WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/LVA/D/1
24 June 1999
(99-2613)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English/
anglais/
inglés
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
LATVIA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Law on Industrial Design Protection, as
notified by Latvia under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/LVA/1).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES
À LA PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES
AU TITRE DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
LETTONIE
Le présent document contient le texte1 de la Loi sur la protection des dessins et modèles
industriels, notifiée par la Lettonie au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document
IP/N/1/LVA/1).
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 PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
LETONIA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley de Dibujos y Modelos Industriales,
notificada por Letonia en virtud del párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el
documento IP/N/1/LVA/1).
                                                     
1 In English only/En anglais seulement/En inglés solamente.IP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 2
REPUBLIC OF LATVIA LAW
On Industrial Design Protection
Chapter One
General provisions
Article 1. Industrial design and its patentability
(1) In this Law, the notion “industrial design” means the external appearance of an-article created as
a result of artistic design. Industrial designs may be three-dimensional (models), two-dimensional(drawings), or a combination of both.
(2) An industrial design patent shall be issued for an industrial design which is new, visually
appealing and which may be utilized in industrial articles or articles of handicraft.
(3) An-industrial design is new if, up to the day when the patent application has been filed with the
Republic of Latvia Patent Office (hereinafter - the Patent Office) or up to the priority date, the industrial
design has not been known from publications available to the public both in Latvia and beyond itsborders, or from facts of its public use in Latvia. In determining the novelty of an industrial design, thepatent applications previously submitted (with an earlier priority date) to the Patent Office by otherpersons and which will be published in the official bulletin of the Patent Office, must also be taken intoaccount.
(4) The distinctive features of an industrial design may be expressed in the peculiarities of its form,
its configuration, the structure of its surface, its ornament, and the composition of lines or thecombination of colours; however, the novelty of an industrial design shall be determined by visuallyevaluating the product’s external appearance as a whole.
(5) An industrial design shall not be deemed new if, in comparison with an already known industrial
design (in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article):
1) it is identical;
2) its distinctive features do not essentially alter the complete visual impression of the external
appearance of the article;
3) it is recognized that its distinctive features are an insignificant variant or modification of an already
known industrial design; or
4) the external appearance of the industrial design is essentially similar but is merely applicable to a
different type of article.
(6) The novelty of an industrial design is not affected by a previous disclosure of its essence, if this
disclosure has occurred no earlier than six months prior to the filing date of the application, and thedisclosure is associated with:1) an obvious malicious intent towards the applicant or his legal predecessor; or
2) the display of such an exhibit in which this industrial design was used, at an official or officially
recognized international exhibition which corresponds with the requirements of the November 22,1928 Convention on International Exhibitions.
(7) An industrial design shall be regarded as visually appealing if it has such a unity of aesthetic
features which makes the external appearance of the relevant article attractive to the buyer or user.
(8) An industrial design shall be recognized as applicable in manufacturing of industrial articles or
articles of handicraft if its external appearance can be reproduced industrially or through
craftsmanship in relevant articles in order to be introduced into economic circulation.
Article 2. Objects excluded from protection
(1) This Law shall not grant legal protection for the external appearance of an article, if:
1) it is predetermined only by the technical functions of the article;
2) it contradicts principles of ethics, humanity and morality;3) the article is an object of architecture (including industrial, hydro-technical or other stationary
structures), except small forms of architecture and buildings (structures) which are industriallymanufactured (outside a building-site), and their component parts; and
4) the article is an object of a nondescript nature, which is formed from liquid, gaseous, powdery, or
similar substances.
(2) An industrial design or its elements shall also not be granted legal protection in cases when the
external appearance of an article, without the owners permission, includes the following:1) objects which do not essentially differ from industrial designs protected in Latvia of other persons;IP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 3
2) objects protected by copyright;
3) surnames, pseudonyms and portraits of persons publicly well-known, unless these persons have
died 50 years ago, or earlier; and
4) names of firms, indication of the place of production, names of products, as well as trademarks
and service marks protected in Latvia or unprotected, but well-known in Latvia.
(3) The legal protection of a patented industrial design shall not apply to its elements which are:
1) predetermined merely by the functional task of the article or which are necessary in order to obtain
a technical effect; or
2) composed of the coat of arms, flags, names and abbreviations of countries, other official symbols
of countries, names of international organizations, their abbreviations and emblems, religioussymbols, insignia and national decorations, official units of measure, marks of control andguarantees, as well as other official signs used in Latvia.
