WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
3 March 2004 
 (04-0960) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER 
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
ESTONIA 
   The present document reproduces the text
1 of the Geographical Indications Protection Act, as 
notified by Estonia under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/EST/1/Add.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 
 
ESTONIE 
 
  Le présent document contient le texte
1 de la Loi sur la protection des indications 
géographiques, notifiée par l'Estonie au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/EST/1/Add.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 
 
ESTONIA 
 
 
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto
1 de la Ley de Protección de las Indicaciones 
Geográficas, notificado por Estonia en virtud del párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el 
documento IP/N/1/EST/1/Add.1). 
                                                      
 1 In English only. The text in the original language is available for consultation by interested 
Delegations at the WTO Secretariat./En anglais seulemen t.  Les délégations intéressées peuvent consulter le 
texte dans sa langue d'origine, au Secrétariat de l'OM C./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas 
podrán consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en su idioma original. IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION PROTECTION ACT 
 
Passed on 15 December 1999 
Entered into force 10 January 2000 
(RT I 1999, 102, 907) 
 
Chapter 1 
 
GENERAL PROVISIONS  
§ 1. Scope of application of Act 
 This Act regulates the legal protection of geogra phical indications used to identify natural, 
agricultural, handicraft or industrial goods, and services.  
§ 2. Equality of rights and obligations of na tural and legal persons of the Republic of 
Estonia and of foreign states  The rights and obligations prescribed in legislati on regulating the legal protection of geographical 
indications apply equally to natural and legal persons  of the Republic of Estonia and of foreign states 
(hereinafter persons), considering rest rictions provided for in this Act. 
 
§ 3. Geographical indication and geographical area  (1) Geographical indication means:  
1) the name of or a reference to a geographical area which indicates the specific geographical origin 
of a good or service if the given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good or service so 
identified is essentially attributable to the geogr aphical area where the good is produced, processed or 
prepared or where the service is rendered;  2) other word, phrase or symbol that, resulting from long-term and consistent use, has become 
essentially attributable to the geographical area wher e the good is produced, processed or prepared or 
where the service is rendered.  (2) For the purposes of this Act, a geographical area means the territory of a state, or a particular 
region or locality in that territory. The geogra phical area does not have to coincide with the 
administrative unit or settlement unit bearing the same name. The name of the geographical area 
serving as a geographical indication does not have to co incide with the current official name of that 
geographical area.  § 4. Form of geographical indication 
 
(1) A geographical indication may be in figurative or word form.  (2) A geographical indication in word form may be a word or a phrase which is the name of a 
geographical area, includes it or refers to it.  
(3) A geographical indication in figurative form ma y be a cartographic representation or symbol of a 
geographical area referring to a particular geographical area.   IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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Chapter 2 
 
BASES FOR LEGAL PROTECTION OF  GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS 
 
§ 5. Provision of legal protection to geographical indication  (1) Geographical indications shall be  granted legal protection by registration in the state register of 
geographical indications (hereinafter register) pursu ant to the procedure provided for in this Act. 
 
(2) Legal protection to geographical indications sha ll be granted by exercising state supervision and 
applying enforcement powers of the state on the b ases and pursuant to the procedure provided for in 
this Act.  
§ 6. Extent of legal protecti on of geographical indications 
 The extent of legal protection of a geographical i ndication shall be determined on the basis of the 
geographical indication registration (hereinafter registration) data. 
 § 7. Term of legal protection of geographical indications 
 
Legal protection of geographical indications is perpetual.  § 8. Indications not subject to legal protection  
Legal protection is not granted to an indication which: 
 1) misleads the public as to the geographical origin of the good or service;  2) identifies a good or service where the given quality,  reputation or other characteristic of the good or 
service is not essentially attributable to the geographical origin of the good or service; 
 
3) although literally true as to the geographical origin of the good or service, may falsely represent to the public that the good or service originates in another geographical area;  4) is contrary to public order or morality; 
 
5) has lost its original meaning of a geographical  origin and become a generic name of a good or 
service and is being used to indicate the kind, quality, variety or other quality or characteristic of a good or service;  6) includes the name of an animal breed or plant variety or is misleadingly similar to it; 
 
7) has not been granted legal protection in the coun try of origin or the legal protection of which has 
been terminated in the country of origin, or  which has fallen into disuse in that country. 
 § 9. Right to apply for registration of geographical indication 
 
(1) The right to apply for the registration of a geographical indication is vested in:  1) a person who acts as the producer, processor or preparer of the good identified with the indication, or as the renderer of the service in th e geographical area specified in the indication; IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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2) an association of consumers or persons referred to  in clause 1 of this subsection, regardless of its 
location or legal form;  3) a competent administrative agency of the country of origin of the good or service. 
 
(2) The person referred to in subsection 1 of this  section may only apply for the registration of an 
indication which meets the requirements prescibed fo r geographical indications and complies with the 
provisions of § 4 of this Act and which is not excluded from protection under § 8 of this Act. 
 
