RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/Q2/LIE/1
12August 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-3381)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REVIEW OFLEGISLATION ONTRADEMARKS, GEOGRAPHICAL
INDICATIONS AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
Liechtenstein1
Thepresent document reproduces theintroductory statement made bythedelegation of
Liechtenstein, thequestions puttoitandtheresponses given inthereview oflegislation ontrademarks,
geographical indications andindustrial designs attheCouncil 'smeeting of11-15 November 1996.2
_______________
I. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT
First, wewillgiveashort survey about theexisting Liechtenstein lawsandregulations inthe
fields oftrademarks, geographical indications andindustrial designs. Inaddition, wewould liketo
inform youabout therevisions which aregoing totakeplaceintheabove-mentioned lawsinourcountry.
(A) TheLiechtenstein legislation inthefieldoftrademarks consists ofthefollowing lawsand
ordinances:
I. TrademarkAct,adoptedon26October1928andenteredintoforceon3November1928.
II. Ordinance ontheProtection ofTrademarks, Geographical Indications andIndustrial
Labelling, adopted on15June1964 andentered intoforce on16October 1964.
III. Ordinance ontheFeesforRegistration ofTrademarks, Geographical Indications and
Industrial Labelling, adopted on27November 1990 andentered intoforce on
21December 1990.
IV. Unfair Competition Act,adopted on22October 1992 andentered intoforce on
1November 1994.
Ithastobenoted thatthelegalprovisions regarding geographical indications areincorporated
intotheTrademark Actandthecorresponding ordinances aswellasintotheUnfair Competition Act.
1Asregards lawsandregulations relevant totheareas under review asnotified byLiechtenstein, reference ismade to
documents IP/N/1/LIE/1, IP/N/1/LIE/1/I/1-3 andIP/N/1/LIE/D/1-2.
2Theminutes ofthismeeting arecontained indocument IP/C/M/11.IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page2
TheTrademark Actitself isdivided intothefollowing fivesections:
I. Trademarks
II. Geographical Indications
III. Industrial Labelling
IV. Penalty Provisions
V. Final Provisions
DuetotheTrademark Act:
Trademarks
- Company firms andsigns usedinorder togiveadistinction orwhich doidentify the
provenance ofcommercial oragricultural goods orservices areconsidered tobeable
toconstitute atrademark.
- Trademarks forservices havebeenintroduced in1986.
- Thetermofprotection istwenty years. Thepossibility ofillimitable renewals isgiven.
- Ifthetrademark isnotusedbytheowner foraconsecutive period ofthreeyears after
registration, thecancellation ofthetrademark canbeordered bycourt based onthe
lawsuit ofanyother interested party.
Geographical Indications
- Theterm"geographical indication" isdefined asthename ofatown, place orcountry
which gives aproduct acertain reputation.
- Itisprohibited tousegeographical indications which donotcorrespond withthereal
origin oftheproducts.
- Theregistration ofanobviously wrong geographical indication hastoberefused by
thenational office.
Penalty Provisions
- Infringement ofprovisions contained intheTrademark Actaresubject tociviland
criminal procedures andremedies.
- Themaximum degree ofpunishment iseither imprisonment forsixmonths orfines
uptoCHF 360,000.
(B) Inthefieldofindustrial designs, Liechtenstein legislation consists ofthefollowing lawsand
regulations:
I. ActonDesigns andModels, adopted on26October 1928 andentered intoforce on
3November 1928.
II. Ordinance totheActonDesigns andModels, adopted on15June1964 andentered
intoforce on25June1965.IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page3
III. Ordinance ontheFees fortheRegistration ofDesigns andModels, adopted on
22January 1991 andentered intoforce on16March 1991.
TheActonDesigns andModels itself isdivided intofourparts:
I. General Provisions
II. Provisions onthedepositing ofDesigns andModels
III. Legal Protection
IV. Final Provisions
DuetotheActonDesigns andModels:
- Industrial designs areexternally conditioned forms which aresupposed tobeusedas
models inaprocess ofindustrial production.
- Industrial designs maygainprotection asfarastheyarenewandoriginal.
- Owners dohave theright toprevent other parties from using adesign ormodel
deposited regularly fordistribution orcommercial purposes.
