WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION 
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE 
ORGANIZACION MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights IP/NIlIGRC/O/l 
20 February 1998 
(98-0614) 
Original: English! 
anglaisl 
ingles 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
Greece 
By means of a communication from its Permanent Mission, dated 5 September 1997, Greece 
has supplemented its notification of laws and regulations under Article 63.2 of the Agreement by 
submitting the text of Law No. 146/1914 on Unfair Competition, as reproduced in the present 
document. I 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriete 
intellectuelle qui touchent au conunerce 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES 
A LA PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES 
AU TITRE DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
Gf(~ce 
Par une communication de sa Mission permanente, datee du 5 septembre 1997, la Grece a 
complete la notification de ses lois et reglementations au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord en 
fournissant le texte de la Loi no 146/1914 sur la concurrence deloyale. Le present document contient 
le texte de cette loil. 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL 
NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD DEL pARRAFO 2 
DEL ARTicuLO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
Grecia 
Mediante una comunicaci6n de su Misi6n Permanente, de fecha 5 de septiembre de 1997, 
Grecia ha completado su notificaci6n de las leyes y reglamentos prevista en el parrafo 2 del articulo 63 
del Acuerdo al presentar el texto de la Ley de Competencia Desleal, N° 146/1914, que se reproduce 
en el presente documento. I 
lIn English only.!Anglais seulement.lEn ingh~s solamente. IP/N/lIGRC/O/l 
Page 2 
APPENDIX III 
Law 146 
of 26th December 1913/27th January 
1914 on Unfair Competition 
Article 1 
Any act made in commercial, industrial or agricultural transac­
tions for purposes of competition which is contrary to moral prin­
ciples shall be prohibited.* 
The offender may be sued to refrain [from committing such 
act) and to make good any damage caused. 
Article 2 
For the purposes of this law the term "goods" shall include in­
dustrial and agricultural products and the term "industrial activi­
ties" shall include the commercial, manufacturing and agricul­
turalones. 
Article 3 
Any inaccurate statement about relations concerning transac­
tions under Article 1 contained in public communications or an­
nouncements destined to a larger circle of persons shall be pro­
hibited, and in particular statemer;ts concerning the quality, the 
initial origin, t~ manner of manufacturing or the pricing of 
goods or industrial activities, the manner or the source of supply, 
the possession of awards or other honorable distinctions, the 
* See also Article 1 para. 1 of law 4195/1929: "Any act made in the transports 
by passenger steam ships between the ports of the state or between such ports 
and foreign ports, for purposes of competition, which is contrary to moral prin­
ciples. shall be prohibited". 
GRE App.III-l 
(Pub.S31) GREECE IP/N/lIGRC/O/l 
Page 3 
GRE App.IlI-2 
cause or the purpose of the sale, or the size of the available stock, 
if such statements are capable of giving the impression of an es­
pecially favorable offer. 
The offender may be sued to refrain from the inaccurate state­
ments and to make good any damage caused! 
Article 4 
an especially favorable offer and under the conditions of Article 
3, makes statements~which he knows to be untrue and which are 
capable of misleading the public, shall be liable to imprisonment 
for a term not exceeding six:months and to a fine not exceeding 
3.000 drachmas o1"'to either of these penalties. 
If the inaccurate statements mentioned in the preceding para­
graph are made by an employee or an agent, the owner or direc­
tor of the business shall be liable to punishment together with the 
employee or the agent, if the act was made with his knowledge. 
Article 5 
For the purposes of Articles 3 and 4, pictorial representations 
and other devices which are aimed and suited to replace the 
statements referred to therein, shalI be considered equivalent to 
* See also Article 3 para. 1 of Legislative Decree of the 8/17 June 1926 (this 
L.D. was ratified and modified by the L.D. of 12112 November 1927, and the 
latter by the Law 346211928): "The provisions of Article 3 of law 146 on unfair 
competition shall also apply in cases where on goods or their covering or in the 
commercial or industrial trademarks, mention is made, directly or indirectly, 
isolated or in any other way, o'f a place name which is different from the name 
of the locality, where the producing firm [is established] or of another designa­
tion or word which is deceptively similar to such a designation of origin from a 
place (with the exception of the words which by reason of a long time use desig­
nate the type of the goods (appelation type) such as "Cognac", "Eau de Co­
logne" I "Eau de Vie de Danzig" etc.), if the buyers can be thereby misled as to 
the origin of a similar good. The provisions of Articles 13·15 of the same law 
shall also apply whenever a trader or manufacturer of a good uses subsequently, 
isolated or combined with a firm name, his name which is identical or similar [to 
another name], without it being made distinctively clear to the consumer desig­
nated in paragraph 2 of this Article, that the industrial or commercial origin of 
the good is different from the real name or the firm name of another who manu­
factures of markets the same good". IP/N/l/GRC/O/1 
Page 4 
ORE AppJIl-3 APPENDIX III 
such statements. T.he use of names, which in the course of busi­
ness activity serve to denominate goods or industrial activities 
and which are not intended to indicate the origin thereof, does 
not fall within the provisions of Articles 3 and 4. 
