International Intellectual Property Treaties | Part – 5

Trademark Law Treaty:

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 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: application for registration; changes after registration; and renewal. The rules concerning each phase are constructed so as to clearly define the requirements for an application or a specific request.

 

As to the first phase – 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 applicant 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.

 

The second phase of the trademark procedure covered by the TLT 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.

 

As to the third phase, 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.

 

The TLT also contains Model International Forms (MIF) corresponding to the maximum requirements that a Contracting Party may provide for in respect of a particular procedure or document. A Contracting Party may also prepare its own Individualized International Form for use by applicants, provided that such forms do not require mandatory elements that would be additional to the elements referred to in the corresponding MIF.

 

Most notably, the TLT does not allow a requirement as to the attestation, notarization, authentication, legalization or certification of any signature, except in the case of the surrender of a registration.

 

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.

 

Washington Treaty:

 

The Washington Treaty was adopted in 1989 and provides protection for the layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits. The Treaty has not yet entered into force, but has been ratified or acceded to by the following States: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt and Saint Lucia.

 

 

WCT:

 

The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement under the Berne Convention which deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors in the digital environment. In addition to the rights recognized by the Berne Convention, they are granted certain economic rights.  The Treaty also deals with two subject matters to be protected by copyright: (i) computer programs, whatever the mode or form of their expression; and (ii) compilations of data or other material (“databases”).

 

 

WPPT:

 

The WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) deals with the rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in the digital environment: (i) performers (actors, singers, musicians, etc.); and (ii) producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds).

 

The WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) deals with the rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in the digital environment: (i) performers (actors, singers, musicians, etc.); and (ii) producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds). These rights are addressed in the same instrument, because most of the rights granted by the Treaty to performers are rights connected to their fixed, purely aural performances (which are the subject matter of phonograms).

 

As far as performers are concerned, the Treaty grants performers economic rights in their performances fixed in phonograms (not in audiovisual fixations, such as motion pictures): (i) the right of reproduction; (ii) the right of distribution; (iii) the right of rental; and (iv) the right of making available.

 

The right of reproduction is the right to authorize direct or indirect reproduction of the phonogram in any manner or form.

The right of distribution is the right to authorize the making available to the public of the original and copies of the phonogram through sale or other transfer of ownership.

The right of rental is the right to authorize the commercial rental to the public of the original and copies of the phonogram, as determined in the national law of the Contracting Parties (except for countries that, since April 15, 1994, have had a system in force for equitable remuneration of such rental).

The right of making available is the right to authorize the making available to the public, by wire or wireless means, of any performance fixed in a phonogram, in such a way that members of the public may access the fixed performance from a place and at a time individually chosen by them. This right covers, in particular, on-demand, interactive making available through the Internet.

As to unfixed (live) performances, the Treaty grants performers: (i) the right of broadcasting (except in the case of rebroadcasting); (ii) the right of communication to the public (except where the performance is a broadcast performance); and (iii) the right of fixation.

 

The Treaty also grants performers moral rights, that is, the right to claim to be identified as the performer and the right to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification that would be prejudicial to the performer’s reputation.

 

As far as producers of phonograms are concerned, the Treaty grants them economic rights in their phonograms:

(i) the right of reproduction;

(ii) the right of distribution;

(iii) the right of rental; and

(iv) the right of making available.

 

The right of reproduction is the right to authorize direct or indirect reproduction of the phonogram in any manner or form.

The right of distribution is the right to authorize the making available to the public of the original and copies of the phonogram through sale or other transfer of ownership.

The right of rental is the right to authorize the commercial rental to the public of the original and copies of the phonogram, as determined in the national law of the Contracting Parties (except for countries that, since April 15, 1994, have a system in force for equitable remuneration of such rental).

The right of making available is the right to authorize making available to the public, by wire or wireless means, a phonogram in such a way that members of the public may access the phonogram from a place and at a time individually chosen by them. This right covers, in particular, on-demand, interactive making available through the Internet.