- Infringements withcriminal intent arepunished either withimprisonment foraperiod
uptosixmonth orfinesuptoCHF 360,000.
- Thetermofproduction isthree times fiveyears.
TheneedtoimplementtheTRIPSAgreementintoLiechtensteinnationallawandthemembership
ofLiechtenstein totheEEA(European Economic Area) obliged Liechtenstein torevise itslawsinthe
fields oftrademarks andindustrial designs.
Thisleads ustothesecond partofourexplanations. Wewould liketotaketheoccasion given
bythisreview meeting andpresent ashort outlook ontherevisions taking place inthefields of
trademarks anddesigns andmodels.
Themain points oftherevision oftheTrademark Actconcern the:
- alteration fromaprotecting system fortrademarks based onusetoasystem based on
registration;
- cancellation ofatrademark ifitisnotused;
- introduction ofproceedings tooppose theregistration ofatrademark;
- statement ofarightofpriority according totheParis Convention;
- implementationofTRIPSrequirementsinthefieldsofenforcementandbordermeasures.
Thetotally revised Trademark Actisready forenactment byParliament insecond andthird
reading inoneofitsnextsessions, most probably inDecember.
Regarding theLiechtenstein LawonIndustrial Designs andModels, thetextofapartial revision
oftheexisting lawhasbeenhanded overtoourGovernment andwillbetransmitted totheParliament
within short time.IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page4
Theshortcomings existing inthepresent lawofdesigns andmodels inregard totheTRIPS
Agreementwillbeeliminatedbyintroducinganadjustmentofenforcementremediesandtheintroduction
ofborder measures.
II. REPLY TOTHE GENERAL QUESTION CONCERNING PRIORITY RIGHTS3
Doesyourcountry recognize arightofpriority onthebasisofanearlier trademark application
filedinanyother WTO Member byanational ofaWTO Member?
According toArticle 7ofthecurrent Trademark Act,foreign applicants mayapply for
registration ofamark under thecondition thattheyarenationals ofastatethatgrants reciprocity of
treatment fornationals ofLiechtenstein.
Article 15oftheOrdinance ontheProtection ofTrademarks liststheobligations which a
registration hastofulfil. Indent 8ofArticle 15provides thepossibility toclaim priority ofthefirst
application inaforeign country.
Intherevision oftheTrademark Act,thepossibilities ofclaiming priority inaMember State
oftheParis Convention willbecontained inArticle 7.1.Article 7.2willprovide therightofpriority
onareciprocity basis inthecasewhere priority isclaimed inanon-Member State oftheParis
Convention.
III. REPLIESTOQUESTIONSPOSEDBYTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIESANDTHEIR
MEMBER STATES
Trademarks andGeographical Indications
1. Within which termdoesLiechtenstein intend toputinforce therevised LawonTrademarks
andGeographical Indications?
Therevised LawonTrademarks andGeographical Indications hasbeensubmitted toParliament
inearlysummer andhasbeentreated intheParliament 'ssession of18and19September 1996infirst
reading. Itcanbeassumed, thatthenecessary second andthirdreading oftherevised lawcantake
place inthesession ofParliament inDecember 1996. Withthisassumed timetable theputting toforce
oftherevised LawonTrademarks andGeographical Indications canbeexpected forthebeginning
of1997.
2. What adjustments were/are going tobemade during thedebates inParliament withrespect
tothedraft submitted? Towhatextent dothese adjustments comply withtheTRIPS Agreement?
Ingeneral, therevision oftheTrademark Acthasbeenwelcomed byallparties which are
represented inParliament.
Taking intoaccount thecomments ofthefirstreading oftherevised lawonTrademarks and
Geographical Indications, thegovernment proposes thefollowing changes ofthelawforthesecond
andthirdreading.
3Atthemeeting oftheTRIPS Council of11-15 November 1996, Members agreed torespond tothisquestion inthe
context ofthepresent review (document IP/C/M/11, paragraph 43).IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page5
Asannounced bythegovernment during thefirstreading inParliament, thequestion of
introducing proceedings tooppose theregistration ofatrademark, wasreviewed again. Inconsidering
carefully thebenefits andexpenses andthecritical voteoftheParliamentarians, itwasdecided toresign
theopposing procedures.