(3) The list of Estonian administrative agencies competent for applying for the registration of 
geographical indications is approved by  the Government of the Republic. 
 § 10. User of geographical indication  
A registered geographical indication may be used  for identifying goods or services by a person who 
acts as the producer, processor or preparer of the goo d specified in the registration or as the renderer 
of the service in the geographical area specified in  the registration, and whose good or service has all 
the qualities, reputation or other characteristics specified in the registration.  § 11. Unlawful use of geographical indication 
 
(1) The following shall be prohibited:  1) the use of a geographical indication or a mislea dingly similar indication for identifying goods or 
services by a person who does not act as the producer , processor or preparer of the good specified in 
the registration or as the renderer of the service in the geographical area specified in the registration; 
 2) the use of a geographical indication or a mislea dingly similar indication for identifying goods or 
services if the good or service lacks any quality, reput ation or other characteristic specified in the 
registration;  
3) the use of a geographical indication or a mislea dingly similar indication for identifying goods or 
services which are not covered by the registration bu t which are of the same kind than the goods and 
services covered by the registration;  4) the use of a geographical indication or a mislead ingly similar indication for identifying other goods 
or services where it may constitute the use of the reputation of the geographical indication in bad 
faith;  5) the use of any misleading information about the origin, nature or basic characteristics of the good 
or service on the inner or outer packaging, advertis ing materials or relevant documents of the good or 
service; 
 
6) the use of an indication which, although literally true as to the geographical origin of the good or 
service, may falsely represent to the public that the good or service orig inates in another area, even if 
the true origin is indicated;  
7) other transactions which may mislead the public as to the true origin of the good or service. 
 (2) The prohibition provided for in subsection 1 of this Section shall not extend to the use in the 
course of trade of a person's trade name, except wher e such name is used in a manner as to mislead 
the public.  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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(3) Trading with a good which is unlawfully identifie d with a registered geographical indication shall 
be prohibited, regardless of whether the distributor , vendor or consumer has been notified of the said 
specification.  
§ 12. Right of prior use of trademark containing geographical indication 
 (1) A trademark which has been filed for registrati on or registered in good faith for goods which are 
identical or of the same kind before the date of  entering into force of this Act or before the 
geographical indication has been granted protection in  its country of origin shall not be declared 
invalid, shall not be refused registration or its u se shall not be prohibited for the reason that the 
trademark contains a registered geographical indi cation or is misleadingl y similar to it, unless 
otherwise specified in this Act.  (2) The trademark is filed for registration or regist ered in good faith if the person having applied for 
the registration of or registered the trademark did not know nor should he have known that the 
indication in question identifies the good or service as originating in a specific geographical area and a given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to the geographical origin 
of the good or service.  § 13. Warning notice 
 
The user of a registered geographical indication may add to the indication a warning notice "Registreeritud geograafiline tähis" ("Registered ge ographical indication") or an abbreviation "G". 
  Chapter 3 
 
SPECIFICATIONS OF LEGAL PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS FOR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES  § 14. Homonymous geographical indications for wines 
 
(1) For the purposes of this Act, homonymous geographical indications for wines (hereinafter homonymous indications) mean the identical or misl eadingly similar word or figurative indications 
which are used for identifying different wines.  
(2) Homonymous indications in word form may have: 
 1) the same pronounciation and spelling;  2) the same pronounciation but different spelling;  
3) different pronounciation but the same spelling. 
 § 15. Criteria for differentiating homonymous indications  Upon contestation, the following shall be take n into account in differentiating homonymous 
indications from each other: 
 1) the existence of differentiating information and its adequacy on the label of wine with a 
homonymous indication;  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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 2) the official recognition of the homonymous indication in its country of origin; 
 3) the duration of use of the homonymous indication;  4) the good faith of the use of the homonymous indication. 
 
§ 16. Provision of legal protecti on to homonymous indications 
 Legal protection shall be accorded to each homonymous indication independently. 
§ 17. Stipulation upon using homonymous indications 
 
The user of a homonymous indication shall be oblig ed to provide the wine label with information 
sufficient to differentiate one homonymous indica tion from another with the purpose of avoiding 
misleading the consumers.  
§ 18. Unlawful use of registered geographical indication for identifying alcoholic 
beverage  In addition to the provisions of subsection 11(1) and (3) of this Act, a registered geographical 
indication shall not be used for identifying alcoholic  beverage not originatin g in the geographical area 
indicated by the geographical indication in questio n, including cases where the true origin of the 
alcoholic beverage is indicated or  the geographical indication is used in translation or accompanied by 
expressions such as "kind", "type", "style", "imitation" or the like.  § 19. Trademark containing geographical indi cation misleading as to geographical origin 
of alcoholic beverage 
 
Any interested person may request the declaration of invalid of a trademark registered for identifying alcoholic beverage before the date of entering into force of this Act if the trademark 
contains a registered geographical indication or is misleadingly similar to it and the alcoholic 
beverage identified by the trademar k in question does not originate in the geographical area indicated 
by the geographical indication. 
 
