RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/267/Add.2
28 August 2001
(01-4133)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Responses from Albania to the questions posed by
the European Communities and their member States
Addendum
By means of a communication from the delegation of Albania dated 16 August 2001, the
Secretariat has received the following responses to the questions posed by the European Communities
and their member States circulated in document IP/C/W/274.
_______________
A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Please describe if your legislation includes measures necessary to protect public health and
nutrition, and to promote the public interest in se ctors of vital importance to your socio-economic and
technological development as mentioned under Arti cle 8 of the TRIPS Agreement.  If yes, please
explain how such measures are consistent with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.
Albanian legislation related to socio-economic development aims in general to the protection
of the public health and nutrition.  It takes care of the public interest and the general well-being.  In
Albania, the legislation on intellectual property is not dealing directly with the protection of the publichealth and nutrition.  However, Article 3.7 of the Law on Industrial Property stipulates that no patents
shall be granted in respect of essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals,
whereas in Article 40 it is stated :  "Where the national security or public safety so requires, the
Minister may authorize, even without the agreement of the owner of the patent or of the applicant, by
notice published in the Official Journal, a government agency or a person designated in the said noticeto make, use or sell an invention to which a patent or a patent application for a patent relates, subject
to payment of equitable remuneration to the owner of the patent or the applicant."
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food will improve the legislation to protect public health and
nutrition by regulations which will be in compliance with international standards, especiallyregulations dealing with genetically modified organisms.
Several decisions of the Council of Ministers establish procedures for granting compulsory
licenses on public interest grounds.
B. C
OPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
2. Please state how your legislation provides for the protection of the exclusive rights of authors
in relation to their literary and artistic works, as  specified in Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement whichIP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 2
requires Members to comply with Articles 1-21 of the Berne Convention and the Appendix to the
Berne Convention (1971)).
Albanian Law on Copyright (Law No. 7564, dated 19 May 1992 and its amendments) is in
compliance with Articles 1-21 of the Berne Convention.
Article 1 of this Law provides for the protection of the literary, artistic, public and other
works including any original intellectual creation of this nature.  The protection does not depend on
the manner and form of expression, neither on the quality or the aim of the work.  And it is not
extended to ideas, procedures, processes, systems, ways of action, concepts, expressed principles or
discoveries.
Article 4 deals with moral rights stating that even if the economic rights have been transferred
by his desire, the author has the right to:
a) claim authorship of the work, especially the right to write his name oil the copies of
the work. When allowed by practice and in conformity with the tradition, his name
may accompany his work mentioned in public.
b) remain anonymous or use a pseudonym
c) object to any distortion, mutilation or modification and to other derogatory action in
relation to his work, which would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation,
d) object the joint authorship put in an arbitrary way from other persons because of
different reasons.
And Article 5 refers to economic rights stipulating that the author shall have the exclusive
right of authorizing:
a) the reproduction of the work.;
b) the importation of the work, with the purpose of its distribution (selling, leasing,
renting, loaning) to the public;
c) the translation of the work;
d) the preparation of adaptations, alterations or other alterations of the work;
e) the public recitation of the work;
f) the communication of the work to the public by broadcasting and rebroadcasting;
the communication of the work to the public by wire or other means;
3. Please describe the protection accorded to authors of computer programs, databases or
compilations of data.
Article 1 a) of the Law on Copyright, as  amended by Law No. 8594 dated 6 April 2000
stipulates that this Law protects written works including computer programs whether in source or
object code.
Treating derived works and collections, Article 2 underlines that the same protection as to the
works is applied to:IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 3
a) translations, adaptations, arrangements, and other alterations of works and folkloric
materials;
b) collections of works, popular sayings or data and facts as encyclopaedias, anthologies
and other sources of data which, by reason of the selection and arrangement of theircontents constitute original creations.
As regards economic rights, Article 5 of the Law states that the author of an audiovisual work,
or any other work like phonograms, computer programs., databases, and of any other work readable in
machine, has the exclusive right to authorize giving on lease of his work.
4. Please state whether your legislation provides for a rental right and, if so, the works to which
it applies.
Article 5 b) of Copyright Law stipulates that the author shall have the exclusive right of
authorizing the importation of the work, with the purpose of its distribution (selling, leasing, renting,
loaning) to the public.  And, further on : "the author of an audiovisual work, or any other work like
phonograms, computer programs, databases, and of any other work readable in machine, has the
exclusive right to authorize giving on lease of his work."
Dealing with the producers of phonograms, Article 35 c) underlines that no one can lease or
loan copy of the phonogram without the au thorization of the producers of phonograms.
5. Please describe the rights granted to performers, producers of phonograms (sound
recordings) and broadcasting organisations under your legislation.
Article 34 of Law on Copyright provides for the protection of performers states that no one
can undertake the following acts without the authorization of the performers:
1. The broadcasting of their programmes, except for the cases when the programme
consists of:
a) a fixation of the performance, excluding the registration done according to
the provisions of Article 39;
b) a re-broadcasting authorized by the organization which has broadcasted the
programme for the first time;
2. The communication to the public of their performance, except for the cases when this
performance consists of.
a) the fixation of the programme;b) the broadcasting of the performance.
3. The fixation of the unfixed performance.
4. The reproduction of fixation of their performance in the following cases:
a) when the performance is fixed before, without the authorization of the
performers;IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 4
b) when the reproduction is done for purposes other than those authorized by the
performers;
c) when the performance is first fixed in compliance with the provisions of
Article 35, but the reproduction is done for purposes other than those defined
in that article.