Inaddition, some more minor adjustments andclarifications havebeenintroduced intothe
revised law.Forexample, thedefinition oftheprotection ofanacoustic markunder thenewTrademark
Act,thereplacement oftheterm"berühmte Marke" which means "famous trademark", bytheterm
"bekannte Marke", which corresponds totheterm"well-known mark", asmentioned inboththeEC
Council Directive onTrademarks andtheTRIPS Agreement. Some adjustments inwording (notin
content) havebeenmade inregard tothepenalty provisions.
ThesecondandthethirdreadingoftheParliamentwilltakeplacefrom11to13December1996.
Industrial Designs
3. What isthetimeschedule within which thetotalrevision oftheLiechtenstein LawonIndustrial
Designs andModels isintended tobestarted andtobeconcluded?
InordertobeinharmonywiththeprovisionsoftheTRIPSAgreementconcerningthelegislation
ofindustrial designs, apartial revision oftheexisting Liechtenstein Lawhasbeensubmitted tothe
government andwillbebrought forward toParliament within ashort time. Theentry intoforce of
thepartial revision maybeexpected within thefirstsixmonths of1997.
Thetotalrevision oftheLiechtenstein LawonIndustrial Designs willtakeplace inorder to
transpose theprovisions contained intheproposal foraCouncil Directive ontheLegal Protection of
Designs(COM(93)344).AsmentionedinArticle19oftheproposedDirective,thelawsandregulations
which arenecessary tocomply withthisDirective havetobebrought intoforce by1January 1998.
4. What willbethemainfeatures oftherespective revisions? What innovations areintended to
beestablished inthelineoftheimplementation oftheTRIPS Agreement?
Theabove-mentioned partial revision transposes theTRIPS obligations inthefieldofindustrial
designs intoLiechtenstein national law. Theinnovations which areintended tobeestablished arethe
following:
- Extension oftherightofpriority under theParisConvention of1967tonationals which
arenotnationals ofaMember State oftheParis Convention butofaWTO Member
only. Thisrightofpriority canbeclaimed within aperiod ofsixmonths.
- ImplementationofArticle41oftheTRIPSAgreementontheenforcementofintellectual
property rights andArticle 61oftheTRIPS Agreement about criminal procedures.
- Amendment oftheLiechtenstein LawonIndustrial Designs concerning theprovisions
ofTRIPS Article 46(Other Remedies) andTRIPS Article 50(Provisional Measures).
- Introduction ofborder measures transposing TRIPS Article 51andfollowing into
Liechtenstein national law.IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page6
IV. REPLIES TOQUESTIONS POSED BYTHE UNITED STATES
1. Pleaseindicatewhethersignsthatconsistofwords,personalnames,letters,numerals,figurative
elements, colours orcombinations thereof canconstitute atrademark, andthelegalauthority forthis
conclusion.
Considering Article 1,paragraph 2oftheTrademark Act,every signwhich serves todistinguish
oridentify theorigin ofcommercial andagricultural products orgoods, affixed tothelatter ortheir
packaging inanywaycanbeconsidered asatrademark.
2. Please explain howthetrademark lawofLiechtenstein permits theregistration oftrademarks
forservices, asrequired byTRIPS Article 16.2. Please identify therelevant legalauthority tosupport
thisexplanation.
Theprovisions relating totrademarks shallbeapplicable, mutatis mutandis ,toservice marks.
Thisprovision iscontained inArticle 1bisoftheTrademark Act.
3. Please explain whether thetrademark lawofLiechtenstein permits thefiling ofanapplication
toregister atrademark based onanintention tousethemark, rather thanuponabasis ofactual use.
Ifnot,please explain howthispractice isconsistent withTRIPS Article 15.3.
Inreferring toArticle 2oftheLiechtenstein Trademark Act,theregistrability ofatrademark
doesnotdepend onitsactual use.Article 7,paragraph 1stipulates thatanyperson having acommercial
interest intheproducts, goods andservices forwhich themarkisintended mayapply fortheregistration
ofmarks; there isnoobstacle forpermitting thefiling ofanapplication toregister atrademark based
ontheintention tousethemark.
4. Please explain whether thenature ofgoods orservices towhich atrademark istobeapplied
canserve asanobstacle totheregistration ofthemark under thetrademark lawofLiechtenstein.