The Treaty provides that performers and producers of phonograms have the right to a single equitable remuneration for the direct or indirect use of phonograms, published for commercial purposes, broadcasting or communication to the public. However, any Contracting Party may restrict or – provided that it makes a reservation to the Treaty – deny this right. In the case and to the extent of a reservation by a Contracting Party, the other Contracting Parties are permitted to deny, vis-à-vis the reserving Contracting Party, national treatment (“reciprocity”).

 

As to limitations and exceptions, Article 16 of the WPPT incorporates the so-called “three step” test to determine limitations and exceptions, as provided for in Article 9(2) of the Berne Convention, extending its application to all rights. The accompanying Agreed Statement provides that such limitations and exceptions, as established in national law in compliance with the Berne Convention, may be extended to the digital environment. Contracting States may devise new exceptions and limitations appropriate to the digital environment. The extension of existing or the creation of new limitations and exceptions is allowed if the conditions of the “three-step” test are met.

 

The term of protection must be at least 50 years.

 

The enjoyment and exercise of the rights provided for in the Treaty cannot be subject to any formality.

 

The Treaty obliges Contracting Parties to provide for legal remedies against the circumvention of technological measures (e.g., encryption) used by performers or phonogram producers in connection with the exercise of their rights, and against the removal or altering of information – such as the indication of certain data that identify the performer, performance, producer of the phonogram and the phonogram itself – necessary for the management (e.g., licensing, collecting and distribution of royalties) of the said rights (“rights management information”).

 

The Treaty obliges each Contracting Party to adopt, in accordance with its legal system, the measures necessary to ensure the application of the Treaty. In particular, each Contracting Party must ensure that enforcement procedures are available under its law so as to permit effective action against any act of infringement of rights covered by the Treaty. Such action must include expeditious remedies to prevent infringement as well as remedies that constitute a deterrent to further infringement.

 

The Treaty establishes an Assembly of the Contracting Parties whose main task is to address matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Treaty. It entrusts to the Secretariat of WIPO the administrative tasks concerning the Treaty.

 

The Treaty was concluded in 1996 and entered into force in 2002.

 

The Treaty is open to States members of WIPO and to the European Community. The Assembly constituted by the Treaty may decide to admit other intergovernmental organizations to become party to the Treaty. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of WIPO.

 

 

GLOBAL PROTECTION SYSTEM:

 

Budapest Treaty:

 

Adopted in 1977, the Budapest Treaty concerns a specific topic in the international patent process: microorganisms. All states party to the Treaty are obliged to recognize microorganisms deposited as a part of the patent procedure, irrespective of where the depository authority is located. In practice this means that the requirement to submit microorganisms to each and every national authority in which patent protection is sought no longer exists.

 

The main feature of the Treaty is that a contracting State which allows or requires the deposit of microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure must recognize, for such purposes, the deposit of a microorganism with any “international depositary authority”, irrespective of whether such authority is on or outside the territory of the said State.

 

Disclosure of the invention is a requirement for the grant of patents. Normally, an invention is disclosed by means of a written description. Where an invention involves a microorganism or the use of a microorganism, disclosure is not possible in writing but can only be effected by the deposit, with a specialized institution, of a sample of the microorganism. In practice, the term “microorganism” is interpreted in a broad sense, covering biological material the deposit of which is necessary for the purposes of disclosure, in particular regarding inventions relating to the food and pharmaceutical fields.

 

It is in order to eliminate the need to deposit in each country in which protection is sought, that the Treaty provides that the deposit of a microorganism with any “international depositary authority” suffices for the purposes of patent procedure before the national patent offices of all of the contracting States and before any regional patent office (if such a regional office declares that it recognizes the effects of the Treaty). The European Patent Office (EPO), the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) have made such declarations.

 

What the Treaty calls an “international depositary authority” is a scientific institution – typically a “culture collection” – which is capable of storing microorganisms. Such an institution acquires the status of “international depositary authority” through the furnishing by the contracting State in the territory of which it is located of assurances to the Director General of WIPO to the effect that the said institution complies and will continue to comply with certain requirements of the Treaty.

 

On May 1, 2015 there were 44 such authorities: seven in the United Kingdom, four in the Republic of Korea, three in Italy, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America, two each in Australia, China, India, Japan, Poland, and in Spain, and one each in Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands and Slovakia.

