WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/N/1/HND/1
23 October 2002
(02-5811)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  Spanish
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
HONDURAS
By means of communications dated 2 March and 8 June 2001, the following notification of
intellectual property laws and regulations, under Article 63.2 of the Agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the TRIPS Council Decision of
21 November 1995 contained in document IP/C/2, has been received from the Permanent Mission ofHonduras:
- Annex I lists the "Main dedicated intellectual property laws and regulations".
- Annex II lists "Other laws and regulations".
- Reponses to issues on enforcement.
1
                                                     
1 See document IP/N/6/HND/1.IP/N/1/HND/1
Page 2
ANNEX I
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS
TITLE
DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Decree Law No. 4-99-E, Law on Copyright and
Related Rights.2The Law on Copyright and Related Rights
contains 195 articles.
Adoption:  13 December 1999.
Entry into force:  15 January 2000.This law contains provisions regulating the
requirements for the registration of literary and
artistic works, producers of phonograms,
performers, broadcasting organizations and cable
transmission.In addition, it contains limitations on and
exceptions to copyright, such as the term and
limitations of protection, as well as provisions on
publishing contracts, contracts to include the
work in phonograms, representation and public
performance contracts, organization and
functioning of collective management.It also contains administrative procedures and
penalties, criminal and civil penalties, procedures
for administrative penalties, civil actions and
procedures, final and interim provisions, waivers
and period of validity.
Decree Law No. 12-99-E, Industrial Property
Law.3
Adoption:  30 December 1999.
Entry into force:  28 February 2000.The law contains 138 articles.
Article 174 contains provisions on payment of
taxes, surcharges and annual payments.The law also contains limitations, exceptions,
rights and obligations.
The Industrial Property Law sets out provisions
on the following matters:
− Trademarks or service marks (the Law
simply calls them "Marks").Chapter II Marks, Articles 80-109.
Chapter III Collective Marks, Articles 110-117.
                                                     
2 See document IP/N/1/HND/C/1.
3 See document IP/N/1/HND/I/1.IP/N/1/HND/1
Page 3
TITLE
DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
This law contains general provisions and basic
principles on marks, including provisions
concerning examination of substance and form
and registration of marks, termination of
registration, transfer and granting of licences and
legal protection.
− Geographical indications. Chapter V, Articles 123-125.
A geographical indication may be registered as a
mark, provided it does not mislead or deceive the
consumer as to the origin, source, characteristics
or qualities of the product or service.
− Appellations of origin. Chapter V, Articles 126-133.
This law contains provisions on the registration
of national appellations of origin at the request of
one or more producers, manufacturers or
craftsmen with production in an area of a country,
and foreign producers, manufacturers orcraftsmen where provided for in an agreement or
treaty to which Honduras is party or where the
foreign country grants reciprocal treatment to
Honduran nationals and residents of Honduras.
− Industrial designs and models:
Utility models.
Industrial designs.Articles 23-24.
This law contains general provisions and basic
principles on utility models and industrial
designs, including provisions on examination ofsubstance and form and registration, termination
of registration, transfer and granting of licences
and legal protection.
− Protection of inventions and patent rights. Articles 4-22 of the Industrial Property Law.
The law contains general provisions and basic
principles on patents, including provisions on
applications and examination of patents, licences
and transfer and termination of the patent.
− Prevention of the abuse of intellectual
property rights.Articles 158-168 of the Industrial Property Law
set out procedures on infringements of industrial
property rights, including fines, without prejudice
to penalties established in the Criminal Code.IP/N/1/HND/1
Page 4
TITLE
DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
− Protection of undisclosed information
(industrial secrets).Articles 73-78 and 170-173 of the Industrial
Property Law contains provisions on the
protection of confidential information, or
industrial secrets.
In addition, Articles 214 and 215 of the Criminal
Code contain provisions protecting breaches anddisclosures of industrial secrets and establishes
penalties ranging from three to twelve years'
imprisonment.