Article 3. Subjects of patent rights, patent owner
(1) A right to an industrial design patent shall belong to the author of the industrial design
(hereinafter - the designer) or his legal successor.
(2) If several persons have jointly created an industrial design, the right to the patent shall belong to
all of them, jointly. The mutual relations which result if several persons are granted a joint patent shallbe determined by the agreement concluded by these persons.
(3) If several persons have created an industrial design independent of one another, the right to the
patent shall belong to the person who is the first to file a patent application with the Patent Office andin the event of a dispute, the rights to the patent shall be determined by court.
(4) If an industrial design has been created in the course of performing one’s employment duties,
the right to the patent shall belong to the employer, provided that a respective contract has beensigned between the employer and the designer. The contract determines the employer’s and the
designer’s mutual relations associated with the patent, as well as the employer’s right to use the
patent and the designer’s rights to proper compensation for the creation and use of the industrialdesign. Disputes between them concerning the fulfillment of the terms of the contract shall bedetermined by court.
(5) If in the case mentioned in Paragraph 4 of this Article, a contract has not been signed between
the employer and the designer, or if the employer who has a right to the patent refuses to file a patent
application for the respective industrial design or, four months after the proposal of the designer, theemployer has not filed a patent application for the created industrial design, then the right to thepatent shall pass to the designer.
Chapter Two
Patent application for the industrial design and its examination. Industrial design patent
Article 4. Patent application
(1) The designer or his legal successor, who wishes to acquire the legal protection of an industrial
design, shall file the patent application (hereinafter - the application) with the Patent Office.
(2) The application shall include:
1) a request for grant of patent;2) a complete reproduction of the industrial design which provides a full and detailed idea of the
external appearance of the article;
3) a description of the industrial design;
4) if it is necessary, in order to clarify the essence of the industrial design, drawings of the general
view of the article, an ergonomic scheme, a confection scheme or a sample of the article; and
5) a document which certifies payment of the application fee.
(3) An application shall pertain to one industrial design. The application may include variants or
different samples of the industrial designs if the respective articles create a united whole, combined
unit or series, and are to be manufactured or utilized as one entity, however, not exceeding 20variants (samples) in one application.
(4) The request of the application shall be in the Latvian language, other materials and documents
may be submitted in English, French, Russian or German. If the application documents are submittedIP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 4
in English, French, Russian or German, then the applicant, within two months after the request of the
Patent Office or, in case of a dispute, after the request of the Patent Office Board of Appeal(hereinafter the Board of Appeal), or court shall submit a translation of these materials into the Latvian
language. These translations shall be considered a component part of the application. All further
processing of the application (correspondence) shall be in Latvian.
(5) If the application is filed through a representative, a document certifying the representative’s
authorization shall be attached. A foreign applicant, a natural person or legal entity who does not havea permanent place of residence or who does not own an enterprise in the territory of the Republic of
Latvia, may only file an application and maintain correspondence with the Patent Office through a
patent attorney registered with the Patent Office.
(6) If necessary, the application shall include other materials and documents determined by the
Patent Office. Formal requirements concerning application materials and documents shall bedetermined by the Patent Office.
(7) The request of the application shall be signed by the applicant or his representative.
Article 5. Priority of an industrial design
(1) The filing date of an industrial design (the priority of an industrial design) shall be determined by
the date when the Patent Office has received the application which conforms with the requirements ofArticle 4, Paragraph 2 of this Law.
(2) A right to priority (Convention priority) may also be claimed if the application for the same
industrial design has been filed earlier in another country party to the Paris Convention for theProtection of Industrial Property, or in any other country with which the Republic of Latvia hasconcluded an agreement on the recognition of the right to priority, however, with the provision that theapplication has been filed with the Patent Office within six months from the filing date of the firstapplication.
(3) The application may claim priority (exhibition priority) based on the display of the industrial
design in an official or officially recognized international exhibition in a country party to the ParisConvention for the Protection of Industrial Property, however, with the provision that the applicationhas been filed with the Patent Office within six months from the first day of the exhibition of theindustrial design.
(4) An applicant who wishes to take advantage of the right to Convention priority or exhibition priority
shall so indicate in the application. Documents verifying the right to priority shall be submittedsimultaneously with the application or shall be attached therein no later than within three months fromthe filing date of the application.
Article 6. Preliminary examination of an application
(1) The Patent Office shall examine whether the filed application conforms to the requirements
prescribed in Article 4 (excluding Paragraph 3) of this Law. The preliminary examination of anapplication shall be accomplished within three months from its filing date with the Patent Office.