§ 20. Right of prior use of geographical  indications of alcoholic beverage 
 Estonian citizen or any person who has permanen t residence or location in Estonia and who has 
consistently and in good faith u sed a geographical indication registered for identifying alcoholic 
beverage before 15 April 1994 or used  it consistently for not less than  10 years before the said date 
may continue to use the indication in the same exte nt for goods or services which are identical or of 
the same kind.   
Chapter 4 
 
REGISTRATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION  § 21. Register  
(1) The register is established and the statutes for maintenance of the register are approved by the 
Government of the Republic.  (2) The Ministry of Economic Affairs is the chief pr ocessor of the register and the Patent Office is the 
authorised processor of the register.  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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(3) The Patent Office processes applications for re gistration of geographical indication (hereinafter 
registration application), makes deci sions and entries in the register. 
 (4) The language of the register is Estonian. Fo reign language documents shall be submitted to the 
register together with an Estonian translation.  
 § 22. Registry entry  (1) A registry entry is an entry of  registration application processing, an entry of registration data, an 
entry to amend a registration data entry and a deletion of a registration entry. 
 (2) A registry entry becomes valid on the date of making the entry.  (3) Notices of entries of registration data, entries to  amend a registration data entry and deletions of a 
registration entry are published in the official gazette of the Patent Office. 
 (4) A state fee is paid for entry to amend a registration data entry.  § 23. Registration  
(1) A registration is made on the basis of a decision to register the geographical indication. 
 (2) Registrations are numbered in the order in wh ich the geographical indications are registered. 
 (3) A registration becomes valid re troactivly from the filing date of  the registration application. 
 
(4) Registration data are:  1) the registration number;  2) the date of making the entry of registration data; 
 
3) the reproduction of the geographical indication;  4) the list of goods and services which are id entified with the geographical indication; 
 
5) the identification of the geographical area; 
 6) the description showing the link of a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of a good or 
service with the geographical origin of the good or service and identifying the geographical area 
(hereinafter description);  
7) the short summary of the description; 
 8) the data of the protection of the geographical indi cation in its country of origin or the data of the 
competent agency of the country of origin who has certified the link of a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of a good or service with the geographical origin of the good or service, and the 
data of the competent agency of the country of orig in who has certified the right of the applicant for 
registration of geographical indication (hereinafter a pplicant) to apply for registration of geographical 
indication pursuant to the provisions of Section 9(1) of this Act;  9) the name and address of residence or location of the applicant; IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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10) if the applicant has a representative, the name of the representative of the applicant; 
 11) the registration application number;  
12) the filing date of the registration application. 
 § 24. Registration application  (1) In one registration application, the applicant may apply for the registration of only one 
geographical indication. 
 (2) A registration application shall comprise the following documents:  1) a request for the registration of a geographical indication; 
 
2) a description;  3) a certificate of the protection of the geographical indication in its country of origin, or a certificate issued by the competent agency of the country of origin certifying the link of the given quality, 
reputation or other characteristic of the good or service with the geographical origin of the good or 
service, and a certificate issued by the competent agen cy of the country of origin of the right of the 
applicant to apply for registration of geographical i ndication pursuant to the provisions of Section 9(1) 
of this Act;  4) a document certifying payment of the state fee; 
 
5) an authorization if the applicant has a representative.  (3) The list of Estonian agencies competent to issu e a certificate specified in clause 3 of subsection 2 
of this section and the procedure for issuing certifi cates is established by the Government of the 
Republic. 
 
(4) The formal requirements of registration application documents are established by the Minister of Economic Affairs. § 25. Request for registration of geographical indication  
A request for the registration of a geographical indication shall set out: 
 1) a statement requesting the registration of a geographical indication;  2) a reproduction of the geographical indication;  
3) the name and address of residence or location of the applicant and other contact information; 
 4) information about the possession of the right to apply for the registration of the geographical indication pursuant to the provisions of subsection 9(1) of this Act;  
5) a short summary of the description which shall comply with the contents of the description; 
 6) the name of the representative if  the applicant has a representative; 
 7) the signature of the applicant or representative.  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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§ 26. Description  (1) A description shall set out:  
1) the name of the good or service; 
 2) features characterising the good (physical, chemical, microbiological, organoleptic or other qualities according to the particular good);  
3) features characterising the service or the method of producing the good; 
 4) identification of the geographical area;  5) details certifying the link of a given quality, re putation or other characteristic of the good or service 
with the geographical origin. 
 (2) The description may contain features characterisi ng the raw material, information about the use of 
the warning notice and other details which th e applicant considers necessary to submit. 
 (3) The description shall give a clear and comple te depiction of the link of the given quality, 
reputation or other characteristic of the good or service with the geographical origin of the good or 
service.  (4) If the same geographical indication is used to id entify goods or services with different features, the 
description shall be submitted for each good or service separately. 
 