In case of absence of a contractual agreement that provides otherwise or of absence of such
employment conditions from which results the contrary;
a) the authorization to broadcast does not mean authorization to grant license to other
organizations for the broadcasting of the performance;
b) the authorization for broadcasting does not mean authorization to fix the
performance;
c) the authorization for the fixation of the performance and the reproduction of the
fixation does not mean the authorization to broadcast the performance;
d) The authorization for broadcasting and fixing the performance does not mean
authorization for reproduction and fixation.
The provisions of the first and second paragraph, letters 'c' and 'd' are not applicable from the
moment that the performers give the authorization to include their performance in a visual and
audiovisual fixation.
None of the paragraphs of this article takes  off the right of the performers to sign contracts in
more favourable conditions for their performances.
In Article 35 which deals with the protection of the producers of phonograms, it is stated :Without the authorization of the producers of phonograms no one can:
a) reproduce directly or indirectly the phonogram;
b) import any copy of the phonogram;
c) lease or loan copy of the phonogram.
Treating the protection of broadcasting organizations, Article 37 underlines that no-one can
undertake the following acts without their authorization:
1) The re-broadcasting of their programmes
2) The fixation of their programmes
3) Reproduction of the fixation of their programmes:
a) When the fixation on which bases a reproduction is done, is realized without
the authorization of these organizations, or
b) When the broadcasting is firstly fixed in accordance with the provisions of
Article 39, but the reproduction is done for other purposes from those
mentioned in that article.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 5
6. Please state whether your legislation provides for any limitation or exception in relation to
each of the rights described above in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Berne and Rome
Conventions and in light of Articles 13 and 14.6 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Articles 6 to 16 and Article 38 deal with limitations of the economic rights of the author
defining as lawful reproductions which are perm itted without the authors approval and without
payment or remuneration;  the reproduction for personal use;  that given in the form of citation;  use
for teaching;  reproduction from libraries and archives with the purpose of storing or replacing of a
copy, (in case of loss, damage etc);  reproduction for legal and administrative purposes;  for giving
information;  use of pictures of publicly exposed works., reproduction or adaptation of a computer
program if this copy or adaptation is indispensable for the use of the computer program and for the
purpose the program is legally obtained or if it is used for archives and if necessary (in case of loss,
damage or overuse) to replace the legally obtained copy. (The copy or the adaptation provided for inthe first paragraph is destroyed in cases when the ownership of the copies of the computer programs is
no longer legal);  the reproduction of the code and the adaptation (upon some conditions) that are
necessary to get the required data for the interaction of a computer program which is created
independently of the other programs;  recording for temporary, use by a broadcasting organization and
with its own means and the performance of a work dur ing the activity of a school institution when it is
prepared and listened by the staff.
7. Please state the terms of protection of each right described above and the work or subject
matter to which it applies.
According to Law No. 7923, dated 19 April 1995, Article 1, the terms of protection are as
follows:
Moral rights are protected permanently.Economic rights:- Copyright: the lifetime of the author and 70 years after his death.- Works of applied art: moral and economic rights protected for 25 years from the
making of such works.
- Rights of performers: 50 years, starting from the end of the year in which the
performance has taken place.
- Rights of producers of phonograms: 50 years, starting from the end of the year, in
which the phonogram has been produced for the first time.
- Rights of broadcasting organizations: 50 year s, starting from the end of the year, in
which the broadcasting has taken place.
8. Please state how your legislation grants the retroactive protection provided pursuant to
Article 18 of the Berne Convention (the obligation of which derives from Article 9 of the TRIPSAgreement) and Article 14.6 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The retroactive protection according to Article 18 of the Berne Convention is provided by
Article 6 of Law No. 8594 dated 6 April 2000, which replaces Article 51 of the previous law and
stipulates that:IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 6
"the provisions of this law shall apply to works created before the moment this law came into
force but have not yet fallen into the public domain through the expiry of the term of
protection afforded under this law".
C. TRADEMARKS
9. Please give the definition of a sign under your national legislation and explain under what
conditions it is protectable.
Article 73 of the "Law on Industrial Property" (1994) gives the definition of a sign and under
what conditions it is protectable.  According to this Article:
1. Any sign or any combination of signs capable of distinguishing the goods or services
of one natural or legal person from those of another natural or legal person and of
being represented graphically may serve as a mark for goods or a mark for services(hereinafter referred to as " mark ").
2. A collective trademark is a trademark registered by an industrial or commercial
cooperation, or an association or the like organisation of several enterprises, and
which is used in order to designate the goods and services of' this association.  Each
enterprise of this association may also simultaneously, have its own trademarks.Particular provisions on collective trademarks are prescribed in specific articles of
this Law, but in other cases, the provisions prescribed to trademarks also apply to
collective trademarks.
3 The following signs may constitute a mark
- words, including personal names, letters, numeral, abbreviations- figurative signs, including devices, shapes of goods or of their packaging
- combinations of colours and shades of colours
- any, combination of tile signs referred to in items (a) to (c) of this Article.
4. Specific types of trademarks, such as, sound and light signals or other signs may be
registered, if they can be graphically represented.
10. Please confirm whether or not services are a protectable subject matter in your trademark
law.  Please confirm if signs, such as trade names, are protectable.  Please describe if elements such
as sound, perfumes and containers are protectable.
According to Article 73, paragraph 1 of the law any sign or any combination of signs capable
of distinguishing the goods or services of one natural or legal person from those of another natural or
legal person and of being represented graphically may serve as a mark for goods or a mark for
services.
In compliance with this paragraph, trade names are considered as signs and can be protected.