Article 6 
If, in public communications or announcements destined to a 
larger circle of persons, the sale of goods originally belonging to 
the estate of a bankrupt is advertised, where the goods are no 
longer part of this estate, every reference to the fact that the 
goods originated in the estate of a bankrupt is forbidden. The of­
fender shall be liable to a fine not exceedine 1.500 drachmas or to 
imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months or to both 
these penalties. 
Article 7* 
1. Any announcement to the public about the fact that a sale of 
goods constitutes a liquidation of an establishment or a certain 
branch thereof shall be forbidden. 
2. Exceptionally, an announcement about a sale referred to in 
the preceding paragraph shall be permitted, if the reason thereof 
is mentioned in the announcement and under the conditions of 
this Article, after a permit of the competent President of the First 
Instance Court or, in the province, were no First Instance Court 
sits, of the competent Juctge of Peace. 
3. The President or the Judge of Peace hearing the case in ac­
cordance with the procedure of Articles 634 and ff, of the Civil 
Procedure'" , at the request of the party. concerned, examines the 
occurrence of the conditions of this Article, grants the permit and 
determines the reason as well as the time of commencement and 
conclusion of the sale. A copy of the request is served on the' 
President of the competent Chamber of Commerce who may in­
tervene in the hearing of the case. The following are attached to 
the request of granting the above permit: 
• As amended by Article 1 of Legislative Decree 418111961. 
** The competence is vested today with the 'one-judge first instance court 
hearing the case in accordance with the provisions of ArticJes 686 Cf. of the new 
Code of Civil Procedure. 
(Pub.Sll) GREECE IP/N/lIGRC/OIl 
Page 5 
ORE App.I1I-4 
a) A solemn declaration of the applicant containing the rea­
son of the liquidation, the time of commencement 
thereof and the address of the establishment in which it 
will be effected, and 
b) a detailed inventory in two copies of the goods for sale, 
indicating in details the special characteristics thereof ac­
cording to the type, the origin and the quality, as well as 
the quantity of each one of the goods. 
At the expense of the applicant the President checks the sin­
cerity of the declaration and the inventory through two experts 
appointed by him and chosen from a list drawn in December of 
each year by the Chamber of Commerce and being in force dur­
ing the subsequent year, or, in the absence of such list, through 
two experts of his own choice. 
In case of sales within the area of the ex-Administration of the 
Capital one of the above experts is obligatorily taken by the Pres­
ident of the First Instance Court from the Association of Char­
tered Accountants. A decision of the Minister of Commerce may 
extend this provision also to other areas of Greece. 
4. The sale is permitted only a) in case of actual and definite 
termination of the activities of the whole business; b) in cases 
where a branch thereof is essentially closed and only for the 
goods of such branch; c) in case of bankruptcy of the trader by 
virtue of a final decision. The sale of goods under the provisions 
of this Article shall be prohibited, if such goods have been ac­
quired with the sole purpose to be sold at the liquidation or ac­
quired within three months before the request was submitted. 
5. The duration of the sale may not exceed 4 months. However 
the President, taking into account the special circumstances, if 
any, may extend the above duration, but in no case more than 4 
further months. The sale can be effected only in the establish­
ment of the applicant. 
6. During the whole time of the sale and within the first five 
days of each month, the person who obtained the permit is 
obliged to submit to the competent Chamber of Commerce in 
two copies a new inventory containing the remaining stock as of 
the last day of the previous month, as shown in the preceding in­
ventory; the sincerity thereof is checked by the experts. The ex-
lJ'ub~ IP/NIl/GRC/O/1 
Page 6 
GRE App.III-5 APPENDIX III 
perts are entitled, upon a complaint or at their own initiative, to 
make an extraordinary control, in which case, if the provisions of 
this law are infringed, they submit a report to·the Chamber of 
Commerce. 