§ 27. Filing of registration application  (1) Registration applications are filed with the Patent  Office by hand delivery, by post or by telefax. 
 (2) The original documents of regist ration applications filed by telefa x shall be filed within one month 
after the date of receipt of the telefax. 
 (3) The document certifying payment of the state f ee shall be submitted within one month after the 
date of receipt of the registra tion application at the latest. 
 
(4) The authorization shall be submitted within two months after the date of receipt of the 
registration application at the latest.  § 28. Representation of applicant  (1) Procedures related to the registration of the geographical indication and with maintaining the 
registration shall be performed by an applicant or an Estonian patent attorney authorised by the 
applicant (hereinafter patent attorney).  (2) If the residence or location of the applicant is  outside the Republic of Estonia, the registration 
application shall be filed by the applicant or the patent attorney. After the filing of the registration 
application, procedures related to the registration or maintenance of the ge ographical indication shall 
be performed only by a patent attorney authorised by the applicant.  (3) If several applicants file a joint registration app lication, they shall appoint a patent attorney or 
choose a representative from among themselves (h ereinafter common representative), whose IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
Page 10  
 
 residence or location is in the Republic of Est onia, to perform any procedures related to the 
registration or maintenance of the geographical indication.  (4) An authorization shall set out the following:  
1) the name and address of residence or location of the applicant; 
 2) in the case of a patent attorney, the give n name and surname of the patent attorney; 
 3) in the case of a common representative, the name  and address of residence or location of the 
representative; 
 4) the scope of the authority;  5) the right to transfer the authority if the pers on represented authorizes the patent attorney or the 
representative to transfer the authority; 
 6) the term of the authority;  7) the signature of the person represented;  
8) the place and date of issue of the authorization. 
 § 29. Notation of receipt  (1) Every document of the received registration appli cation shall be marked with a notation of receipt 
which shall set out the date of receipt of the re gistration application and the sequence number of the 
registration application (hereinafter  registration application number). 
 (2) If a registration application is filed by post or by  telefax, the date of receipt of the registration 
application is deemed to be the true date of receipt of the application. 
 
§ 30. Acceptance of registration application for processing 
 (1) The filing date of a registration application sha ll be deemed to be the date of receipt of the 
registration application if at least the following documents are filed:  
1) a statement requesting the registration of a geographical indication; 
 2) a reproduction of the geographical indication;  3) a list of goods and services which are id entified by the geographical indication; 
 
4) the identification of the geographical area; 
 5) the name and address of the residence or location of the applicant and other contact 
information.  
(2) A filed registration application shall be accep ted for processing if the following documents have 
been filed: document certifying payment of the state fee, authorization if it is required, and original 
documents if the registration app lication is filed by telefax. 
 § 31. Refusal to accept registra tion application for processing  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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A decision shall be made to refuse to accept a regi stration application for processing and the state fee 
shall be refunded if:  1) the document certifying payment of the state fee is not filed within one month after the date of 
receipt of the registration application; 
 2) an authorization is requested and it is not filed within two months after the date of receipt of the 
registration application;  
3) the registration application has been sent by tele fax and the original documents are not filed within 
one month after the date of receipt of the telefax.  § 32. Examining of registration application  
(1) During processing, the compliance of the geogra phical indication with the provisions of clauses 1 
to 3 and 5 to 7 of § 8 of this Act or the correctness of the facts presented in the registration application shall not be examined.  (2) The applicant shall be notified in writing of form al or substantive deficiencies of the registration 
application or of any other circumstances which hind er the processing and a term of two months shall 
be established for elimination of the deficien cies or provision of relevant explanations. 
 (3) On the basis of a request from the applicant,  the term for elimination of deficiencies in a 
registration application or for provision of explan ations shall be extended by up to six months from 
the beginning of the term specified in subsection 2 of this section. The request with the document 
certifying payment of the state fee shall be filed be fore the end of the term established in subsection 2 
of this section.  § 33. Correction and supplementati on of registration application 
 An applicant may correct and supplement a regist ration application during processing provided that 
no alterations are made to the reproduction of the geographical indication which was presented in the 
registration application on the filing date of the re gistration application and the identification of the 
geographic area or the list of goods or services is not extended.  § 34. Withdrawal of registration application 
 
(1) An applicant may withdraw a registra tion application during processing by filing a 
corresponding written request. A registration applicati on is deemed to be withdrawn upon receipt of it 
by the Patent Office.  (2) A registration application is deemed to be wi thdrawn if the applicant has failed to eliminate 
deficiencies in the registration application or to  provide explanations by the end of the term 
established pursuant to subsections 32(2) and (3) of this Act.  § 35. Termination of processing  
If a registration application is withdrawn or deem ed to be withdrawn, a decision is made on the 
termination of processing. § 36. Restoration of processing of registration application  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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 Terminated processing shall be restored on the basi s of a decision of the Intellectual Property Board 
of Appeal (hereinafter Board of Appeal) or court order.  § 37. Decision to register geographical indication  
If a registration application complies with the requir ements of §§ 4, 24, 25 and 26(1) and (4) of this 
Act and is not contrary to public order or morality, a decision shall be made without delay to register 
the geographical indication.  § 38. Decision to refuse registration of geographical indication 
 