Draft Law "Protection of New Plant Varieties".4
Now before the Congress for adoption.This draft law contains 60 articles which establish
the bases and procedures for protecting the rights
of plant breeders, including provisions on the
breeder's rights and obligations, applications,transfer of rights, emergency licensing,
administrative procedures and infringements.
The law will be applied and interpreted for
administrative purposes by the Ministry of
Agriculture and Livestock, through the SeedCertification Department of the Directorate
General of the National Agricultural Health
Service (SENASA).
Draft Regulation on the Procedure Governing
Special Requirements Related to Border
Measures.5
dated 16 May 2001.
Draft Law on Layout-Designs of Integrated
Circuits.6
This draft law was submitted for adoption to theCongress on 14 October 1999.The draft law contains 34 articles.
It includes basic provisions on layout-designs(topographies), and incorporates general
provisions and basic principles on applications
and examination, nullification, cancellation,
transfers and licences, criminal responsibility and
damages, and extinction of rights.
                                                     
4 See document IP/N/1/HND/P/1.
5 See document IP/N/1/HND/E/1.
6 Signifies the draft legislation is awaiting adoption.IP/N/1/HND/1
Page 5
ANNEX II
OTHER LAWS AND REGULATIONS
TITLE
DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Decree Law No. 131, Constitution of the
Republic.
Adoption:  1982.
Entry into force:  1982.Article 133 of the Constitution states:
"Independent intellectual work and the results of
such activity shall form the subject of protective
legislation".
Civil judicial procedures and remedies
Decree No. 76 of 1906, Civil Code, operative
since 1906.
Code of Civil ProcedureThese Codes enumerate injunctions such as
decrees, orders, resolutions or rulings whereby a
party or a third party to the proceedings can be
required to act in a particular manner or engage in
specific conduct.
Provisional judicial measures
Decree Law No. 12-99-E, Industrial Property
Law.
Adoption:  30 December 1999.
Entry into force:  28 February 2000.Article 165 of this Law specifies that a request
for provisional measures may be initiated for
infringement of rights;  such provisions are alsocontained in the Civil Code and the Code of Civil
Procedure.
Special requirements related to border
measuresAt the present time Honduras is preparing
regulations for procedures related to border
measures.
Decree Law No. 212-87, Customs Law.
Adoption:  14 December 1987.
Entry into force:  1 January 1998.Under Articles 1-3 and Article 57 of this law the
customs authorities are entitled to check thepassage of persons, goods and means of transport
across the country's borders, summon and
question persons, receive and certify declarations
and examine goods.
Decree Law No. 12-99-E, Industrial Property
Law.
Adoption:  30 December 1999.
Entry into force:  28 February 2000.Under Article 163(4) of this law, it is prohibited
to import or export products, materials or means
used to commit the infringement.IP/N/1/HND/1
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TITLE
DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Decree Law No. 4-99-E, Law on Copyright and
Related Rights.
Adoption:  13 December 1999.
Entry into force:  15 January 2000.Article 174(5) of this law refers to the provisions
of the Customs Code concerning suspension of
release of goods when it is known that they may
be illegal.
Decree Law No. 9-99-E, Code of Criminal
Procedure.
Published in the Gazette:  20 May 2000.
Decrees Nos. 191-96 and 59-97, Amended
Criminal Code.
Decree No. 189-84, Code of Criminal Procedure.
Entry into force:  13 March 1895.In Chapter VIII, Offences against Special
Property, and in Articles 248-253 of the Criminal
Code, penalties are set out for infringements of
intellectual property rights: from three (3) to six
(6) years' imprisonment, plus a fine of fiftythousand (50,000) to one hundred thousand
(100,000) lempiras, without prejudice to civil and
administrative penalties.
Decree Law No. 131, Constitution of the
Republic.
Adoption:  1982.
Entry into force:  1982.Article 133 of the Constitution states:
"Independent intellectual work and the results of
such activity shall form the subject of protective
legislation".
Decree No. 152-1987, Administrative Procedures
Law.
