RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/309/Add.1
28 September 2001
(01-4646)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal: English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Response from Bahrain to a question posed by Canada
Addendum
By means of a communication from the delegation of Bahrain dated 18 September 2001, the
Secretariat has received the following response to a question posed by Canada, as circulated in
document IP/C/W/261/Add.1.1
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3. We understand that draft intellectual property legislation is pending.
(a) When is such legislation likely to be effectively implemented?
The draft laws are likely to be enacted within the next four to six months. This is dependent
on the legislative workload during the next few months.  However, it should be pointed out that
claims may be based on the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement even without the enactment of the
draft laws as the TRIPS Agreement forms part of the national legislation as Bahrain ratified the latter
in 1994 by Legislative Decree No. 7
(b) What are the key improvements introduced by such draft legislation in respect of
TRIPS obligations?
The draft legislation will introduce the following eight dedicated laws :
 1. Trademarks
 2. Patents and Utility Models
 3. Plant Varieties
 4. Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
 5. Industrial Designs
 6. Geographical Indications
 7. Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits
 8. Trade Secrets
                                                     
1 Bahrain's responses to questions 1 and 2 posed by Canada have been circulated in document
IP/C/W/309.IP/C/W/309/Add.1
Page 2
The following are the key improvements introduced by the draft legislation in respect of
TRIPS obligations (reference should be made to the text of the draft legislation for a full and complete
account of the key improvements) :
1. Trademarks
The draft Law provides the protection required under Article 16 of the TRIPS Agreement to
well-known marks for both goods and services.  The registration will be for ten years instead of seven
years (renewable for similar periods indefinitely as provided in the existing law).
The draft Law also introduces border measures for the protection of trademarks as required
under Section 4 of the TRIPS Agreement and enhances the provisions for provisional measures to be
in line with Article 50 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The draft Law also enhances the provisions for
criminal sanctions to be fully in line with Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement and increases thepenalties available under the existing Law.
2. Patents
The draft Law will supersede the existing Patents and Industrial Designs Law which was
enacted in 1955.  It can be said that the draft Law will ensure the availability of a modern and
comprehensive Law, for the protection of patents , in line with the requirements of the TRIPSAgreement.  The draft Law defines patentability in detail and outlines certain exclusions which do not
go beyond those allowed under paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The rights
of the patent owner are enhanced in the draft Law to be in line with Article 28 of the TRIPS
Agreement.
The draft Law introduces a non-voluntary licensing regime within the limitations and the
safeguards provided under Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The draft Law provides for a term of protection of 20 years and introduces the principle of the
reversal of the burden of proof as required under Article 34 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The draft Law
also introduces the concept of provisional measures with the particulars required under Article 50 ofthe TRIPS Agreement.
3. Plant Varieties
The draft Law introduces a new dedicated regime which is not available under the current
legislation.  The draft Law is based on the UPOV Model Law .
4. Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
The draft Law will revamp the existing Law by introducing protection to neighbouring rights
and increasing the existing term of protection to be in line with Articles 12 and 14 of the TRIPS
Agreement.  The draft Law ensures that the limitations and exceptions do not go beyond those
allowed under the TRIPS Agreement and specifically states that these should not unreasonably
prejudice the legitimate interests of the right holder. The draft Law also ensures that computerprograms and databases are provided the protection required under the TRIPS Agreement.
Moreover, the draft Law introduces the principle of rental rights as required under Article 11
of the TRIPS Agreement.  The draft Law also addresses the issue of retroactive protection as required
under Article 14.6 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The draft Law also introduces border measures for the protection of copyright as required
under Section 4 of the TRIPS Agreement and enhances the provisions for provisional measures to beIP/C/W/309/Add.1
Page 3
in line with Article 50 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The draft Law also enhances the provisions for
criminal sanctions to be fully in line with Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement and increases the
penalties available under the existing Law.
5. Industrial Designs
The draft Law will supersede the existing Patents and Industrial Designs Law which was
enacted in 1955.  It can be said that the draft Law will ensure the availability of a modern and
comprehensive Law for the protection of industrial designs in line with the requirements of the TRIPS
Agreement .
The draft Law revamps the definition of industrial designs to be in line with Article 25.1 of
the TRIPS Agreement and introduces the possibility of multi-applications for registration, which
should be useful for textile designs.
The draft Law revamps and enhances the scope of protection provided to Industrial designs to
be in line with the requirements of Article 36 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The draft Law also introduces
the concept of provisional measures with the particulars required under Article 50 of the TRIPS
Agreement.
6. Geographical Indications
The draft Law incorporates all the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement as the existing
legislation on this matter is only Article 61 of the Law of Commerce which prohibits the unlawful use
of a geographical indication and consider such unlawful use as a form of unfair competition.
7. Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits
The draft Law will provide a new legislation dedi cated to the protection of layout-designs of
integrated circuits and fully incorporates Articles 35 to 38 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The existing
legislation does not specifically address layout-designs of integrated circuits.
8. Trade Secrets
The draft Law will provide a new piece of legislation dedicated to the protection of trade
secrets and incorporates the provisions of Article 39 of the TRIPS Agreement, including tests and datasubmitted to government authorities for obtaining marketing approval of pharmaceutical or of
agricultural products which utilize new chemical entities.
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