If a registration application does not comply with an y of the requirements provided for in §§ 4, 24, 25 
and 26(1) and (4) of this Act or is contrary to public order or morality, a decision shall be made 
without delay to refuse registration of the geographical indication.  
§ 39. Decision and appeal against decision 
 (1) Decisions referred to in §§ 31, 35, 37 and 38 of this Act shall set out:  1) the date of the decision;  
2) the grounds for the decision; 
 3) the conclusion;  4) information on the procedure and term for appeal against the decision; 
 
5) the name and signature of the official who makes the decision.  (2) Decisions referred to in §§ 31, 35, 37 and 38 of this Act enter into force on the date on which they 
are made.  
(3) The applicant shall be notified in writing of the d ecisions referred to in §§ 31, 35, 37 and 38 of this 
Act.  (4) An applicant may appeal against decisions referre d to in §§ 31, 35, 37 and 38 of this Act pursuant 
to procedure prescribed in §§ 41 to 54 of Industr ial Design Protection Act (R T I 1997, 87, 1466; 1998, 
108/109, 1783). 
 § 40. Access to and release of data from register  (1) During processing, only the following informa tion shall be released: registration application 
number, filing date, reproduction of  geographical indication, definition of geographical area, list of 
goods or services, name of the applicant and name  of the representative of the applicant.  
 (2) After a decision is made on the registration of geographical indication, in formation and documents 
pertaining to the geographical indication are public.  
(3) A state fee is paid for the rel ease of information from the register with the exception of release of 
information to supervisory agencies, Board of Appeal or to a court.  § 41. Certificate of registration of geographical indication   IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
 Page 13 
 
 
 (1) A certificate of registration of a geographical indication (hereinafter certificate) is a document 
which certifies the registration.  (2) Certificates are issued in the name of the Republic of Estonia.  
(3) The registration number is also the certificate number. 
 (4) The formal requirements for and the procedure fo r completing of certificates are established by the 
Minister of Economic Affairs.  
§ 42. Issue of certificate 
 (1) After making a registration, the Patent Office issues a certificate to the applicant within ten 
working days.  
(2) After registration data is ame nded, the Patent Office issues to the applicant an annex to the 
certificate within one month.   
Chapter 5 
 CONTESTATION AND PROTECTION OF RIGHTS 
 § 43. Contestation of registration  (1) Any interested person or supervisory agency who considers that the applicant, pursuant to 
subsection 9(1) of this Act, had no right to file  a registration application, may submit a petition in 
court against the applicant, his successor or legal successor to declare the registration unlawful. If the 
applicant, his successor or legal successor is miss ing, the court shall hear the declaration of the 
registration unlawful as proceedings on petition.  (2) A petition specified in subsection 1 of this section may be filed within one year from the 
publication date of the entry of registration data. 
 (3) Any interested person or supervisory agency who considers that the applicant, pursuant to 
subsection 9(2) of this Act, had no right to file  a registration application, may submit a petition in 
court against the applicant, his successor or legal successor to declare the registration unlawful. If the 
applicant, his successor or legal successor is miss ing, the court shall hear the declaration of the 
registration unlawful as proceedings on petition.  (4) A petition specified in subsection 3 of this section may be submitted during the term of the 
registration.  
(5) Any interested person who considers that the regi stration is contrary to the requirements of §§ 4, 
24, 25 or 26(1) or (4) of this Act, or to public order or morality, may submit an appeal in administrative court to declare the registration unlaw ful and require that the Patent Office restore the 
processing and make a new decision.  
(6) An appeal specified in subsection 5 of this  section may be submitted within 3 months from the 
publication date of the entry of registration data.  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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 (7) If the court declares the registration unlawful, a deletion of the registration entry shall be made 
upon the request of the interested person or supervis ory agency on the basis of a court order that has 
entered into force.  § 44. Contestation of registrati on for amending registration data 
 
(1) Any interested person or supervisory agency who considers that the list of goods or services, 
identification of geographical area or description in the registration are inaccurate or insufficient, may 
submit a petition in court against the applican t, his successor or legal successor for amending 
registration data. If the applicant, his successor or le gal successor are missing, the court shall hear the 
amending of registration data as proceedings on petition. 
 (2) A petition specified in subsection 1 of this section may be submitted during the term of the 
registration.  
(3) If the court satisfies a petition for amending regist ration data, an entry to amend the registration 
data entry shall be made upon the request of the in terested person or supervisory agency on the basis 
of a court order that has entered into force.  § 45. Contestation of unlawful use of registered geographical indication  
(1) An interested person may file an action in court: 
 1) for termination of the unlawful use of a registered geographical indication;  2) for restoration of the situation which existed prior to the unlawful use of a registered 
geographical indication; 
 3) for compensation for moral and proprietary dama ge caused by the unlawful use of a registered 
geographical indication.  (2) Actions may be filed in court as follows: 
 