(2) If the application does not conform or only partially conforms to the prescribed requirements, the
Patent Office shall notify the applicant, specifying the discrepancies and setting a term for providing a
reply. The term for preliminary examination is extended, accordingly.
(3) Until completion of the preliminary examination, the applicant shall have the right, on his own
initiative and by paying the appropriate fee, to make amendments in the application which do not alterthe essence of the industrial design. Such amendments shall also be made upon the request of thePatent Office. In both cases, the term for preliminary examination shall be extended, accordingly.
(4) Supplementary materials which alter the design’s essence may be filed by the applicant as an
independent application, the priority of which shall be determined on the date the additional materials
have been received by the Patent Office.
(5) If the application conforms to the prescribed requirements, the Patent Office shall send a notice
to the applicant on the completion of the preliminary examination (the acceptance of the application).
(6) If the applicant does not, within the set time limits, eliminate the indicated basic deficiencies of
the application, the application shall be considered abandoned and the applicant shall be notified
thereof, in writing.
(7) Within three months from the receipt date of such a notice, the applicant shall have the right,
upon payment of the set fee, to submit a substantiated appeal to the Board of Appeal. The Board ofAppeal shall review the appeal within three months and its decision shall be final.IP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 5
(8) The applicant may withdraw the entire application or a part thereof, relating to industrial designs
or variants included in the application at any time during the processing of the application, however,the fees already paid shall not be returned.
Article 7. Application examination and grant of patent
(1) The Patent Office shall examine whether the accepted application conforms with the
requirements of Article 2, Paragraph 1 of this Law and whether the provisions of Article 4, Paragraph
3 have been observed. The Patent Office shall not examine the application in relation to the
patentability of the industrial design in conformity with other provisions prescribed in this Law. Apatent shall be granted without a guarantee of its validity or value.
(2) If the results of the application examination are positive, then, within four months from the
acceptance date of the application, the Patent Office shall adopt a decision on the grant of patent andshall register the corresponding industrial design in the State Industrial Design Register. The Patent
Office shall simultaneously prepare a notice of the grant of patent of the industrial design for
publication in the official bulletin, therein including the biographical data of the patent and areproduction of the industrial design.
(3) The applicant shall have the right, upon payment of a set fee, to request a delay of the
publication on the grant of patent up to 18 months from the filing date of the application.
(4) The Patent Office shall issue the patent to the applicant upon payment of the patent fee. Upon
the applicant’s request, the payment of the fee and the issuance of the patent may be postponed.
(5) If the application does not conform to the requirements of Article 2, Paragraph 1 of this Law, the
Patent Office shall notify the applicant accordingly, specifying the discrepancies and setting a threemonth period for providing a reply. The Patent Office is entitled to request additional materials anddocuments necessary for the examination of the application, thereby indicating the term for theirsubmittal. The term for the application examination shall be extended, accordingly. The application
shall be rejected if the applicant fails to eliminate the discrepancies of the application or reply to the
requests of the Patent Office.
(6) If the materials of the application do not conform to the requirements of Article 4, Paragraph 3 of
this Law, the Patent Office shall provide the applicant with an opportunity, within three months, todivide the application into several independent applications in accordance with the above
requirements. If the applicant does not take advantage of this opportunity, the Patent Office shall
examine only those industrial designs (variants) which conform with the requirements prescribed inArticle 4, Paragraph 3. The Patent Office shall commence with the examination of the first industrialdesign (variant) mentioned in the documents of the application.
(7) Upon payment of a fee, a decision to reject the application (restrict the examination) may be
appealed against to the Board of Appeal within three months. If the applicant is not satisfied with the
decision of the Board of Appeal, within six months and in the procedure set by law, the applicant may
make an appeal to court.
Article 8. Opposition to the grant of patent
(1) Within six months from the date the notice on the grant of patent is published in the official
bulletin, any person, upon payment of the corresponding fee, shall have the right to submit to the
Board of Appeal a substantiated opposition against the grant of patent.
(2) An opposition may be submitted to the Board of Appeal if the requirements of Article 2,
Paragraphs 1 and 2, or Article 4 of this Law have not been observed.
(3) Oppositions against the grant of patent based on other requirements in this Law, shall be
reviewed by court.
(4) The Board of Appeal shall notify the applicant of each submitted opposition by sending him a
copy of the opposition. The applicant must submit a reply (explanations) to the Board of Appeal withinthree months.