Entry into force:  1987.With reference to administrative procedures and
remedies, our legislation includes administrative
orders such as decrees, decisions and rulingswhereby corrective action can be taken, including
fines, closures of establishments, seizure of
goods, orders for payment of damages,
destruction or storage of infringing goods.
Decree Law No. 73, Commercial Code.
Adoption:  1906.
Entry into force:  1906.Articles 660-690 of the Code contain general
provisions and basic principles on trade names,
distinctive signs, trademarks and patents.  The
relevant provisions on unlawful acts will also
apply.
Decree Law No 212-87, Customs Law.
Adoption:  14 December 1987.
Entry into force:  1 January 1988.This law contains 209 articles.  Under
Articles 1-3 and Article 57 of the law, the
customs authorities are entitled to check the
passage of persons, goods and means of transport
across the country's borders, summon and
question persons, receive and certify declarationsand examine goods.IP/N/1/HND/1
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TITLE
DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Administrative procedures and remedies not
covered above
Decree Law No. 212-87, Customs Law.
Adoption:  14 December 1987.
Entry into force:  1 January 1988.The Customs Law includes revocation and
appeal.
An application for revocation must be submitted
with the document of notification or within
15 working days following the date of the ruling.If the applicant requests a period to produce
evidence or if the Executive Revenue Directorate
does not deem the interested party's allegations to
be accurate, a period for the submission of
evidence may be granted for a term of not lessthan 10 days and not more than 20 days.  The
relevant ruling shall be issued within five
working days following the date of expiry of the
evidentiary period, if any.
Article No. 77 of the Tax Code.
Once the remedy of revocation has been
completed, an appeal may be submitted to theSecretary of State in the Finance Department.
The application shall be filed on the date of
notification or within three working days thereof.
The appellant shall specify any harm suffered,
within 15 working days following the date onwhich the application is filed.  If he does not
appear, the application shall, ex officio or at the
request of the other party, be declared void and
the background material shall be returned to the
submitting office.
The relevant ruling shall be issued within five
working days following the date of expiry of the
evidentiary period, if any.
Article 78 of the Tax Code.
The ruling shall put an end to the administrativeremedy.
Article 79 of the Tax Code.
Anything not covered by this Section shall be
subject to the Administrative Procedures Law.
Decree Law No. 12-99-E, Industrial Property
Law.Industrial property legislation includes theremedies of reconsideration, objection,
revocation, appeal and civil action.IP/N/1/HND/1
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TITLE
DATE OF ADOPTION AND
ENTRY INTO FORCEBRIEF DESCRIPTION
Adoption:  30 December 1999.
Entry into force:  28 February 2000.Remedy of reconsideration:
An application for reconsideration may be made
when the registration of the trademark is held up
because of a registration that is similar or
identical to the one to be registered;  the applicanttherefore requests "reconsideration", i.e. the
application for registration is reconsidered for
various reasons, inter alia , because there is no
similarity, because authorization has been given
for the trademark to be registered, because it hasbeen modified or limited, or because the person
has the existing prior right, etc.
Remedy of objection:
Where there is no objection or pre-existingregistration of the trademark, the formalities
follow their normal course, but when the
application for registration of the trademark is
published in the Official Gazette an objection
may be submitted within 30 days followingpublication.
Remedy of revocation – appeal:
When a ruling is issued, anyone who regards
himself as being affected by it may make an
application for a revocation in the sense of
rectifying any error;  if the issuing authorityconsiders that the ruling is correct it shall reject
the application for revocation and the applicant
shall then submit an appeal to the General
Secretariat, an office of the Ministry of Industry
and Trade;  if the General Secretariat considersthat the ruling is correct, the file is returned.
Otherwise where the ruling is deemed not to be
correct the appellant shall be considered as being
in the right and the file shall be returned with
orders to make the relevant corrections.  Theseare all administrative proceedings.
Judicial action:
Where the appellant does not agree with the
ruling on the administrative appeal, he may applyto the courts, where he may also make an
application for revocation or an appeal.
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