999 Act, from the date of publication of the international registration. Refusal of protection can only be based on requirements of the domestic law other than the formalities and administrative acts to be accomplished under the domestic law by the office of the Contracting Party that refuses protection.
If no refusal is notified by a given designated Contracting Party within the prescribed time limit (or if such refusal has subsequently been withdrawn), the international registration has effect as a grant of protection in that Contracting Party, under the law of that Contracting Party.
TERM OF PROTECTION
The term of protection is five years, renewable for at least one five-year period under the 1960 Act, or two such periods under the 1999 Act. If the legislation of a Contracting Party provides for a longer term of protection, protection of the same duration shall, on the basis of the international registration and its renewals, be granted in that Contracting Party to designs that have been the subject of an international registration. To facilitate access to The Hague system for design creators from least developed countries (LDCs), the fees for an international application are, in their case, reduced to 10 per cent of the prescribed amounts.
MEMBERSHIP
The 1999 Act of the Agreement is open to any WIPO Member State and to certain intergovernmental organizations. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO. While the 1960 Act remains open to States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883), it is the more advantageous 1999 Act that governments of prospective Contracting Parties are encouraged to join.
VIENNA AGREEMENT 1973
The Vienna Agreement establishes a classification (the Vienna Classification) for marks that consist of, or contain, figurative elements. The competent offices of Contracting States must indicate in official documents and publications relating to registrations and renewals of marks the numbers of the categories, divisions and sections of the Classification to which the figurative elements of those marks belong. A Committee of Experts in which all Contracting States are represented, set up under the Agreement, is entrusted with the task of periodically revising the Classification. The current (seventh) edition has been in force since January 1, 2013.
The Classification consists of 29 categories, 145 divisions and some 1,700 sections in which the figurative elements of marks are classified.
MEMBERSHIP
Although only 31 States are party to the Vienna Agreement, the Classification is used by the industrial property offices of at least 30 other States, as well as by the International Bureau of WIPO, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), the Benelux Organisation for Intellectual Property (BOIP) and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM) of the European Union (EU).
The Vienna Agreement created a Union, which has an Assembly. Every State that is a member of the Union is a member of the Assembly. Among the most important tasks of the Assembly is the adoption of the biennial program and budget of the Union.
The Agreement is open to States party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883). Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.
CONCLUSION.
Intellectual property has gained global recognition over the years and this protection has taken a toll on the new face of Intellectual property in the world today. It has both its advantages and disadvantages to developing and developed nations on several spheres. It cannot be over emphasized that it has done more good than harm and its protection has been a springboard for technological advancement.
The major problem with most of these conventions and treaties is that they lack an enforcement agency due to the limitations put on it by national sovereignty and principle of non-interference. They go on and on making several laws but the failure of implementation leave a loophole on its entirety.
A better enforcement agency can be formed alongside with the penalties already existing for any form of frustration on the contract whether unilateral or multilateral contracts.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
TEXTBOOKS.
Intellectual Property law by P. Narayanan.
Law of Intellectual property by S.R. Myneni.
Intellectual property by Ahuja.
Dr. T. Ramakrishna, Professor of law, National Law school Bangalore, 2014 edition on Intellectual property.
WEBSITES.
www.bennylegal.blogspot.in
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/intproperty/450/wipo_pub_450.pdf
https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel1_e.htm
http://www.interparty.org/importance-of-protecting-intellectual-property.html
http://blog.traklight.com/3-reasons-why-you-should-protect-your-intellectual-property
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/intproperty/442/wipo_pub_442.pdf
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/intproperty/442/wipo_pub_442.pdf
http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/
http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/registration/madrid/summary_madrid_marks.html
Official WIPO website, under its administered treaties. www.wipo.com.
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