1) actions specified in clauses 1 and 2 of subsection 1 of this section may be filed in court during the 
term of the registration;  2) actions specified in clause 3 of subsection 1 of th is section may be filed in court within three years 
from the date on which the user of a geographical indication becomes or should have become aware 
of the violation of his rights.   § 46. Specifications for resolution of dis putes relating to geographical indications 
 (1) Appeals and actions specified in this Act fa ll within the jurisdiction of the court in the 
jurisdiction of which the Patent Office is located. 
 (2) The court notifies of the s ubmitting of petitions specified in subsections 43(1) and (3) and 
subsection 44(1) of this Act in the official g azette Official Announcements and establishes a term 
during which the users of a geographical indication may submit a petition in court to intervene in the 
proceedings in support of the plaintiff or the defe ndant, whereby the term shall be no less than two 
months from the publication date of the notice.  § 47. Representatives in court disputes relating to geographical indications 
  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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 (1) Upon the resolution of disputes relating to geogr aphical indications, patent attorneys may act as 
representatives in court.  (2) A patent attorney shall present to the cour t his or her patent attorney's certificate. 
 
 
Chapter 6 
 
SUPERVISION  
§ 48. Bases for exercising supervision 
 (1) Supervision is exercised over the lawfulness of  the use of protected geographical indication, 
including the complying of the good or service identified with the geographical indication with the description contained in the register. 
 
(2) A supervisory agency exercises supervision on it s own initiative or on the basis of a request from 
an interested person.  § 49. Agencies exercising supervision  
Supervision over the fulfilment of requirements provi ded for in this Act is exercised by the following 
agencies according to their competence:  1) Competition Board;  
2) Plant Production Inspectorate; 
 3) Consumer Protection Board,  4) Veterinary and Food Inspectorate.  
§ 50. Rights of official exercising supervision 
 An official of a supervisory agency has the right to:  1) receive from state agencies, agencies administered by state ag encies, local government agencies 
and legal and natural persons informa tion necessary for exercising supervision; 
 2) take samples for establishing potential offence;  3) to receive all information from the register free of charge.  
§ 51. Maintaining confidentiality of business secrets 
 Officials of a supervisory agency are required to maintain the confidentiality of business secrets of 
which they become aware in performing their duties.  
 
    IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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 Chapter 7 
 
LIABILITY FOR UNLAWFUL USE OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION  § 52. Bases for imposing punishment 
 
(1) For violation of this Act, an administrative, civil or criminal punishment is imposed pursuant to procedure provided for in law.  (2) Criminal punishment imposed on a natural person for violation of this Act does not prevent the 
imposing of administrative punishme nt on a relevant legal person. 
 (3) Administrative court judges shall hear administ rative offence matters involving legal persons.  
 (4) Matters regarding administrativ e offences which involve legal pe rsons shall be conducted pursuant 
to the procedure provided for in the Code of Ad ministrative Offences (RT 1992, 29, 396; RT I 1999, 
41, 496; 45, rectification; 58, 608; 60, 616; 87, 792; 92, 825; 95, 843).  § 53. Administrative liability of legal persons  for unlawful use of geographical indication 
 (1) A fine of 50 000 to 100 000 kroons sh all be imposed on a legal person who uses: 
 
1) a registered geographical indication or a misl eadingly similar indication for identifying goods or 
services if the good or service lacks any quality, reput ation or other characteristic specified in the 
registration, or  
2) a registered geographical indication or a misl eadingly similar indication for identifying goods or 
services which are not covered by the registration but which are of the same kind with the goods or 
services covered by the registration, or  3) a registered geographical indication or a misl eadingly similar indication for identifying goods or 
services if it may use the reputation of a protect ed geographical indication in bad faith, or 
 
4) an indication which, although literally true as to  the geographical origin, may falsely represent to 
the public that the good or service originates in another geographical area, including cases where the 
true origin of the good is indicated.  
(2) A fine of 100 000 to 200 000 kroons sh all be imposed on a legal person who uses: 
 1) a registered geographical indication or a misl eadingly similar indication for identifying goods or 
services and does not act as the producer, processo r or preparer of the good specified in the 
registration or the renderer of the service in the ge ographical area specified in the registration, or 
 
2) misleading information on the origin, nature or chief qualities of a good or service on the inner or 
outer package, advertising materials or relevant documents of the good. 
 § 54. Seizure  
(1) Upon hearing a matter regarding administrative offence referred to in § 53 of this Act, the 
following shall be subject to seizure:  1) the means of committing administrative offence;   IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
 Page 17 
 
 
 2) property acquired by committing administrative offence; 
 3) the good, inner or outer package, advertising ma terials or relevant documents unlawfully identified 
with a registered geographical indicati on or a misleadingly similar indication. 
 