And, as it is stated in Article 8 of Paris Convention, the Albanian Law on Industrial Property includes
no provision that obliges the registration or the depositing of a trade name.  Article 18 of the Law
"On the Provisions that Regulate the First Part of the Commercial Code" sets forth that within onemonth from the day of the beginning of a commercial activity, the tradesman should announce his
name and deposit his original signature at the  court appointed to keep the commercial register.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 7
According to Article 73, paragraph 3 and 4, sounds and containers are also protectable (see
the answer of question 1).
11. Please explain what the requirements of use are, if any, as a condition for a trademark
registration.  Please explain the definition of use and the conditions of maintenance of a registrationin that respect.
According to Article 92:
1) The registration of a mark may be revoked if the owner of the registered mark has not
used it in connection with the goods or services referred to in the registration during a
period of three years, without good reason.(as amended by Law No. 8477, dated
22 April 1999)
2) A request to revoke the registration of a mark on the ground of the above-mentioned
paragraph may be submitted to the Court by any interested party.  The Court shall
inform the Patent Office of its decision within 1 month from the date the decision is
adopted.
3) A registration may not be revoked on the ground of paragraph (1) of this Article, in
the case of any of the following uses of the registered mark in connection with the
goods or services referred to in the registration:
a) LISC made under a licence contract recorded in the register of marks;
b) use of the mark in a modified form which does not alter its distinctive
character ;
c) use of the marks in publicity and business correspondence.
4) Any revoked registration shall cease to have effect on the date which the revocation
becomes effective.
5) The Patent Office shall record the revocation in the register of marks and publish the
revocation of the mark and any other alteration made on the ground of this Article.
12. Please confirm whether or not your legislation permits that the registration of trademarks be
indefinitely renewable.
Yes, it is possible, according to Article 86 which states:
1) The registration of a trademark and service mark is made for 10 years counted from
the filing date.
2) The application for the renewal of a registration contains the following elements:
a) a request for the renewal of the registration;
b) the name and the address of the owner of the registered mark;
c) the date and the registration number of the registration concerned;
d) the name and the address of the representative, if any;IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 8
e) the names of goods and/or services grouped according to the International
Classification of the Goods and Services, for which the renewal of the
registration is sought;
f) the signature of the owner of the registered mark or his representative if any.
3) The registration of a mark may be renewed, on payment of the prescribed fee, for
additional terms of 10 years.
13. Please describe the special requirements, if any, prescribed by your legislation concerning
the use of a trademark.
Article 92, paragraph 3) a), b) and c) gives some requirements concerning the use of a
trademark:
A registration may not be revoked on the ground of paragraph (1) of this Article, in the case
of any of the following uses of the registered mark ill connection with the goods or services
referred to in the registration:
a) use made under a licence contract recorded in the register of marks;
b) use of the mark in a modified form which does not alter its distinctive character;c) use of the marks in publicity and business correspondence.
D. G
EOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
14. Please explain whether or not your trademark registration authority refuses a trademark
application if it contains a geographical indication.
Article 74, paragraph 1,b gives the power to the trademark registration authority to refuse a
trademark application if it contains a geographical indication:
A mark shall not be registered as a trademark if it consists exclusively of signs or indications,
which may serve in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value,
geographical origin, or the time of production of the goods or of rendering the services, or othercharacteristics of the goods or services;
15. Please give the definition of a geographical indication in your legislation.
This kind of definition is given in Article 93, paragraphs 1, 2, 3 of the law:
1) The appellation of origin is used to mark the natural, agricultural products, the
industrial and handicrafts products.
2) The appellations of origin protect:
a) geographical names of products, whose distinctive properties are mainly due
to the location or region where they are produced , if such properties are a
natural consequence of either the climate or soil or of established
manufacturing procedures or processes;IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 9
b) the name of a product which has become generally known through long term
use in the course of trade as an indication that the product originates from a
certain location or region.
3) Geographical names which have become generally known through long-term use in
the course of trade as designations for certain kinds of products may, not he protectedby appellations of origin.
16. Please describe and explain the provisions of your legislation establishing a link, if any,
between the characteristics of an indication and its geographical origin.
The link between the characteristics of an indication and its geographical origin is established
by Article 93, paragraph 2 of the "Law on Industrial Property" (1994) and Articles 13 and 14 of the
Law "Some changes and supplements to the Law on in dustrial property" (1999).  According to these
articles:
The appellations of origin protect :a) geographical names of products, whose distinctive properties are mainly due to the
location or region where they are produced, If such properties are a naturalconsequence of either the climate or soil or of established manufacturing procedures
or processes;
b) the name of a product which has become generally known through long term use in
the course of trade as an indication that the product originates from a certain location
or region.
Persons not authorized to use an appellation of origin may not use such appellation even they
add the words "type", "style", "fashion", "produced as" or similar words. (Article 13)
The protection of the appellation of origin  shall. be applicable against a geographical
indication which, although literally true as to the territory, region or locality in which the goodsoriginate, falsely represents to the public that th e goods originate in another territory. (Article 14)
17. Please describe how additional protection is granted by your legislation to wines and spirits.
Please mention other types of products, if any, covered by this additional protection.
The Law on Industrial Property does not have any special provisions for additional protection
granted to varies and spirits.  Article 93.1 of this Law defines goods protected by appellation of origin
as natural, agriculture, industrial and handicraft products.  This also includes protection for wines andspirits.  However, in the Law "On the viniculture, wine and other products deriving from grape" (Law
No. 8443 dated 21 January 1999) and its regulation, both administrated by the Ministry of Agriculture
and Food, there are well defined criteria concerning the denomination of controlled origin.
18. Please explain how exceptions under Article 24 of the TRIPS Agreement are used in your
jurisdiction.  Please provide examples of the use of the exceptions by courts or lists of names
considered as generic in your jurisdiction.