 

The Treaty makes the patent system of the contracting State more attractive because it is primarily advantageous to the depositor if he is an applicant for patents in several contracting States; the deposit of a microorganism under the procedures provided for in the Treaty will save him money and increase his security. It will save him money because, instead of depositing the microorganism in each and every contracting State in which he files a patent application referring to that microorganism, he will deposit it only once, with one depositary authority. The Treaty increases the security of the depositor because it establishes a uniform system of deposit, recognition and furnishing of samples of microorganisms.

 

The Treaty does not provide for the institution of a budget but it does create a Union and an Assembly whose members are the States which are party to the Treaty. The main task of the Assembly is the amendment of the Regulations issued under the Treaty. No State can be requested to pay contributions to the International Bureau of WIPO on account of its membership in the Budapest Union or to establish an “international depositary authority”.

 

The Budapest Treaty was concluded in 1977.

 

The Treaty 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:

 

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, 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.

 

An international application may be governed by the 1999 Act, the 1960 Act or both, depending on the Contracting Party with which the applicant has the connection described above (hereafter referred to as “Contracting Party of origin”).

 

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.

 

International registrations are published in the International Designs Bulletin, issued weekly online. Depending on the Contracting Parties designated, applicants may request that the publication be deferred by a period not exceeding 30 months from the date of the international registration or, if priority is claimed, from the priority date.

 

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.

 

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.

 

The 1934 Act

 

The application of the 1934 Act was frozen as of January 1, 2010, meaning that no new registration or designation under the 1934 Act could be entered in the International Register as of that date. However, the renewal of existing designations under the 1934 Act and the recording in the International Register of any change affecting such designations will continue to be possible up to the maximum duration of protection under the 1934 Act (15 years).

 

General

 

The WIPO Secretariat publishes a Guide to the International Registration of Industrial Designs for users of the Hague system.

 

The Hague Agreement, concluded in 1925, was revised at London in 1934 and at The Hague in 1960. It was completed by an Additional Act signed at Monaco in 1961 and by a Complementary Act signed at Stockholm in 1967, which was amended in 1979. As noted above, a further Act was adopted at Geneva in 1999.

 

The Hague Agreement created a Union, which, since 1970, has had an Assembly. Every member of the Union that has adhered to the Complementary Act of Stockholm is a member of the Assembly. Among the most important tasks of the Assembly are the adoption of the biennial program and budget of the Union and the adoption and modification of the implementing regulations, including the fixing of the fees connected with the use of the Hague system.

 

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.

 

Lisbon Agreement:

 

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 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” (Article 2). Such denominations are registered by the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva upon the request of the competent authority of a Contracting State. The International Bureau keeps the International Register of Appellations of Origin and formally notifies the other Contracting States of the registrations. It also publishes them in the Lisbon system’s official bulletin Appellations of Origin. A Contracting State may declare, within one year of receiving the notice of registration, that it cannot ensure the protection of a registered appellation within its territory (Article 5(3)). Such a declaration must include grounds for the refusal of protection. Contracting States may subsequently withdraw a refusal, according to a procedure foreseen under the Lisbon system. A registered appellation will be protected against usurpation or imitation, even when used in translation or accompanied by words such as “kind”, “type” or the like (Article 3), and may not be deemed to have become generic in a Contracting State as long as it continues to be protected in the country of origin (Article 6).

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (not yet in force)

 

The Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a New Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration which took place from May 11 to 21, 2015, adopted the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.

Help others by sharing

Law Help BD is a platform to share legal knowledge, it is not an alternative to a lawyer. A lawyer needs to research and try various strategy to get the best outcome for his client which can be different than a general explanation of the law. Therefore, it is advised to get an experienced lawyer if there is any specific problem to deal with, you can also hire us or try our legal support offers or just e-mails us at [email protected]

Rajin Ahmed

Ph.D. (Fellow), Advocate. Member: Bangladesh Intellectual Property Law Society (BIPLS). Member: Society for Information and Research on Business Intellectual Inventions (SIRBII). Associate: Intellectual Property Association of Bangladesh

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *