Laws
Adopted on 10 June 2008
Law on Inventions, Utility Models and Industrial designs
Chapter 8: Maintenance of Rights and State Registers
Article 63. State Registers(l) The State Authorized Body shall maintain State Registers of the Republic of Armenia for patents, utility models and industrial designs (hereinafter the Registers). The Registers shall be open to public inspection, unless otherwise provided by this Law.
(2) The date of the grant of a patent or an industrial design certificate shall be the date of entry into the Register.
(3) The State Authorized Body shall deliver extracts from the Registers to any person upon request and against payment of the established state fee.
(4) The content of the Registers, the content of request for entry of alterations in the Registers, the procedure for entry of such alterations, the content of extracts from the Registers and the procedure for delivery of such extracts as well as the order regarding other actions to be executed with respect to maintenance of the Registers shall be established by the State Authorized Body.
Article 64. Content of Registers
(1) The register of inventions and utility models shall contain primarily the following entries: registration number, date of filing and number of the application, requested right of priority, date of publication, date of entry in the register, number and date of conclusion on patentability under Article 59 of this Law, data concerning the owner (name and address), type of the patent, data concerning the inventor (name and address), title of the invention, data on validity of the patent, date of lapse of the patent, as well as data on granting supplementary protection.
(2) The register of industrial designs shall contain primarily the following entries: registration number (number of certificate), number and date of filing of the application, requested right of priority, date of publication, date of entry in the register, data concerning the owner (name and address, or firm and seat), data concerning the designer (name and address), if the designer so wishes, indication of the product, number of products, classification code according to the Locarno Classification, data on validity of the industrial design, date of lapse of the industrial design.
(3) Information on litigations of which the State Authorized Body has been notified and final judgment shall be entered ex officio in the registers referred to in Article 63(1).
Article 65. Entry of Alterations in the Registers
(1) All subsequent alterations regarding the rights and the rightholders shall be entered in the register upon request. The provisions of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to applications and applicants.
(2) The data on assignment of rights and provision of licenses shall be entered in the corresponding register upon the request of one of the parties to the contract.
(3) The person entered in the register as the rightholder, may, prior to the alteration, contest any alteration, which has been unduly entered without his consent by submitting relevant evidence.
Article 66. Procedure for Entry of Alterations
(1) A single request may relate to more than one alteration in the register. A single request shall also be sufficient where the alteration and (or) alterations relate to more than one application and (or) right of the same person, provided that the alteration or alterations be the same for all applications and rights in question, and the numbers of all applications and rights be indicated in the request.
(2) When filing the request or within three months from the receipt of the notification, the state fee for the entry of each alteration in the register for each application or right shall be paid. If the state fee is not paid in due time, the request shall be deemed not submitted.
(3) Where the request for the alteration is filed by the person who has been entered in the register as the rightholder, the State Authorized Body shall enter the alteration in the relevant register.
(4) Where the request for the alteration is filed by the person who has not been entered in the register as the rightholder, that person shall submit, when filing the request or within three months from the receipt of the notification, the consent of the rightholder for the entry of the requested alteration in the register or other documents evidencing the legal basis for the entry of the alteration, at his discretion.
Where the State Authorized Body doubts the veracity of any indication contained in the request for the alteration or if the submitted documents are in a foreign language, it may require that, within three months from the receipt of the request, additional documents or an Armenian translation of the submitted documents be furnished.
(5) If the requesting party fails to submit additional documents or their translation requested under paragraph (4) in due time, the request for entry of alterations shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
(6) The alterations shall be made on the basis of the decision of the State Authorized Body.
Article 67. The Renewal of Rights on Term of Validity
(1) The term of validity of rights conferred by patent on invention, utility model as well as by certificate on industrial design shall be renewed upon the payment of the state fee within the established period, and shall be calculated from the date of filing of the application:
(a) in respect of patents, each year for one subsequent year;
(b) in respect of industrial designs, once each five years for subsequent five years.
(2) The state fees (annual state fees) under paragraph (1)(a) of this Article shall be paid for every next year before the end of the current year of validity.
(3) The state fee under paragraph (1)(b) of this Article on renewal of the period of validity of the industrial design shall be paid for every five years before the end of the current fifth year of validity.
(4) Under paragraph (1)(a) of this Article the mentioned state fee shall be paid starting from the second year of patent validity.
(5) Under paragraph 1(b) of this Article the mentioned state fee shall be paid starting from the first five years of validity of registration of industrial design.
(6) Where the procedure for the grant of a patent lasts more than one year from the date of the filing of the application, the provisions of paragraphs (1) of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(7) The term of validity of rights conferred by patent on invention, utility model as well as by certificate on industrial design may be renewed as well upon the payment of the state fee within six months, after the expiry of the period established by paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Article. In this case the amount of the state fee shall be increased with 50 %.
(8) The State Authorized Body shall, during one month after the expiry of the term of protection, notify the rightholder with a reminder on the failure of due payment of the state fee, on the possibility of payment under paragraph (7) of this Article, and of the consequences of non-payment.
(9) The non-payment of state fees in due time or, not following the reminder of the State Authorized Body, within the subsequent term referred to in paragraph (7) of this Article, shall entail lapse of the right on industrial property subject matter (validity of patent on invention, utility model or rights on industrial design) on the day following the term mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article.
(10) Paragraphs (7) and (8) of this Article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the cases referred to in paragraph (6) of this Article. If in such cases the state fee and the additional state fee have not been paid in the subsequent term, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
Article 68. The Restoration of Right to Invention, Utility Model, Industrial Design and the Right to Later Use
(1) The rights on invention, utility model, industrial design, which were lapsed under Article 67 (9), may be restored on the basis of the rightholder’s request. The request shall be submitted to the State Authorized Body within 3 years after the established term, mentioned in Article 67 (2) and (3), but no later than the expiry of the validity term of patent or certificate on industrial design established by this Law. The documents certifying the paid state fee on restoration of patent or certificate validity as well as the paid due on keeping patent valid or the annual state fee for renewal of rights on industrial design shall be submitted together with the request.
(2) The State Authorized Body publishes the information on restoration of validity of patent on invention, utility model or restoration of rights on industrial design in its Official Bulletin.
(3) Any person, who under Article 67 (9) starting from the date of lapse of legal protection right in invention, utility model or industrial design till the date, the information on restoration of rights of validity of patent on invention, utility model or restoration of rights in industrial design is published in Official Bulletin bona fide started to use the protected invention, utility model or industrial design or made necessary preparatory works, reserve the right to use it free of charge without scope extension of the use (right to later use).
(4) In case of lapsing the right, mentioned in Article 37 (1) and the time cell for publication the announcement on its restoration the paragraph (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(5) The right of later use may be transferred to another person only together with the product, where the invention, utility model or industrial design has been used or the necessary preparatory work has been done for it.