Exceptions like those foreseen in Article 24 of the TRIPS Agreement do not exist yet in
Albanian legislation. Some of them will be provided  for in new amendments in the near future.  It is
up to the Albanian Patent and Trademark Office to decide case by case during the examinationprocedure whether or not a name is generic.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 10
E. INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
19. Please explain whether or not your legislation extends to the protection of designs dictated
essentially by technical or functional considerations.  Please explain how textile designs are
protected.
In Article 39 of the Law it is stated:
1) For the purposes of the Law, " industrial design" (hereinafter referred to as "design")
means the features of the appearance of a product which are not dictated solely by the
technical function of the product and which confer to it a special appearance.  The
designs may be two or three dimensional or a combination of them.
2) a) In order to be protectable, an industrial design must be new and usable in
industrial or handicraft products.
b) An industrial design shall be considered to be new if it is not identical or
closely similar to an industrial design  which by publication or by public use
has been made available to the public, anywhere in the world, before thefiling date or, where prionity is claimed, before the priority date of the
application for the registration of the former design.
c) Subparagraph 21 of this Article shall not apply in respect of any publication
or public use which was made by the creator of the industrial design or hisSuccessor in title within a period of 12 months prior to the filing date of' the
application or, where priority is claimed, the priority date.
Industrial designs are protected like other designs.
20. Please explain how your legislation protects right holders of a design against importing of
articles bearing embodied or copied design.
These rights are protected by Article 67 of the law which reads:
1) The owner of the registered design shall have the right to prevent third parties from
making, importing, offering to supply or distributing, or having in their possession for
these purposes, any products that incorporate the registered design or closely similardesign, when such acts are undertaken for commercial purposes.
2) Paragraph (1) of this Article shall not have effect in respect of mentioned products in
that paragraph, which have been put on the market in the territory of the Republic of
Albania, or in any territory specified in bilateral or multilateral agreement of the
Republic of Albania.
3) The rights conferred by the registration shall not extend to equipment on ships,
aircraft and any other vehicles not registered in the territory of the Republic of
Albania, when these temporarily enter in the territory of the Republic of Albania, as
well as the importation of spare parts and accessories for the purpose of repairing
such vehicles and the execution of repairs on such vehicles.
21. Please state whether or not your legislation provides for the right to issue a compulsory
licence for industrial designs.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 11
Our legislation does not provide for the right  to issue a compulsory licence for industrial
designs.  It provides licence contracts.  Under Article 69 of the law:
1) For the purposes of this law, "licence contract" means any contract by which the
owner of an registered design ("the licensor") gives to the other party ("the licensee")his agreement for that other party to do any of the acts referred to in Article 68 (1) of
this Law.
2) A licence contract shall be made in writing and shall be signed by the parties to the
contract. Otherwise it shall not be valid.
The fact that the contract has been concluded shall be recorded in the Register of industrial
designs on payment of the prescribed fee.  The licensee shall be entitled to institute any legal
proceedings concerning the licence contract only if it has been recorded in the Register of industrialdesigns.
22. Please indicate for what period of time your  legislation grants protection for industrial
designs.
In Article 68 of the law it is stipulated:
1) The registration is made for 5 years counted from the filing date;
2) The registration may be renewed, on payment of the prescribed fee, for additional
terms of five years each up to a total term of 15 years counted from the filing date.
F. P
ATENTS
23. Please describe how your legislation defines the notions of: novelty, inventiveness and
industrial application.
According to Article 4 of the law:
1) An invention shall be considered novel  if it does not form part of the prior art.  For
the determination of novelty, items of prior art may only be taken into account
individually.
2) The prior art shall consist of everything which, before the filing date or, where
priority is claimed, the priority date of the application claiming the invention
(hereinafter priority date), has been made available to the public by means of
publishing, use, demonstration or in any other way.
3) The prior art shall also include the content of any patent application as filed in, or
with effect for, the Republic of Albania, to the extent that such application or the
patent granted thereon is published subsequently, provided that the filing date or,
where priority is claimed the priority  date of such application is earlier than the date
referred to in paragraph (2).
According to Article 5 of the law:
An invention shall be considered to involve an in ventive step if, having regard to the prior art,
it would not have been obvious to a person skilled in the art at the filing date or, where priority is
claimed, the priority date of the application claiming the invention.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 12
According to Article 6 of the law:
An invention shall be considered industrially applicable  if it can be made or used in any kind
of industry.  Industry shall be understood in its broadest sense and shall cover any productive
activities and services.
24. Please explain whether or not in your legislation, patent or otherwise, patent rights are
enjoyed without any exclusions.  If exclusions are provided for, please describe in detail how these
exclusions are applied in legal as well as practical terms.
Exclusions from patentability are specified in Article 3, paragraphs 2-7 as follows:
2) The following, in particular, shall not be re garded as inventions within the meaning of
paragraph (1):
a) discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;b) aesthetic creations;
c) schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or
doing business, and programs for computers;
d) presentations of information.
3) The provisions of paragraph (2) shall exclude patentability of the subject-matter or
activities referred to in that provision only to the extent to which a patent applicationor patent relates to such subject-matter or activities as such.
4) A patent shall not be granted in respect of an invention the publication or exploitation
of which would be contrary to public order or morality.
5) No patents shall be granted for substances obtained through internal nuclear
transformations for military purposes.
6) No patents shall be granted for inventions of surgical, diagnostic or therapeutical
methods practised on the human or animal body, as they shall be regarded as
inventions which are not susceptible of industrial application within the meaning of
paragraph (1).  This provision shall not apply to inventions relating to substances and
devices for use in any of these methods.