Ifso,please identify andexplain thesubject matter excluded under thisauthority, therelative provisions
ofthelawthatserve asabasis forthese exclusions andhowthispractice complies withTRIPS
Article 15.4.
According toArticle 12oftheLiechtenstein Trademark Actinconnection withArticle 14of
theTrademark Act,thenature ofgoods orservices isnocriterion fortheregistration ofatrademark.
5. PleaseexplainthestandardthatisusedunderthetrademarklawofLiechtensteinfordetermining
alikelihood ofconfusion, andthelegal basis forthisstandard.
Toanswer thisquestion, Article 6oftheLiechtenstein Trademark Acthastobequoted. A
trademark which isgoing toberegistered mustcomprise essential features thatdistinguish itfromthose
marks thathavealready beenregistered. Thereproduction ofcertain figures inanewmark, which
belong tomarks already deposited shall notexclude thenewmark from theright deriving from
registration ifthose figures differ sufficiently fromthemark already deposited and,taken asawhole,
donoteasily leadtoconfusion.
6. Please explain thestandard usedinLiechtenstein fordetermining whether amarkiswell-known
andhowregistered andunregistered well-known marks areprotected under thetrademark lawof
Liechtenstein. Please explain howthisstandard andthese practices comply withTRIPS Articles 16.2
and16.3.IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page7
IntheTrademark Actof1928, theterm"well-known mark" doesnotexist. Besides thatfact,
only national registered well-known trademarks canfallintothescope oftheTrademark Act.
Unregistered well-known marks areprotected inthatrespect, thateachapplication handed inatthe
national office hastofulfil theobligations setoutintheTrademark ActandintheOrdinance
corresponding totheAct,andeachapplication issubject toanexamination based ontherules inthe
Trademark ActandtheOrdinance ontheProtection ofTrademarks, Geographical Indications and
Industrial Labelling.
Intherevision oftheTrademark Act,which haspassed Parliament initsfirstreading, theterm
"well-known mark" willbeintroduced.
[Follow-up question from theUS]
Please identify anyprovisions inthecurrent trademark lawofLiechtenstein thatservetoprotect
unregistered well-known marks andhowthese provisions comply withTRIPS Articles 16.2and16.3.
Asmentioned intheprior answer, theterm"well-known mark" doesnotexistinthecurrent
Trademark Actof1928. However, ithastobenoted thattherevision ofthecurrent Trademark Act
willpassParliament mostprobably inDecember. Inorder tofullycomply withtheTRIPS Agreement,
theterm"well-known mark" isintroduced inthisrevised Trademark Act.
Articles 3and15oftherevised Liechtenstein Trademark Actwillprovide fortheprotection
ofawell-known trademark, taking intoaccount theobligations setoutinArticles 16.2and16.3of
theTRIPS Agreement. According toArticle 3.2(b) oftherevised Liechtenstein Trademark Act,
unregistered well-known trademarks willbeconsidered asearlier trademarks conferring therightto
intervene against theregistration oflatertrademarks foridentical orsimilar products andservices.
According toArticle 15theowner ofatrademark ofwiderepute (internationally well-known) may
prohibit others fromusing atrademark foranytypeofgoods andservices, ifsuchusewould endanger
thedistinctiveness ofthetrademark orwould exploit ordamage itsreputation.
7. PleaseexplainwhetherthetrademarklawofLiechtensteinestablishesapresumptionoflikelihood
ofconfusion inthedetermination ofconfusing similarity incases where identical marks areusedon
identical goods, asrequired byTRIPS Article 16.1. Ifso,please identify andexplain thelegal basis
forthispresumption.
Theowner ofaregistered trademark hastheexclusive right toprevent allthird parties not
having hisconsent from using identical orsimilar signs forgoods orservices which areidentical or
similar tothose inrespect ofwhich thetrademark isregistered andwhere suchusewould result in
likelihood ofconfusion. Thisprovision iscontained inArticle 24oftheTrademark Act.
8. Please explain whether theinitial termandeachrenewal termforatrademark registration
inLiechtenstein lastsatleastseven years asrequired byTRIPS Article 18.
Theprotection forinitial registration is20years. Theobligations ofArticle 8oftheTrademark
Actareasfollows. Theprotection deriving fromregistration ofamark shalllastfor20years asfrom
thedayofitsdeposit withtheOffice ofNational Economy. Theproprietor ofamark may, atany
time, request therenewal oftheregistration forthesame duration. Renewal shallbesubject tothe
payment ofthesame feeandtothesame formalities asthose provided forfirstregistrations. When
therenewal oftheregistration isnotrequested within sixmonths oftheexpiry ofthetermofprotection
atthelatest, theregistration shallbecancelled.IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page8
9. Please explain thestandards andprocedures thatgovern cancellation ofregistration ofamark
fornon-use inthetrademark lawofLiechtenstein, andhowthisstandard complies withTRIPS Article 19.
IncompliancewithArticle19oftheTRIPSAgreement,Article9oftheLiechtensteinTrademark
Actcontains thefollowing obligations. Iftheproprietor ofamark hasmade nouseofthemark during
three successive years, thecourt mayorder, attherequest ofaninterested party, thatthemark be
cancelled unless theproprietor isabletoadequately justify hisfailure tousethemark. Theuseof
amark byathirdparty having commercial tieswiththeproprietor orbyalicence shallbeconsidered
asuseofthemarkbytheproprietor himself, ifthelatterexercises control overthequality oftheproducts
orservices marked andiftheuseofthemark isnotlikely tomislead thepublic.
10. Please explain theprocedures governing cancellation ofregistration foratrademark dueto
non-use and,inparticular, identify theminimum period oftimeofnon-use thatmustbeestablished
tocancel sucharegistration.
Theprocedure governing thecancellation ofaregistered trademark canbefound inArticle 24
oftheOrdinance ontheProtection ofTrademarks, Geographical Indications andIndustrial Labelling
of15June1964. ThetextoftheOrdinance which wasalsosubject ofnotification canbefound in
document IP/N/1/LIE/I/2 dated 24June1996. Thecancellation ofatrademark duetonon-use isalso
covered bytheobligations ofArticle 24oftheabove-mentioned Ordinance. Theminimum period
isthree successive years.
11. Please explain whether thelawofLiechtenstein permits aforeign trademark owner whoapplies
forregistration inLiechtenstein toclaim priority based onafiling inanother Paris Convention member.
InArticle 15oftheOrdinance ontheProtection ofTrademarks, Geographical Indications and
Industrial Labelling, aspecification ofthecontent ofaregistration isgiven. Indent 8ofArticle 15
constitutes thepossibility toclaim priority ofthefirstapplication inaforeign country. Although no
exact definition ofpriority isgiven, ithastoberecognised that,inharmony withtheParisConvention,
therightofpriority foraperiod ofsixmonths fortrademarks (andindustrial designs) isgiven ifit
isclaimed.
12. Please describe themethods bywhich Industrial Designs areprotected inLiechtenstein, in
particular:
(a) theform orforms ofIntellectual Property usedtoprotect thedesign (e.g. patent,
copyright, suigeneris);
(b) theconditions thatmustbesatisfied toobtain thegrant ofsuchprotection (e.g.whether
designs mustbenewororiginal andtheparameters ofthese concepts), andabrief
description oftheregistration orgranting procedure;
(c) thenature oftherights granted andthetermofprotection provided ;
(d) thenature ofremedies available totheowner ofeachtypeofprotection, including a
description oftheconditions thatmaybeimposed (e.g. whether commercial useis
required);
(e) whether anyexceptions toprotection orrights existforeachtypeofintellectual property
involved .IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page9
(a) Liechtenstein hasusedthemethod ofcreating aspecial lawtoprotect designs and
models. Theprotection ofdesigns isguaranteed by:
- ActonDesigns andModels (LR232.12 LGBl. 1928 No.14), adopted 26
October 1928andentered intoforce 3November 1928. TheActcontains the
following points: definition, registration andprotection ofrights ofindustrial
designs; priority rights, rights acquired byexpositions.
- OrdinancetotheActonDesignsandModels(LR232.121;LGBl.1965No.28),
adopted 15June1964 andentered intoforce 25June1965.
- Ordinance ontheFees fortheRegistration ofDesigns andModels (LR
232.121.1; LGBl. 1991 No.12), adopted 22January 1991 andentered into
force 16March 1991.