7. If two prices are posted on the goods for sale, one of which 
represents the normal selling price of the goods and the other the 
discounted price by reason of the liquidation, the first of the 
above two prices must not differ from the real market price of the 
goods. Offenders an:; liable to the penalties prodded £0:-in Arti­
cle 8. 
8. The President of the First Instance Court at the request of 
the Chamber of Commerce or any third party may, in cases of in­
fringement committed by the seller, revoke, in whole or in part, 
or amend the permit gran!ed. Also, in case it appears equitable, 
the permit can be revoked, in whole or in part, or amended ac­
cordingly, at the request of the party concerned. 
9. [Transitional provision] 
10. The above provisions shall not apply to sales at discounted 
prices occurring at the close of a season, announced as such and 
used in the ordinary course of the commerce. However, royal de­
crees issued at the instance of the Minister of Commerce may fix 
the number per year, the commencement date and the duration 
of such sales for the whole country. Until such a royal decree is 
issued the royal decree of 24.1.1959 "re: discount sales of traders 
at the close of seasons" shall remain in force'" . 
11. In no case, other than the cases of sales of goods under this 
Article, Will be permitted under any form, name, justification or 
excuse to announce sales at a discount. 
12. A sale shall be against moral principles and the business 
ethics especially when it is made at special disco'unted prices ap­
plied on one or a limited number of goods with the scope to at­
tract the public and to exploit it through the prices of the other 
goods in the establishment, unless in cases occurring at the close 
of a season. 
• By virtue of Law 50411976 (Article 13) the Minister of Commerce was em· 
powered to issue decisio"ns regulating these matters. See decision no AI-6465 of 
31st August122 September 1979 regulating the conditions for announcing and 
selling goods at reduced prices (Appendix VI). 
(Pub.S31) GREECE 
Article 8* IP/NIlIGRC/OI 1 
Page 7 
GRE App.1Il-6 
Anyone who infringes the provisions of Article 7 or the royal 
decrees or ministerial decisions issued in application thereof, and 
especially who announces a sale without permit, or without men­
tioning the reason thereof, or who knowingly makes an inaccu­
rate declaration and uses knowingly an inaccurate inventory or 
fails to bring it up to date, or who sells in a place or at a time not 
permitted, or who displays for sale goods acquired with the sole 
purpose to be sold at the liquidation or acquired within three 
months before the request was submitted or not included in the 
inventory, is punished in accordance with the provision of Article 
458 of the penal Code. In accordance with the same provision is 
punished anyone who transfers to a third party goods for sale in 
violation of the provisions of Article 7. 
The above offenses are judged under the procedure of Articles 
417-425 of the Code of Penal Procedure. 
Article 9 
By royal decrees issued at the instance of the minister of na­
tional economy and after the council of ministers has decided so, 
it may be determined that the professional retail sale of certain 
goods may be only made in prescribed units of number, measure 
or weight or only \~ith a notice to be affixed to the goods, to their 
packaging or to their receptacle stating the number, the measure, 
the weight, the place of production or the place of origin of the 
goods. 
Persons infringing the provisions of the decrees of the preced­
ing paragraph shall be liable to a fine not exceeding three hun­
dred drachmas and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two 
months or to either of these penalties. 
Article 10 
The discontinuance of acts described in Articles 1 and 3 can be 
claimed by any businessman, who produces or markets similar or 
connected kinds of goods as well as by any Chamber of Com-
• As amended by Article 1 of Legislative Decree ,418111961. IP/NIlIGRC/OI 1 
Page 8 
ORE App.III-7 APPENDIX III 
merce or Industry, any commercial, industrial or, in general, pro­
fessional association. Similarly, the above businessmen, Cham-. 
bers or associations are entitled to claim discontinuance of the 
acts committed in violation of Articles 6, 8 and 9 as well as of an 
announcement to the public made under Article 7 without a dec­
laration to the competent President of the first instance court or 
the judge of Peace. 
The following shall be liable to make good the damages caused 
in cast! of violation of the provisions of this law: 
a) Anvone. who, in the case of Article 3 knew or should 
have known of the untrue character of the advertising 
made by him. A claim for damages against editors, pub­
lishers, printers, or distributors of newspapers or periodi­
cals is only allowed, when these knew the untrue charac­
ter of the announcements. 
b) Anyone who intentionally or negligently violated the 
provisions of Articles 6, 7, 8 and 9. A claim for discontin­
uance of acts committed in violation of Articles 1,3,6,8 
and 9 and of an announcement to the public made under 
Article 7 by an employee or representative of a firm or 
establishment, can be brought also against the owner or 
the director. 