7) No patents shall be granted in respect of plant or animal varieties or essentially
biological processes for the production of pl ants or animals; this provision does not
apply to microbiological  processes or the products thereof.
25. Please explain whether your legislation provides for the exclusion of inventions from
patentability based on ordre public or morality.  If so, please explain the relevant section of your
legislation and explain its formulation.  Please also explain if it has been applied in practice.
Please see paragraph 4 of Article 3 (cited above).  Until now, there are no cases applied in
practice.
26. Please explain whether or not diagnostic, th erapeutic and surgical methods are excluded
from patentability in your legislation. If so, please explain the relevant section of your legislation and
explain its formulation.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 13
Yes, they are excluded.  Please see paragraph 6 of Article 3 as cited above.
27. Please explain whether or not plants, animals and essentially biological processes are
excluded from patentability in your legislation. If so, please explain the relevant section of your
legislation and explain its formulation.
Yes, they are excluded.  Please see paragraph 7 of Article 3 as cited above.
28. Please describe how micro-organisms, non-essentially biological processes, microbiological
processes and plant varieties are protected in your legislation. Please explain, in this respect, the
relevant sections of your legislation.
They are protected under the second part of paragraph 7, of Article 3 of the law (see above).
We are preparing all the documents to ratify in the near future the Budapest Treaty for the
protection of micro-organisms.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has prepared a new law for the protection of new
varieties of plants according to UPOV standards, which should enter into force probably by the end of
this year.
29. Please explain how your legislation protects patent right holders against the importing and
against the offering for sale of a patented invention.
In Article 27 of the law it is defined:
1) Where the patent concerns a product, the owner of the patent shall have the right to
prevent third parties from performing, wit hout his authorization, the following acts :
a) the making of a product incorporating the protected invention
b) the offering or the putting on the market of a product incorporating the
protected invention, the using of such a product, or the importing or stocking
of such a product for such offering or putting on the market ;
c) the inducing of other parties to perform any of the above acts.
2) Where the patent concerns a process, the owner of the patent shall have the right to
prevent third parties from performing, wit hout his authorization, the following acts:
a) the using of a process which is the subject matter of the patent ,
b) in respect of any product directly obtained by such process, any of the acts
referred to in paragraph (1)(b), even where a patent cannot be obtained for the
said product;
c) the inducing of other parties to perform any of the above acts.
30. Please state if your legislation provides for patent product  protection of pharmaceutical and
agricultural chemical products.  In the affirmative, please indicate the legal reference.
Yes.  It is according to Article 3, paragraph 1 of the law which states:IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 14
"In order to be patentable, an invention shall be novel, shall involve an inventive step and
shall be industrially applicable."
Whereas, Article 6 underlines:
"An invention shall be considered industrially app licable if it can be made or used in any kind
of industry.  Industry  shall be understood in its broadest sense and shall cover any productive
activities and services."
31. Please clarify if the patent protection of a process, as provided for in your legislation, covers
the product obtained directly by that process.
According to Article 27, paragraph 2 of the law:
Where the patent concerns a process, the owner of the patent shall have the right to prevent
third parties from performing, without his authorization, the following acts:
a) the using of a process which is the subject matter of the patent;
b) in respect of any product directly obtained by such process, any of the acts referred to
in paragraph (1)(b), even where a patent cannot be obtained for the said product;
c) the inducing of other parties to perform any of the above acts.
32. Please explain the additional conditions, if any, in your legislation other than the sufficient
disclosure of the invention in Article 29 of the TR IPS Agreement (e.g. submission of justification for
access to genetic material or prior inform consent to its use).  If such additional conditions exist,please point out the relevant legislations and describe the additional conditions in detail.
Paragraph 1 of Article 13 of the law states:
a) The application shall disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and
complete for the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art.
b) Where the application refers to biologically reproducible material which cannot be
disclosed in the application in such a way as to enable the invention to be carried out
by a person skilled in the art and such material is not available to the public, the
application shall be supplemented by a deposit of such material with a recognised
depositary institution.
33. Please describe if your legislation provides for limited exceptions to the exclusive rights
conferred by a patent.  If affirmative, please make a reference to relevant legislation.
Article 27, paragraph 3 of the law states:
The owner of a patent shall have no right to pr event third parties from performing, without his
authorization, the acts referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) (cited above) in the followingcircumstances:
a) where the act concerns a product covered by the patent after it has been put on the
market by the owner of the patent, or with his express consent, in the Republic of
Albania or in any territory specified in the bilateral or multilateral agreements whichhave been acceded to by Republic of AlbaniaIP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 15
b) where the act is done privately and for non-commercial purposes, provided that it
does not significantly prejudice the economic interests of the owner of the patent ;
c) where the act is done for purely experimental purposes or for scientific research ;
d) where the act consists of the extemporaneous preparation for individual cases, in a
pharmacy or by a medical doctor, of a medicine in accordance with a medicalprescription or acts concerning the medicine so prepared.
34. Please explain whether or not your legislation provides for compulsory licensing. If so, please
explain in detail the conditions under which a compulsory licence may be granted.  In particular,
please explain how your national le gislation considers individual merits in the authorization of such
use.
The granting of compulsory licences is regulated under Articles 39 and 40 of the Law on
Industrial Property and Article 22 of the Law No. 8477 dated 22 April 1999 (General Provisions onCompulsory Licences):
1) On the request of any person who proves his ability to work the patented invention in
the Republic of Albania, made after the expiration of a period of four years from the
filing date of the application for the patent or three years from the grant of the patent,whichever is later, the Patent Office may grant a non-exclusive, non-voluntary licence
if the patented invention is not worked or is insufficiently worked in the Republic of
Albania.  The grant of the non-voluntary licence shall be subject to the payment of
equitable remuneration to the owner of the patent.