(2) The unlawfully identified items referred to in clau se 3 of subsection 1 of this section are subject to 
destroyal upon entering into force of a decision on seizure. § 55. Preparation of administrative offence report for legal person  (1) In administrative offence matter s specified in § 53 of this Act,  officials of supervisory agencies 
specified in § 49 of this Act have the righ t to prepare administrative offence reports. 
 (2) An administrative offence re port shall set out the following: 
 1) the date and place of preparation thereof; 
 
2) the name and address of the agency in whose name the report is prepared;  3) the given name, surname and official t itle of the person who prepared the report; 
 4) the name and address of the administrative offender; 
 
5) the given name, surname and position of the representative of the administrative offender; 
 6) the time, place and description of the administrative offence;  
7) a reference to the provision of law which prescribes liability for the administrative offence; 
 8) an explanation from the representative of the administrative offender;  9) a notation that the representativ e of the administrative offender h as been advised of the right to 
obtain legal assistance; 
 
10) other information necessary for the just adj udication of the administrative offence matter. 
 (3) The official who prepares the report and th e representative of the administrative offender shall 
sign the administrative offence report. 
 
(4) If the representative of the administrative offe nder refuses to sign the administrative offence 
report, the person who prepares the report shall ma ke a corresponding entry therein. Written notations 
made by the representative of the administrativ e offender concerning the report and reasons for 
refusal to sign the report shall be annexe d to the administrative offence report. 
 
 
Chapter 8 
 
FINAL PROVISIONS  
§ 56. State fees 
 (1) State fees are charged for the performance of tran sactions provided for in this Act pursuant to the 
rates provided for in the State Fees Act (RT I 1997, 80, 1344; 86, 1461; 87, 1466 and 1467; 93, 1563; 
1998, 2, 47; 4, 63; 23, 321; 36/37, 552 and 553; 52/53, 771; 57, 859; 59, 941; 60, 951; 61, 979 and IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
Page 18  
 
 985; 64/65, 1004, 1005 and 1008; 86/87, 1408; 97, 1519; 103, 1701; 108/109, 1783; 111, 1829; 1999, 
16, 275; 23, 355; 24, 359 and 360; 25, 364; 27, 380, 384, 385, 386 and 392; 29, 400 and 404; 30, 415; 
58, 608; 75, 704; 84, 764; 87, 790; 92, 827; 97, 861).  (2) State fees shall be paid by applicants or persons who have the right to use a protected 
geographical indication, or by third parties who have  an interest in the performance of transactions 
and issue of documents prescribed in this Act. If the state fee is paid by third parties, the consent of 
the applicant or the user of the geographical indication is required.  (3) The state fee is deemed to be paid upon recei pt of a document by the Patent Office certifying 
payment of the state fee or, in the case of an app eal, upon receipt of such document by the Board of 
Appeal formed on the basis of subsection 35(1) of the Trademark Act (RT 1992, 35, 459; RT I 1998, 15, 231; 1999, 93, 834).  (4) Paid state fees are not refunded, except in cases provided for in § 31 of this Act. 
 
§ 57. Amendment of State Fees Act  §§ 14715 to 14717 are added to the State Fees Act (RT I 1997, 80, 1344; 86, 1461; 87, 1466 and 1467; 93, 1563; 1998, 2, 47; 4, 63; 23, 321; 36/37, 552 and 553; 52/53, 771; 57, 859; 59, 941; 60, 951; 61, 979 and 985; 64/65, 1004, 1005 and 1008; 86/87, 1408; 97, 1519; 103, 1701; 108/109, 1783; 
111, 1829; 1999, 16, 275; 23, 355; 24, 359 and 360; 25, 364; 27, 380, 384, 385, 386 and 392; 29, 400 
and 404; 30, 415; 58, 608; 75, 704; 84, 764; 87, 790; 92, 827; 97, 861) in the following wording:  "§ 14715. Filing of application for registration of geographical indication  
A state fee of 1600 kroons shall be paid for filin g an application for registration of a geographical 
indication.  § 14716. Extension of term for el imination of deficiencies in application for registration of 
geographical indication and for provision of explanations  
A state fee of 400 kroons shall be paid for extension of term for elimination of deficiencies in an 
application for registration of a geographical indication and for provision of explanations. 
 § 14717. Amendment of registration data of geographical indication 
 
A state fee of 500 kroons shall be paid for en try to amend registration data of a geographical 
indication. § 58. Amendment of Alcohol Act  The following amendments are made to the Alcohol Act (RT I 1999, 24, 359; 58, 610; 92, 827):  
1) the beginning of subsection 6(3) is amended and worded as follows: 
 "(3) When deciding on the entry of alcohol in the register, the committee specified in subsection 1 of 
this section shall takes into account the following, thereby ceasing the processing of the application if 
necessary:"; 
 
2) clause 4 of subsection 6(3) is amended and worded as follows:  "4) legal acts and international agreements re gulating legal protection of trademarks and 
geographical indications.";  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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3) subsection 44(2) is amended by adding the word s "instead of a valid activity licence until 1 March 
2000" after the word "granted".  § 59. Amendment of Trademark Act 
 