Article 11 
Any person who, for purposes of competition, alleges or circu­
lates facts concerning the activities or the business of another, 
concerning the person of the proprietor or the director of the 
business, concerning the goods or industrial activities of another, 
which are capable of damaging the operation of his business or 
his commercial credit, shall be liable to the injured party for the 
damage caused, provided that the truth of the circulated facts 
cannot be easily proved. The injured party may also sue the of­
fender to refrain from repeating or further circulating the inaccu­
rate facts. 
Where a confidential information is involved, in which the per­
son who gives or receives the information has a legitimat~ .inter­
est, the offender can be sued to refrain if the fads alleged areilli.­
true. 
(!'vII.Ul) GREECE IP/N/1/GRC/O/l 
Page 9 
GRE App.1lI-8 
If the person who gives the information knew or should have 
known that the facts alleged are untrue he is also liable to make 
good any damages caused. 
The provision of the last sub-paragraph of Article 10 is applic­
able by \vay of analogy. 
Article 12 
Anyone who alleges or circulates facts concerning the business 
or the activities of another, concerning the person of the proprie­
tor or the director of the business, concerning the goods or indus­
trial services of another, while knowing that these facts are un­
true, shall, if such facts are capable of damaging the operation of 
the business, be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 
six months and to a fine not exceeding three thousand drachmas, 
or to either of these penalties. 
The proprietor or the director of the business shall be also lia­
ble to the same penalties, if the relevant facts are alleged or cir­
culated with his knowledge by an employee or agent of his. 
Article 13 
Anyone who, in the course of business, makes use of a name, a 
firm name, or the special designation of a business establishment 
or of an industrial enterprise, or of a printed work, in a manner 
capable of causing confusion with the name, firm name, or spe­
cial designation legitimately used by another, may be enjoined 
from such use by the latter. He shall be also liable to the injured 
party for damages, if he knew or should have known that the mi­
suse was capable of causing confusion. 
Business symbols of a business establishment or an enterprise 
which are considered within the trade concerned as the distinc­
tive signs of such establishment or enterprise shall be equivalent 
to the special designation. 
The special presentation or the special decoration of the goods 
and the packaging or the covering thereof are assimilated to the 
special designation, if they are considered within the trade con­
cerned as the distinctive signs of the similar goods of another. 
The provision of the last sub-paragraph of Article 10 is applic­
(l'ub.83i) IP/NIlIGRC/OI1 
Page 10 
GRE App.I1I-9 
able by way of analogy.* APPENDIX III 
Article 14 
Anyone who in the course of business knowingly and inten­
tionally makes use of a name, a firm name, or the special desig­
nation of a business establishment or of an industrial enterprise 
or of a printed work, with the purpose to cause confusion with 
the name, the firm name or the special designation legitimately 
used by another, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not 
exceeding six months and to a fine not exceeding three thousand 
drachmas or to either of these penalties. 
The provisions of this and the preceding Articles shall not ap­
ply for the prote~tion of commercial and industrial trademarks, 
in respect to which the special legal provisions relating to them 
shall be maintained and applied. 
The application of this and the preceding Articles shall not be 
excluded in cases where the use of another's name, or another's 
firm name or special d~signation is made with small alterations, if 
the latter do not exclude the danger of confusion. 
Article 15 
In case of conviction under Articles 13 and 14 hereof the court 
orders, at the request of the injured party, the removal of the 
designation. If it is not possible to remove it, the Court may or­
der the destruction thereof, but only in cases where the convicted 
knew or should have known that he had made use of another's 
designation .. 
The Court may judge at its discretion whether such removal or 
destruction are to be ordered even in case of acquittal. 
Article 16 
A punishment of imprisonment for a term not exceeding six 
months and a fine not exceeding three thousand drachmas, or 
either of these penalties, shall be imposed upon any employee, 
workman or apprentice of a commercial or industrial establish-
• See also note under Article 3. 
(Pub.S31) GREECE IP/N/lIGRC/O/1 
Page 11 
GRE App.III-IO 
ment or enterprise, who during the term of his employment, 
without authorization, communicates to a third party secrets of 
the establishment or the enterprise that have been confided to 
him by virtue of ,his employment relationship or have othef\.vise 
come to his knowledge, if he does so for purposes of competition 
or with the intention of damaging the proprietor of the establish­
ment or the enterprise. 