2) A non-voluntary licence shall not be granted if the Patent Office is convinced that
circumstances exist which justify the non-working or insufficient working of the
patented invention in the Republic of Albania.
3) In deciding whether to grant a non-voluntar y licence, the Patent Office shall give both
the owner of the patent and the person requesting the non-voluntary licence an
adequate opportunity to present arguments.
4) Any non-voluntary licence shall be revoked when the circumstances which led to its
granting cease to exist, taking into account the legitimate interests of the patent owner
and of the licensee.  The continued existence of these circumstances shall be reviewed
upon request of the patent owner.
Where the national security or public safety so requires, the Prime Minister may authorize,
even without the agreement of the owner of the patent or of the applicant, by notice published in the
Official Journal, a government agency or a person designated in the said notice to make, use or sellan invention to which a patent or a patent application for a patent relates, subject to payment of
equitable remuneration to the owner of the patent or the applicant.  The decision of the Prime
Minister may be subject of an appeal to the Court.
1) An applicant for a compulsory licence shall be required to prove that the requirements
for a compulsory licence have been complied with, and further that:
a) the patentee was unwilling to grant a voluntary license to exploit the patent
under appropriate conditions and within a reasonable period of time;
b) he is able to exploit the invention to the required extent.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 16
2) The scope and duration of a compulsory license shall be established by the court,
taking into account the purpose of the exploitation authorized by the compulsory
license; a compulsory license may be granted with or without limitation.  Unless
relinquished or cancelled, a compulsory license shall have effect until expiration of
the term of validity fixed by the court or until the lapse of patent protection.Compulsory licenses shall be recorded in the Patent Register.
3) The patentee shall receive adequate compensation for the compulsory license, which
shall be fixed, failing agreement between the parties, by the court.  The compensation
shall take into adequate account the economic value of the compulsory license.  In
particular, it shall be commensurate with  the royalty the holder of the compulsory
license would have paid on the basis of an exploitation contract concluded with
patentee, taking into account the licensing conditions in the technical field of theinvention.
4) The holder of a compulsory license shall have the same rights as the patentee in
regard to the maintenance of the patent and exercise of the rights deriving from
protection.
5) A compulsory license may not be assigned or transferred to any other person.
Compulsory licenses are non-exclusive and non-transferable, even in the form of sub-
license, except with that part of the enterprise or goodwill which exploits such
license.  The holder of the compulsory license may not grant a license of exploitation.
6) The holder of a compulsory license may relinquish his compulsory license at any
time.  If the holder does not begin exploitation within one year from the definitivegrant of the compulsory license, the patentee may claim modification or cancellation
of the compulsory license.
7) The patentee may request modification or cancellation of a compulsory license if the
circumstances on which it was based cease to exist and are unlikely to occur again.Modification or cancellation shall take a form that does not prejudice the legitimate
interests of the holder of the compulsory license.
35. Please explain how your legislation explicitly ensures that a proposed user has made efforts
to obtain authorization from the right holder on reasonable commercial terms and conditions and that
such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time. In this context, how do you
define "reasonable period of time".  Please also explain how your legislation ensures that the use of acompulsory licence shall be authorised predominantly for the supply to the domestic market of the
Member authorizing such use.
A compulsory license will only be granted if the applicant has previously made efforts to
obtain a contractual license from the patent holder on reasonable commercial terms and conditions
and these efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time.  The expression"reasonable period of time" has to be determined by the competent authority on a case-by-case basis,
in accordance with the relevant circumstances.
Concerning the use predominantly for the home market, as one of the conditions under which
a compulsory license will be granted, Article 39 stipulates that it must be used within the territory ofthe Republic of Albania, which in conformity with Article 31(f) of the TRIPS Agreement.
36. Please state if your legislation grants additional protection for innovations after the 20 years
of patent protection has lapsed.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 17
Article 28, paragraph 5 of the law provides for additional protection only for pharmaceutical
products.  It states that the term of a patent for invention related to pharmaceutical products can be
extended over 20 years, but no more than 5 years.
37. Please explain how your legislation provides for the enhanced patent protection of patents or
patent applications pending on 1st January 1995.
Our Law on Industrial Property does not provide additional protection based on the date of
filing of the patent application. All patents are gran ted in conformity with the standards of protection
specified in the TRIPS Agreement and the Albanian laws on industrial property.
38. Please explain how your legislation provides for the reversal of the burden of proof in
relation to process patents.
Our law provides for such a principle according to Articles 41-42, where it is stated:
1) Subject to this Law, the performance of any act referred to in Article 27(1), (2) and
(4) in Albania by a person other than the owner of the patent, and without the consent
of the latter, in relation to a product or process falling within the scope of protection
of the patent shall constitute an infringement of the patent.
2) Subject to this Law, the performance of any act referred to in Article 27(1), (2) and
(4) in Albania by a person other than the applicant, and without the consent of the
applicant, in relation to a product or process falling within the scope of provisional
protection conferred on a published patent application under Article 20 (3) shall
constitute an infringement of that provisional protection.
1) The owner of a patent and the applicant for a patent shall have the right to institute
proceedings in the Court against any person who has infringed or is infringing the
patent or the provisional protection conferred on a published patent application.  The
owner of the patent and the applicant shall have the same rights against any person
who has performed acts or is performing acts which make it likely that such
infringement will occur ("Imminent infringement").  The proceedings may not beinstituted after five years from the act of infringement.