Trademark Act (RT 1992, 35, 459; RT I 1998, 15 , 231, 1999, 93, 834) is amended as follows: 
 1) clause 61 is added to subsection 7(1) in the following wording:  
"61) trademarks which contain a registered geographi cal indication or are misleadingly similar to it if 
it may result in an unlawful use of the geographical indication pursuant to the provisions of §§ 11 or 
18 of the Geographical Indication Protection Act;";  2) section 241 is added to the Trademark Act in the following wording: 
 
"§ 241. Invalidation and deletion from regist er of registration of trademark containing 
geographical indication  (1) Any interested person may request the invalid ation of a trademark filed for registration or 
registered in bad faith in the following cases: 
 
1) the trademark contains a registered geographical indication or a confusingly similar indication, and 
 2) the goods or services identified with the trademar k and the geographical indication are identical or 
of the same kind; 
 
3) the trademark has been registered or filed for registration after the geographical indication has been 
granted legal protection in its country of origin.  (2) If the trademark specified in subsection 1 of  this section contains the name of Estonian 
geographical area, the condition specified in clause 3 of subsection 1 of this section shall not be 
applied upon the invalidation of such trademark. 
 (3) The filing for registration or registration of a trademark is done in bad faith if the person who 
registers a trademark or files it for registration knew or should have known that the indication in 
question identifies the good or service as origina ting in a certain geographical area and a given 
quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good or service is essentially attributable to its 
geographical origin.  (4) Any interested person may request the invalida tion of a trademark registered for identifying 
alcoholic beverage before the date of entry into force of the Geographical Indication Protection Act if 
the trademark contains a registered geographical in dication or is confusingly similar to it and the 
alcoholic beverage does not originate in the geographical area identified by the geographical 
indication.  (5) A request for the invalidation of registration of tr ademarks specified in subsections 1 and 4 of this 
section shall be filed with the Board of Appeal. 
 
(6) Upon invalidation of a trademark registration, the Patent Office deletes the trademark from the 
register.  IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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 (7) The provisions of this section are also applie d upon the invalidation of trademarks containing a 
geographical indication which were filed for registrati on or registered before the date of entry into 
force of the Geographical Indication Protection Act.";  3) in subsection 35(2), the words "subsection 11(3), and §§ 13 and 24 of this Act" are substituted by 
the words "subsection 11(3), and §§ 13, 24 and 241 of this Act". 
 § 60. Amendment of Criminal Code  The Criminal Code (RT 1992, 20, 287 and 288; RT  I 1999, 38, 485; 57, 595, 597 and 598; 60, 616; 
97, 859) is amended as follows: 
 1) clause 3 of subsection 33(6) is amended and worded as follows:  "3) good, package, economic or business document, a dvertising material or instruction for using the 
good which is unlawfully identified with a legally pr otected trademark, geographical indication or an 
indication misleadingly similar to them.";  2) in the text of § 283 the word "two" is substituted by the word "four";  3) the Criminal Code is amended by adding § 2831 in the following wording: 
 
"§ 2831. Unlawful use of registered geographical indication  Unlawful use of a registered geographical indication shall be punishable by a fine or imprisonment for 
up to four years. 
 
§ 61. Amendment of Consumer Protection Act  Consumer Protection Act (RT I 1994, 2, 13;  1999, 35, 450) is amended as follows: 
 1) in subsection 6(4) the words "to a legal person" are substituted by the word "to an 
entrepreneur"; 
 2) in subsection 6(5) the words "with a product whic h has been made by violating the exclusive right 
of the owner of trademark" with the words "with counterfeit goods";  
3) clause 11 is added to subsection 11(2) in the following wording: 
 "11) Competition Board - in preventing th e circulation of counterfeit goods;"; 
 4) in clause 2 of subsection 17(4) the words "with a good manufactured by violating the exclusive right of the owner of trademark" are substituted by words "counterfeit goods". 
 
§ 62. Amendment of Customs Act  Customs Act (RT I 1998, 3, 54; 1999, 86, 782; 97, 859) is amended as follows:  
1) subsection 26(1) is amended and worded as follows: 
 "(1) For the purposes of this Act, counterfeit goods means:   IP/N/1/EST/G/1 
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 1) goods in the meaning of subsection 33(4) of th e Trademark Act (RT 1992, 35, 459; RT I 1998, 15, 
231; 1999, 93, 834);  2) goods which are unlawfully identified with a registered geographical indication.";  
2) subsection 26(3) is amended by adding the wo rds "or legal acts or international agreements 
regulating legal protection of geographical i ndications" following the word "copyright"; 
 3) subsection 45(11) is amended by adding clause 11 in the following wording:  
"11) lawful user of the registered geographical indication or". 
 § 63. Amendment of Commercial Code  Subsection 31 is added to § 12 of the Commercia l Code (RT I 1995, 26-28, 355; 1998, 91-93, 
1500; 1999, 10, 155; 23, 355; 24, 360; 57, 596) in the following wording: 
 "(31) A person who has no right to use a geographical indication shall be prohibited to use a registered geographical indication in a business name  except for cases where he acts in a field for 
which the geographical indication is not protected."  
 
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