The same punishment shall be imposed also upon anyone who 
makes unauthorized use of or communicates to a third party, for 
purposes of competition, such secrets, if his knowledge of them 
has been gained through one of the communications designated 
in the preceding paragraph or through his own acts in violation of 
the law or the moral principles. 
Article 17 
The punishment of the preceding Article shall be imposed 
upon anyone who makes unauthorized use of or communicates to 
third parties the models or technical standards that have been 
confided to him in the course of business) and in particular draw­
ings, prototypes, patterns, samples or instructions. 
Article 18 
Infringements of the provisions of Articles 16 and 17 shall also 
result in liability for damage caused thereby. 
The punishments of Article 16, reduced by half, shall apply to 
anyone who, for purposes of competition, attempts to induce an­
other to commit an act in violation of the provisions of Article 16 
paragraph 1 and of Article 17. 
Article 19 
The claims for discontinuance or damages, arising from the 
provisions of this law, shall be introduced as commercial cases 
before the competent first instance court and shall be barred 
after six months from the time when the person entitled to a 
claim obtained knowledge of the act and the identity of the party 
liable and I in any case, 'after three years froin the time when the 
act was committed. 
(Pub.all) IP/N/lIGRC/O/1 
Page 12 
GRE App.III-ll APPENDIX III 
In the case of claims for relief by way of damages, the limita­
tion period shall not begin to run until the time when the damage 
accrued. 
Article 20 
The person claiming discontinuance of an act infringing the 
provisions of this law may also ask the competent President of 
,the first instance court or, in the case of the last paragraph of Ar­
ticle-7 thp rnmnrtf'nt illriC1f' of nf'~rf> tn i<:<;ue ~ nrplimin:1rv in- . ....... ... 
junction; all provisions of law 3797 "re: interim measures on pos-
session disputes" shall correspondingly apply* . 
Decisions of the President of the first instance court or the 
judge of peace can be appealed before the President of the Court 
of Appeal or the President of the first instance court, as the case 
may be, within 10 days as from the day the decision was notified; 
such time period cannot be extended by reason of distance** . 
Article 21 
With the exception of cases arising under Articles 6, 8, and 9, 
criminal prosecution shall be instituted only upon complaint. 
In the case of Article 4 any of the businessmen, Chambers or 
associations designated in the first paragraph of Article 10 may 
lodge a complaint. 
Article 22 
In cases of conviction under Articles 4, 6, 8 and 9, the Court 
may order the publicatioI) of the judgment in the press within a 
certain period of time, at the expense of the convicted party. If 
the convicted party does not proceed with the puplication in ac­
cordance with the terms of. the judgment, such publication is 
made by the public prosecutor and the expense, assessed by the 
competent tax authority is collected in accordance with the provi-
* See, today, Articles 731 and ff. of the new Code of Civil Procedure . 
.. This second paragraph of Article 20 was added by Article 2 of law 
4181/1961. Today, it is virtually abolished, since Article 699 of the new Code of 
Civil Procedure does not allow any legal remedies against preliminary 
injunctions. 
(Pub.83I) GREECE IP/N/lIGRC/O/l 
Page 13 
GRE App.III-12 
.sions concerning the collection of public revenues. If the convic­
tion is based on Articles 12 and the first paragraph of Article 14, 
the Court allows always the injured party to cause the publication 
of the judgment within a certain period of time at the expense of 
the convicted party. At the request of the acquitted party the 
Court may order the communication of the judgment; the expen­
ses thereof are incurred by the State, if they have not been asses­
sed against the person who lodged the complaint or brought a 
civil action before the Court. The successful party in a suit for 
. :. .... ,. ,,_ . ___ .. : _ : .... _ _ ..... t + ~ :... 1.......... _ " ... 
UI!>I-VUlIUUdll\..C, ua::.-=u vu ViiI; Vl llle: !-'IV'I,),V •• .> Vl .. ".) I .... , , .. u.) 
be allowed by the Court in the judgment to publish the operative 
part of the judgment within a certain period of time at the ex­
pense of the losing party. 
Article 23 
Anyone lacking a principal establishment in Greece may claim 
protection pursuant to this law only if Greek firms enjoy, in the 
country where his principal establishment is located, the same 
protection as local firms. A declaration of the Ministers of For­
eign Affairs and of the National Economy published in the Gov­
ernment Gazette, can serve as evidence of such protection in the 
foreign country. 
Article 24 
[Abrogation of pre-existing legislation]