2) a) If the owner of the patent proves that an infringement has been committed or
is being committed, the Court shall award damages and shall grant an
injunction to prevent further infringement and any other remedy provided in
the general law.
b) If the owner of the patent proves imminent infringement, the Court shall
grant an injunction to prevent infringement and any other remedy provided inthe general law.
3) a) Unless the licence contract provides otherwise, any licensee may request the
owner of the patent to institute Court proceedings for any infringement
indicated by the licensee, who must specify the relief desired.
b) Such licensee may, if he proves that the owner of the patent received the
request but refuses or fails to institute the proceedings within three months
from the receipt of the request, institute the proceedings in his own name.
After notifying the owner of the patent of his intention, the owner of the
patent shall have the right to join in the proceedings.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 18
c) Even before the end of the three-month period referred to in subparagraph
(3)(b), the Court shall, on the request of the licensee, grant an appropriate
injunction to prevent infringement or to prohibit its continuation, if the
licensee proves that immediate action is necessary to avoid substantial
damage.
4) Where the subject matter of the patent is a process for obtaining a product, the burden
of establishing that a product was not made by the process shall be on the alleged
infringer if either of the following conditions is fulfilled:
a) the product is new, or,
b) a substantial likelihood exists that the product was made by the process and
the owner of the patent has been unable through reasonable efforts to
determine the process actually used-
Articles 12, 14 and 17 of the Civil Procedure Code also provide for the principle of burden of
proof in a process patent litigation.
G. LAYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
39. Please describe how your legislation protects Topographies.
Law No. 8488, dated 13 May 1999 "On protection of topographies of integrated circuits"
provides for protection as follow: Chapter I - Basi c provisions; Chapter II - Subjects of protection;
Chapter III - Common regulations for the procedure of protection; Chapter IV - Contents, terms and
limitation of rights; Chapter V - Procedure for protection and registration; Chapter VI -Invalidation of
the register; Chapter VII - Infringement of the right and compensation of the damage; Chapter VIII -Transitional and final provisions.
40. Please explain what protection your national legislation grants to right holders against the
unlawful importation, sale or distribution for commercial purposes of topographies including
integrated circuits or other articles in which a topography is incorporated in accordance withArticle 36 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Article 9 of our law is in full compliance with Article 36 of the TRIPS Agreement:
The holder of the protected topography shall be granted exclusive rights of commercial
exploitation, including the right to authorize or prohibited any of the following acts:
- reproduction of the topography by any means or in any form;- importation, sale or other form of distri bution of the topography or products that
include integrated circuit incorporating the respective topography.
The exclusive rights referred to in Paragraph 1 shall not extend to any concept, process,
system or technical embodied in the topography other than the topography itself.
41. Please explain how your legislation provides for the derogation from Article 36 as specified
in Article 37 of the TRIPS Agreement where a person has no knowledge or reasonable grounds to
know when acquiring an integrated circuit or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit that
it contains an unlawful topography.
With regard to Article 37 of the TRIPS Agreement, Article 16 of our law reads:IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 19
"A person who commercially exploits an integrated circuit incorporating the protected
topography, and does not know, or has no reas onable grounds to believe that the topography
of the product is protected shall not be prevented from commercially exploiting that
integrated circuit".
Compensation, the amounts of which depends on the scope of commercial exploitation of
protected topography, may be claimed from the person referred to in Paragraph 1, by the right holder
of the protected topography from the date when the person referred to in Paragraph 1, has known, or
has had reasonable grounds to believe that the topography is protected.
The amount of compensation under Paragraph 2, shall be agreed upon between the right
holder of the protected topography and the person referred to in Paragraph 1.  If no agreement is
achieved, the Court of Justice in Tirana shall decide on the amount of compensation.
The provisions of Paragraph 2, shall apply also to the successors in title of the person referred
to in Paragraph 2.
The right of commercial exploitation is limited to importation, sale or distribution of the
products of integrated circuits or other products incorporating the respective topography, and this
right applies to a topography or products that were on hand at the time when the claim under
Paragraph 2, was received.
42. Please state the term of protection granted by your legislation to topographies.
According to the Article 10 of the law:
The exclusive rights shall expire after 10 years from the earlier of the following dates:- the end of the calendar year in which the topography is first commercially exploited
anywhere in the world; or
- the end of the calendar year in which the application has been filed in due form.The exclusive rights shall expire before the period defined in Paragraph 3, if the respective
fees are not paid or if the right holder of the protected topography renounces protections in writing.
If a topography has not been commercially exploited, the exclusive rights shall expire after 15
years from its fixation or encoding.
H. P
ROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
43. Please explain whether or not your legislation grants a defined period of time for the
protection of undisclosed information. If so, please give the time span.
Albanian Competition Law protects business secrets, including trade secrets.  Article 49.1 of
the law prohibits disclosing business or operative secrets of competitors in an illegal manner orencouraging the competitors employees to do so.  Article 49.2 forbids using or giving others business
or operative secrets obtained in the course of employment or other confidential relations during the
term of those relations in order to gain competitive advantage for oneself or a third party or to damage
the owner of a commercial company.  The obligation continues for a period of two years after the
employment or confidential relationship is terminated if the owner of the business or operative secrethas a justifiable interest and the obligation does not unreasonably restrict the business or professional
activity of others.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 20
Albanian pharmaceutical legislation does not grant any defined period of time for the
protection of undisclosed information.  Neither the legislation on plant protection products.