(5) The Board of Appeal shall examine the opposition within three months from the receipt date of
the applicant’s reply. The applicant and the opponent shall be notified of the opposition procedure 30
days before the fixed date thereof. Both parties shall be entitled to participate in the opposition
procedure, to submit essential materials and to provide oral explanations.
(6) According to the results of the opposition examination, the Board of Appeal shall adopt a
decision either to fully or partially satisfy the opposition or to reject the opposition.IP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 6
(7) Rejection of the opposition does not prohibit the opponent from contesting the granted patent in
accordance with general provisions. A decision to satisfy the opposition may be, within six months,appealed in court in the procedure set by this Law.
Article 9. State Industrial Design Register
(1) The Patent Office shall maintain the State Industrial Design Register (hereinafter - the Register)
which contains essential information on the patent granted for the industrial design, on amendments
associated with the patent owner, on industrial design licenses, as well as other information
determined by the Patent Office.
(2) The Register is accessible for inspection by any person. For a set fee, the Patent Office shall
issue copies of entries in the Register.
Article 10. Extension and renewal of the set time limits
(1) The Patent Office may extend the time limits set in Article 6, Paragraphs 2, 3, 6 and 7, Article 7,
Paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 and Article 8, Paragraph 4 of this Law, but by no more than three months if thisLaw does not provide otherwise, if the request for extension of the term has been received by thePatent Office before the expiry of the corresponding term and the additional fee for term extensionhas been paid.
(2) The time limits mentioned in Paragraph 1 of this Article may be renewed if there has been a
substantiated reason for their non-observance, provided that such a request has been received by thePatent Office no later than two months after the expiry of the corresponding term (if this Law does notprovide otherwise) and the additional fee has been paid for the renewal of the term.
Article 11. Term of patent
(1) An industrial design patent is issued for five years calculated from the date the application is filed
with the Patent Office.
(2) Upon request of the patent owner, the term of the patent may be extended for the two following
five-year periods. Each such period begins with the end of the previous period.
(3) A request for extending the term of the patent, upon payment of the corresponding fee, shall be
submitted within the last year of the period of the patent validity. Upon payment of an additional fee,
the patent owner shall also have the right to submit a request for extension of the term within sixmonths after expiration of the period of validity.
Article 12. Lapse of patent
The patent shall lapse:
1) before the end of the period of validity, provided that the patent owner requests that of the Patent
Office;
2) six months after the end of the first or second term of the patent, if the fee for the extension of the
term has not been paid within the time period prescribed in Article 11 of this Law; and
3) if the patent is recognized as null and void in accordance with Article 13 of this Law.
Article 13. Invalidation of a patent
The industrial design patent, during the period of its validity, can be fully or partially declared as null
and void through court proceedings, if:
1) the patent is issued by violating the requirements of the patentability of industrial design;
2) the application’s initial materials do not completely disclose the industrial design’s (article’s)
external appearance; or
3) the patent is granted to a person who is not entitled to such rights.
Article 14. Fees
Fees shall be paid for filing an industrial design application, as well as for other legally significant
actions associated with the examination of the application and the legal protection of the industrialdesign. Types and amounts of fees shall be determined by the Council of Ministers and their paymentprocedure shall be determined by the Director of the Patent Office.IP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 7
Chapter Three
Rights derived from industrial design patents
Article 15. Content and scope of legal protection of patented industrial designs
(1) The industrial design patent confirms authorship, priority of an industrial design and exclusive
rights to its use.
(2) The scope of protection derived from the patent shall be determined by the external appearance
of the industrial design, as a whole, which shall be reflected in the reproductions included in the
application and, if necessary, in the sample of the article. The description of the industrial design shallserve only as an explanation of its characteristics and distinctive features.
Article 16. Exclusive rights to industrial design use
(1) Exclusive rights to industrial design use shall belong to the patent owner.
(2) Exclusive rights to industrial design use allow the patent owner to use the industrial design
according to his own discretion as far as this use does not violate the rights of other patent owners, aswell as to forbid the utilization of industrial design to other persons in cases which contradict this Law.No one is permitted to use the patented industrial design without the consent of the patent owner.
(3) Exclusive rights shall take effect on the date the patent is granted.
(4) If several persons have been issued a joint patent and a mutual agreement has not been
concluded among them on the use of the industrial design, then each of these persons shall have theright to use the industrial design according to his own discretion, except on matters of issuing licencesand transferring patent rights to other persons. A licence on the use of an industrial design may begranted to a third person only upon the agreement of all patent owners or upon a court decision.