(b) According toArticle 2oftheDesign Actinconnection withArticle 12,paragraph 1,
industrial designs areexternally conditioned forms, which aresupposed tobeused
asmodels forindustrial production. They areprotected asfarastheyarenewand
original.
Application formalities are(Articles 5and15oftheDesign Act):
- filing ofadeposition request;
- deposition ofadesign item;
- payment ofthefeeforthefirstperiod ofprotection.
Thelegal claims tobefulfilled bytheregister andtheexact content ofasingle
registration aresubject todescription intheOrdinance totheActonDesigns in
Article 14andfollowing.
(c) Owners havetherighttoprevent thirdparties fromusing avaliddeposited design for
purposes ofdistribution andcommercial use(Article 5.2Design Act). Thetermof
protection isthree times fiveyears (Article 8Design Act).
(d) Thefollowing remedies areavailable totherightowner: suefordamages, provisional
measures, attachment, confiscation, exploitation, publication ofthesentence.
(e) There isnoexplicit Article referring toexceptions intheDesign Act. Following
Article 5,paragraph 2oftheDesign Act,itcanbeassumed thattheexception of
personal useapplies.
13. Please explain howtextile designs areprotected under yourlaw.
Following Article 2oftheDesign Actandthegeneral definition given therein, itcanbeassumed
thattheprotection oftextile designs isgiven bythescope oftheDesign Act.
14. Please explain whether registrations oftrademarks related towines orspirits which contain
orconsist ofageographical indication arerefused orinvalidated withrespect towines andspirits not
having thespecified origin. Ifso,please explain howthispractice isconsistent withTRIPS Article 23.2.
Concerning theregistration oftrademarks related towines orspirits, there arenospecial
provisions provided intheTrademark Actwhich giveanexclusive protection forwines andspirits.IP/Q2/LIE/1
Page10
Ingeneral, following Article 18.3oftheTrademark ActandArticle 3lit.boftheUnfair Competition
Act,itisnotallowed tousegeographical indications notcorresponding withtherealorigin ofthegoods.
Ithasfurther tobenoted thatthelegalprotection provided bytheTrademark Actisapplicable also
toinfringement ofgeographical indications ofwines andspirits.
15. Please explain whether well-known trademarks forservices aregiven thesame protection as
well-known trademarks forgoods, consistent withArticle 6bisoftheParis Convention. Ifnot,please
explain howthelawofLiechtenstein isconsistent withTRIPS Article 16.2.
According toArticle 1bisoftheLiechtenstein Trademark Act,protection isgranted forgoods
andservices. Provisions expressly stating therequirements ofArticle 6bisoftheParis Convention
arenotknown atthepresent time. Inorder togetincompliance withtheexigencies oftheTRIPS
Agreement, these requirements havebeentaken intoconsideration intherevision oftheTrademark
Act.
[Follow-up question from theUS]
Inresponse toquestion 15itwasstated thattherequirements ofArticle 6bisoftheParis
Convention andTRIPS Articles 16.2and16.3arebeing considered intherevision ofthetrademark
law. Hasspecific language been proposed tobring thelawintocompliance withthese TRIPS
obligations? Ifso,whatisthislanguage? Ifnot,howwillthisprotection beprovided?
Ithastobenoted, thattherevision hasnotpassed Parliament yet.Thesecond andthirdreading
oftherevised Trademark Actwilltakeplace intheDecember session ofParliament. Therefore, at
themoment noofficial translation oftherevised textisavailable. Thenotification inEnglish willbe
handed inaftertheTrademark Acthasentered intoforce.
Nevertheless, itcanbestated thattherequirements ofArticle 6bisoftheParis Convention
andArticles 16.2and16.3oftheTRIPS Agreement willbetaken intoaccount inArticles 3and15
oftherevised Trademark Act.
Referring tothefactsmentioned above, theobligations setoutinArticle 3dealwiththerelative
exceptions which donotallow aregistration ofamark, forexample, theidentity withanearlier
trademark forthesame orsimilar goods andservices, thesimilarity withanearlier trademark forthe
same orsimilar goods andthedefinition ofanearlier mark. Theobligations setoutinArticle 15have
beensummarized intheanswer tothefollow-up question toinitial question 6fromtheUnited States.
