Laws
Adopted on 10 June 2008
Law on Inventions, Utility Models and Industrial designs
Chapter 1: General Provisions
Article 1. Objectives of the LawThis Law regulates the property and non-property personal relationships connected with the creation, legal protection and utilization of invention, utility model and industrial design (hereinafter referred to as “industrial property object”).
Article 2. Conceptions Used in Law
The main conceptions used in this Law are:
Paris Convention – Paris Convention on industrial property protection, signed on March 20, 1883 with all further amendments and supplements.
WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organization
PCT – Patent Cooperation Treaty, signed on June 19, 1970, with PCT and Administrative instructions and further amendments and supplements.
Eurasian Convention – Eurasian Patent Convention, signed in Moscow on September 9, 1994.
TRIPS Agreement – Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, signed in Marrakech on April 15, 1994.
Locarno Agreement – Locarno Agreement on Industrial Design International Classification, signed in Locarno on October 8, 1968.
Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs – Hague Agreement on International Deposit of Industrial Designs, renamed as “Hague Agreement on International Registration of Industrial Design” on July 2, 1999.
Industrial Property Subject Matter – invention, utility model and industrial design.
State Authorized Body - State Body authorized by the Government of the Republic of Armenia to exercise functions concerning issuance of industrial property protection documents (patents and certificates) as well as other functions provided by this Law and its Statutes.
Applicant – natural or legal person, organization, in whose name the patent on invention or utility model or certificate on industrial design is requested.
Rightholder – a person, in whose name the patent on invention or utility model is granted, or industrial design is registered (exclusive right holder).
Application - Application seeking patent on invention, utility model or certificate on industrial design.
International application – application filed in compliance with PCT, according to which the applicant has met the requirements of the State Authorized Body provided by Article 22 of the above Treaty.
Eurasian application – application on Eurasian patent, filed in compliance with Article 15 (1) of the Eurasian Patent Convention.
Representative – a person authorized in the State Authorized Body to represent the applicant, rightholder or other interested person.
Date – day, month, and year.
Mutatis mutandis – for the purpose of respective amendments within the meaning of TRIPS agreement.
National Phase – international application examination according to National Legislation.
Article 3. Industrial Property Legislation
1. The Industrial Property Legislation consists of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia, this Law and other legal acts.
2. If the international agreements of the Republic of Armenia state norms other than those stated by this Law then the international agreements norms shall apply.
Article 4. National Treatment
(1) Foreign legal and natural persons shall enjoy the same rights specified by this Law and have the same liabilities as citizens and legal persons of the Republic of Armenia, in accordance with international agreements signed by the Republic of Armenia or reciprocity principle.
(2) The party wishing to enjoy the reciprocity principle shall prove the existence of reciprocity.
Article 5. The State Authorized Body
(1) The main functions of the State Authorized Body shall be:
(a) to receive applications by which the acquisition of industrial property rights is requested;
(b) to carry out proceedings relating to the grant of patents and certificates and the registration thereof;
(c) to maintain the registers of industrial property rights and other registers provided by this Law;
(d) to provide appropriate information services relating to industrial property rights;
(e) to represent the Republic of Armenia in foreign and international organizations in the field of industrial property;
(f) to be the receiving office for international applications filed through PCT Convention and Eurasian applications filed through Eurasian Convention;
(g) to perform other functions which fall within its competence.
(2) The State Authorized Body shall publish its Official Bulletin containing data on granted patents on inventions, utility models, certificates on registered industrial designs, as well as other information concerning its activities.
(3) The State Authorized Body according to this Law, establishes rules, regulations and other legal acts concerning the acquisition or registration of industrial property rights (including assignment of rights and license agreements), and protection thereof, maintenance of registers, publication and exchange of information, as well as conducting attorneys exams and registration thereof.
(4) The State Authorized Body has a Board of Appeals, which, according to the established rules, resolves disputes concerning the legal protection of industrial property subject matters. The decision of the Board of Appeals is final. The Board of Appeals acts on the basis of the Statues, verified by the State Authorized Body.
Article 6. Information to the Public
(1) The State Authorized Body shall make possible for any person to inspect files relating to applications, and to have access to data relating to applications and rights granted or registered, except the cases provided in Article 7 of this Law.
(2) The State Authorized Body shall supply information on the state of the art and provide other services in the field of information and documentation on the basis of request filed by any person, against payment of the state fee.
Article 7. Secrecy of Applications Proceeding
(l) The determination of secrecy level of inventions, utility models, industrial designs, containing information on state and official secrets, their use and publication of information thereon is implemented in the order established by the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
(2) Before publication of information on patents on inventions, utility models or registered industrial designs in the Official Bulletin of the State Authorized Body, the content of the applications shall be deemed secret.
(3) The files that are of official secrecy shall be made available for inspection only with the consent or permission of the applicant, or for judicial bodies upon request. Therefore, the data shall be deemed open for inspection if they are accessible by any authorized means, among them direct communication or usual publication.
(4) Any person who can prove that, the applicant informed him in writing about his application and the scope of requested protection, may obtain the inspection of the secret files without the consent of the applicant.
(5) Where a patent application relating to a biological material has been refused or withdrawn, the deposited biological material shall only be available to third parties after twenty years from the date of filing of the application, if so requested by the applicant.
(6) Before the publication of the patent application in the Official Bulletin, the State Authorized Body may publish the following data or communicate them to third parties:
(a) the number of the application;
(b) the date of filing the application and, where the priority is claimed, the date, country and filing number of the previous application;
(c) data concerning the applicant (for natural person - surname, forename and address, for legal person - official name of the firm and seat);
(d) the title of the industrial property subject matter, if it does not disclose the substance of the subject matter.
Article 8. State Fees
According to this Law the acts for acquisition and maintenance of rights shall be subject to payment of state fees. The types of state fees, amounts and terms thereof, reduction or refund of the amounts of the state fees, the grounds and order of exemption from the state fees shall be established by Law.