(5) The manufacture, use, offering for sale of the articles in which the patented industrial design is
used, or their storage, import or export from Latvia for the abovementioned purposes, as well as other
actions of introducing such articles into economic circulation without the consent of the patent ownershall be considered as an infringement of the rights of the patent owner.
(6) The industrial design patent owners and the owners of the right to use the industrial design shall
be entitled to mark articles in which the patented industrial design is used, with a warning sign
consisting of the encircled letter "D" or specific wording intended to warn of the industrial design
protection. Persons deceiving the public by using this type of warning sign in relation to articles whichare not protected by industrial design patents shall be held responsible in accordance with law.
Article 17. Activities not considered as an infringement of exclusive rights
The following shall not be considered as an infringement of exclusive rights to industrial design use:
1) the use of a patented industrial design in the construction of or in the course of the operation of
any foreign means of transport which temporarily or accidentally enters the territory, waters orairspace of the Republic of Latvia, provided that the industrial design is only used if it is necessaryfor the means of transport;
2) conducting scientific research or experiments with the aid of articles which use patented industrial
designs and the testing of such articles;
3) the use of articles in which patented industrial designs are used for personal needs without a
commercial purpose; or
4) the use of articles which use patented industrial designs if these articles are introduced into
economic circulation with permission ífrom the patent owner or through any other legal channels.
Article 18. Rights of prior use
(1) Natural persons and legal entities who, before the priority date of a patented industrial design
and independently from the patented industrial design author (designer), have, in the territory ofLatvia, created and in good faith used the design of an article essentially similar to patented industrial
design, or have completed all the preparatory work necessary for this use, retain the right for the
further use (rights of prior use) of the design of this article without compensating the patent owner andwithout expanding the scope of use.
(2) Rights of prior use may be transferred to another person only together with the works in which
this design has been applied or in which all the preparatory work necessary for its use have beencompleted.IP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 8
Article 19. Transfer of patent rights and rights derived from them to other persons
(1) The right to a patent, and the right to use the industrial design derived from the patent, may be
transferred to another natural person or legal entity in accordance with a contract. Upon payment of a
fee, the Patent Office shall register the contract. The contract shall not be valid if it is not registered.
(2) The right to file an application and be granted a patent, the exclusive right to use an industrial
design, as well as the rights for compensation and income from the use of an industrial design, shallbe inherited in the procedure set by civil legislation.
Article 20. Personal rights of a designer
(1) A person, as a result of whose creative work an industrial design has been created, shall be
recognized as the designer. If the industrial design has been created as a result of the joint creativework of several persons, all of them shall be recognized as designers.
(2) Persons, who have rendered assistance in creating the industrial design or in acquiring rights to
the industrial design, but have not contributed to the creation of the design with their personal creativework, shall not be recognized as designers.
(3) The designer, irrespective of who the patent owner is, shall have personal rights which cannot be
transferred to another person and cannot be inherited. Those rights are the following:1) the right to authorship;
2) the right to be mentioned as the designer in the industrial design patent and in any other official
publication concerning this industrial design and its patent; and
3) if the designer so desires, the right to request that he not be mentioned as the designer in the
patent or in any other publication concerning the patent.
(4) In the event that the rights prescribed in Paragraph 3 of this Article are infringed, they may be
protected in court in the same procedure as copyrights.
(5) The designer, the author of the employee industrial design, shall have the right to prove that his
industrial design is used by the patent owner, its licensee or the patent infringer. The designer shallalso retain this right if the employer has purposely avoided filing an application for the industrialdesign which the employee has created.
Chapter Four
Industrial design use
Article 21. Industrial design use
(1) Industrial design use is the introduction into economic circulation of an article which has been
manufactured in accordance with a patented industrial design.
(2) An article is acknowledged as manufactured according to a patented industrial design if, on the
whole, it reproduces the external appearance of the patented industrial design. The fact that separateelements of the article differ from the patented industrial design, does not free the industrial designuser, the patent owner, from payment of compensation to the designer or the licensee from
obligations provided for in the license contract and does not free other persons from responsibility for
the possible infringement of exclusive rights, if the article, on the whole, is essentially similar to theindustrial design.