V. REPLIES TOQUESTIONS POSED BYJAPAN
Industrial Designs
1. Since itisnotclearly stipulated intheActonDesigns andModels thattextile designs are
protected inconformity withtheTRIPS Agreement, please explain under which provision oftheAct
orother copyright related lawthesedesigns areprotected. Moreover, tomake surethattheopportunity
toseekandobtain protection fortextile designs isnotimpaired unreasonably, please explain yoursystem
inpractice, particularly withregard tocost,examination orpublication (cf.paragraph 2ofArticle 25
oftheTRIPS Agreement).
Regarding theprotection oftextile designs, thegeneral termofanindustrial design ormodel
isgiven inArticle 2oftheLawonModels andIndustrial Designs. Thispositive formulation defines
thescope orthetermofthemodel andindustrial design, which includes alsoatextile design anditsIP/Q2/LIE/1
Page11
protection. Article 2hastobereadinconnection withArticle 3oftheAct. Therein, anegative
definition ofthetermofanindustrial design andmodel isgiven.
Asmentioned intheprevious paragraph, itcanbeassumed thattheprotection oftextile designs
iscovered bythescope ofthenational law.Thefollowing Ordinances doregulate thesystem ofcosts,
examination andpublication:
- Ordinance totheActonDesigns andModels, adopted 15June1964andentered into
force 25June1965;
- OrdinanceontheFeesforRegistrationofDesignsandModels,adopted22January1991
andentered intoforce 16March 1991.
BothOrdinances havebeensubject ofnotification under Article 63.2oftheTRIPS Agreement and
havebeenpublished indocument IP/N/1/LIE/D/2 dated 19July1996.
Inaddition totheabove-mentioned remarks, wewould liketodraw attention tothefactthat,
inLiechtenstein, onlyaverysmall number ofdesigns andmodels isregistered andthatnocaselaw
haseveroccurred.
2. Theword "making" isnotincluded inthescope ofinfringement provided forinArticle 24of
theActonDesigns andModels. Iftheword "contrefaire" corresponds totheword "making", please
elaborate onthedifferences between thetwo.
Thefirstparagraph ofTRIPS Article 26says"...prevent thirdparties nothaving theowner 's
consent from making, selling ...adesign which isacopy, orsubstantially acopy oftheprotected
design ...". Wewould liketodraw attention tothefactthatintheLiechtenstein notification ofthis
Act,whichwashandedininFrenchandpublishedindocumentIP/N/1/LIE/I/1,theexpression"contrefait
lamarque" wasused. Theterm"contrefait" corresponds tothewording inTRIPS Article 26.There
isnodifference insubstance between thewording intheTRIPS Agreement andthetextnotified by
Liechtenstein. Theassumption ofadifference between theLiechtenstein lawandtheobligations given
bytheTRIPS Agreement regarding theword "making" anditsfrench translation into"contrefaire"
canbecleared offbyregarding themeaning oftheword "contrefaire", which isthereproduction by
imitation.
3. Inyourcountry, thefirstduration ofprotection available islessthantenyears, andanyrenewal
thereafter cannot berequested atthetimeofregistration. Itmayhappen, therefore, thattheduration
ofprotection islessthantenyears whenthefirstduration haslapsed andtherestoration isnotpermitted
afterwards. Would thisnotbecontrary tothespirit ofparagraph 3ofArticle 26oftheTRIPS
Agreement?
InArticle26,paragraph3oftheTRIPSAgreement,adurationofprotectionforatleasttenyears
isrequired. InLiechtenstein, thetermofprotection isthree times fiveyears. Theonlyreason for
notprolongating thetermofprotection would becaused ifthenecessary feesforthesecond period
ofprotection would nothave been paid. When theterm ofprotection ofamodel ordesign is
prolongated, theapplication isnotreviewed again. Articles 21and22oftheOrdinance totheAct
onDesigns andModels, adopted 15June1964 andentered intoforce 25June1965, include the
obligations towhich thenational office hastoadhere tointhecaseofprolongation ofthetermof
protection. Following theseobligations, itcanbestated thattheonlyreason fornotgetting thefurther
terms ofprotection isthenon-payment oftheregistration feesbythedepositor orhisrepresentative.
So,theLiechtenstein term ofprotection ofthree times fiveyears isnotcontrary tothespirit of
paragraph 3ofArticle 26ofTRIPS.