THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY AND TREATIES ADMINISTERED BY WIPO TK.

THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY AND TREATIES ADMINISTERED BY

WIPO

TK

• Patents

• Trademarks

• Industrial Designs

• Geographical Indications

Patents

• No patent without invention

• An invention is a technical solution to a technical problem

• Not all inventions are eligible for patent

• Some inventions are excluded from the patentability from the outset (scientific theories/mental acts, discovery, etc.)

• Territorial protection

• Conditions: The invention must be: - New

- Involve an inventive step - Capable of industrial

application

• Rights conferred: Exclusive rights

• Protection for 20 years from the filing date

• Compulsory License may be granted to a third party to use the invention without the consent of the owner

• International System:– Paris Convention– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)– TRIPs Agreement

Trademarks

• What is a trademark? Any sign, or any combination of signs, capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings

• Importance:– For consumers– For the market– For the owner

• Functions of a mark: Identification function (origin); quality function; and communication function

• Scope and Conditions:– To be protected, a

mark shall be distinctive and non-deceptive

– Descriptive marks and generic marks are not protectable

– Signs contrary to morality or public order are not registerable Just Do It

• Emblems of States or intergovernmental organizations may not be registered or used as trademarks

• Rights conferred: Exclusive rights

• Protection for 7 years and renewable indefinitely

• Well-Known marks (special protection)

• Territorial protection

• International protection:– Paris Convention– Madrid System (Madrid Agreement and

Madrid Protocol)– TRIPs Agreement

Industrial Designs

• The ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article

• Condition: - New or original

• Exclusion of features of appearance which are dictated essentially by technical or functional considerations

• Protection for at least 10 years

• International protection:– Paris Convention– TRIPs Agreement– The Hague Agreement

Geographical Indications

• Sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that place of origin

• Interrelation between product and geographical origin

• International protection:– Lisbon Agreement

– Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source of Goods

– TRIPs Agreement

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