Article 22. License and license contract
(1) A patent owner (licensor) may transfer his right to use the industrial design to another person
(licensee) on the grounds of a license contract. In accordance with the type of license (an exclusive ornon-exclusive license) and with the contract, the licensor and licensee shall undertake the prescribedrights and obligations.
(2) In case of an exclusive license, the licensee acquires exclusive rights to use the industrial design
in accordance with the stipulations set in the contract and the licensor shall maintain the right to utilize
the industrial design in so far as these rights have not passed to the licensee.
(3) In case of a non-exclusive license, the licensor, in granting the right to use the industrial design
to another person, shall maintain the right to personally use this industrial design, as well as to grantthe license concerning the same industrial design to a third party.IP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 9
(4) For the purpose of official publication of the Patent Office, the patent owner shall have the right
to inform the Patent Office of his readiness to grant the right to use an industrial design to anyinterested party (license of right). This notification may also be submitted by the industrial design
applicant simultaneously with the filing of the application or during the period of its examination. From
the moment this notification is submitted to the Patent Office, the prescribed fees for thecorresponding actions shall be reduced by 50 percent. If the license of right is revoked, the mentionedfees must be paid in full. If the interested parties do not come to an agreement on the terms of thelicense of right, these terms shall be determined by court.
(5) The license contract shall take effect after it has been registered with the Patent Office. A fee
shall be paid for the registration of a license.
Chapter Five
Protection of the rights of designers and patent owners
Article 23. Review of disputes associated with industrial designs
(1) Disputes associated with industrial designs are reviewed by court in the procedure set by civil
legislation. Labour disputes between the designer and the employer shall be reviewed in accordancewith the procedure set by labour legislation.
(2) The following disputes shall be under the jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of Latvia:
1) industrial design authorship and other personal rights of designers;2) right to a patent;3) infringement of the exclusive and property rights of patent owners;4) conclusion and execution of the contracts on industrial design use, including contracts on the use
of the industrial design by the employer in cases when the patent owner is the employee;
5) compensation associated with the creation and use of the industrial design;
6) the distribution of compensation among designers;7) rights of prior use; and8) invalidation of a patent.
(3) Only the regional court shall be entitled to review the following disputes mentioned in Paragraph
2 of this Article:
1) right to a patent, restoration of patent rights;2) invalidation of a patent.
(4) Only the regional court as the Court of First Instance shall be entitled to review the following
disputes:1) authorship of industrial designs;
2) ascertainment of a patent infringement, liability associated with a patent infringement protective
measures against a patent infringement;
3) rights of prior use; and4) the fulfillment of license contracts.
(5) The jurisdiction of other disputes shall be determined by the general regulations on the
jurisdiction of courts in reviewing disputes, if not otherwise set by law.
Article 24. Liability for infringement of the rights of designers
Criminal responsibility shall be applicable in accordance with law for the misappropriation of
authorship, non-voluntary renunciation of authorship, compulsion to co-authorship and the disclosureof the essence of the industrial design without the designer’s consent, before the designer or his legal
successor, or the Patent Office, has published the application materials.
Article 25. Liability for infringement of the rights of patent owners
(1) Any use of an industrial design which contradicts this Law shall be considered a patent
infringement.
(2) At the patent owner’s request, a patent infringement must be discontinued, thereby
compensating the owner for any losses that have arisen thereof.
(3) Depending on the nature and effects of the infringement, the court may simultaneously, together
with having the infringer compensate for losses, impose a fine on the infringer, as well as may orderthe confiscation, destruction, or detainment of the illegal articles and the equipment used in theirIP/N/1/LVA/D/1
Page 10
manufacture, and demand that they be sold at cost to the patent owner or that they be transferred to
use for charitable purposes.
Article 26. An official person’s responsibility for the violation of provisions of industrial design
legislation
Official persons, as well as Patent Office employees, in accordance with the procedure prescribed
in the Code of Administrative Minor Offences shall be held administratively responsible for unfair or
careless performance of their duties during the execution of an industrial design application, its
examination and the validity period of the patent.
Chapter Six
International agreements
Article 27. International agreements
If international agreements, to which the Republic of Latvia is a party provide for provisions which
differ from those in this Law, the provisions of the international agreements shall apply.
Chairman, Supreme Council Republic of Latvia A.Gorbunovs
Secretary, Supreme Council Republic of Latvia I.DaudišsRiga, May 4, 1993
The authenticity of the translation is confirmed by Secretary of the Supreme Council of the Republic of
Latvia. For purposes of interpretation, the original Latvian text is to be regarded as official.
I.Daudišs
__________