44. Please explain how your legislation defines undisclosed information.
The Regulation of the Commission of the Verification of Manufacturing Conditions of
Pharmaceuticals and the Regulation for the Registration of Pharmaceuticals (amended) constitute the
Albanian legislation dealing with undisclosed information in this field. Both regulations do not define
explicitly what an undisclosed information is.  But in both of them, it is defined what kind of
information must be presented by manufacturers:  all documents presented by the manufacturer to
take the approval for the manufacturing of drugs and all documents which comprise the drug dossier
for obtaining marketing authorization.  The regulation defines that the documentation which is
confidential is deposited in the National Center of Drugs Control and remains as exclusive property ofAlbanian authorities that are engaged in the drug registration procedure. (Regulation of the
Commission of the Verification of manufacturi ng Conditions of Pharmaceuticals, point 12;
Regulation for the Registration of Pharmaceuticals (amended), point 21).
In the field of veterinary, Regulation No. 4, dated 30 December 1999 "On the registration of
the veterinary drugs" based on Law No. 7674 dated 23 February 1996 "On the veterinary service and
inspectorate", Article 14 points 2,3, and 4 define clearly the procedure of registration of any medicine
imported and locally produced.  The registration is made in the state register- it is valid for 5 years
and, when necessary, can be renewed in conformity with the procedure fixed by European Union
directives on this problem. The registration is considered done after the issuing of the Minister Order.
The document is conserved in the Commission of Drugs Registration in the Veterinary
Division.
45. Please explain how your legislation defines da ta submitted to governments or governmental
agencies.
On plant protection products, the data deposited by the interested companies asking for the
permission to market such products in the Republic of Albania, are protected by Decision of the
Council of Ministers No. 72 dated 15 February 2001 "On the approval of the regulation of plant
protection products".  In Article 6 of this regulation is defined that the protection of data is made on
the basis of the request of the applicant and there is no a defined period of time for their protection.
Albania protects data submitted to obtain marketing approval for pharmaceutical or
agricultural chemicals utilizing a new chemical entity.  For the protection of their confidentiality, in
the Regulation of the Commission of the Verification of Manufacturing Conditions on Pharmaceutical
point 12, is defined:
"After the verification from the Commission, documentation which is confidential is
deposited in National Center of Drugs Control together with a copy of authorization".
I. E
NFORCEMENT
46. Please describe how your legislation provides for effective action against infringement of
intellectual property rights.
Patents:
According to Article 42:IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 21
1) The owner of a patent and the applicant for a patent shall have the right to institute
proceedings in the Court against any person who has infringed or is infringing the
patent or the provisional protection conferred on a published patent application.  The
owner of the patent and the applicant shall have the same rights against any person
who has performed acts or is performing acts which make it likely that suchinfringement will occur ("imminent infringement"). The proceedings may not be
instituted after five years from the act of infringement.
2) a) If the owner of the patent proves that an infringement has been committed or
is being committed, the Court shall award damages and shall grant an
injunction to prevent further infringement and any other remedy provided in
the general law.
b) If the owner of the patent proves imminent infringement, the Court shall
grant an injunction to prevent infringement and any other remedy provided in
the general law.
3) a) Unless the licence contract provides otherwise, any licensee may request the
owner of the patent to institute Court proceedings for any infringementindicated by the licensee, who must specify the relief desired.
b) Such licensee may, if he proves that the owner of the patent received the
request but refuses or falls to institute the proceedings within three months
from the receipt of the request, institute the proceedings in his own name,
after notifying the owner of the patent of his intention.  The owner of thepatent shall have the right to join in the proceedings.
c) Even before the end of the three-month period referred to in subparagraph
(3)(b), the Court shall, on the request of the licensee, grant an appropriate
injunction to prevent infringement or to prohibit its continuation, if the
licensee proves that immediate action is necessary to avoid substantialdamage.
4) Where the subject matter of the patent is a process for obtaining a product, the burden
of establishing that a product was not made by the process shall be on the alleged
infringer if either of the following conditions is fulfilled:
a) the product is new, or,
b) a substantial likelihood exists that the product was made by the process and
the owner of the patent has been unable through reasonable efforts to
determine the process actually used.
According to Articles 57 and 58 of the law:
1) The Regional Court of Tirana shall have exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute
concerning a patent application or patent, in particular for -
a) any action for infringement or a declaration of non - infringement of a patent
or patent application;
b) any action or counterclaim for invalidation of a patent,IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 22
c) any action concerning the right to the patent, the ownership or assignment of
a patent application or patent,
d) any action concerning a licence contract;
e) the grant of non-voluntary licences;
f) the review decisions of Board of Appeal of the Patent Office.
2) Decisions of the Regional Court of Tirana on any type of disputes referred to in this
Article, may be appealed to the Court of Appeal.
1) Within the period of patent duration, an ac tion may be instituted in Court without any
time limitation, if the dispute has arisen:
a) on invalidation of patents (Article 46);
b) on the grant of licences.
2) In other cases of disputes, which are not referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article,
the term for instituting an action in Court is limited to three years unless this Law or
the legislative acts in force provide for other terms.
Trademarks:
According to Article 89:1) The owner of the registered mark shall have  the right to institute proceedings in the
Court against any person who has infringes or is infringing his rights under the
conditions of Article 83 of this Law.  The owner shall have the same right against any
person who has performed acts or is performing acts which make it likely that such
infringement will occur ("imminent infringement").
2) a) If the owner of the registered mark proves that an infringement has been
committed or is being committed, the Court shall award compensation.  In
these compensations will be included the profit of the person who has
performed the infringement, the damage which has incurred the owner of the
mark except the one is included in the profit of the breaker and the expenses
including the law costs.  The Court shall grant an injunction to prevent furtherinfringement and any other remedy provided in the general law.
b) If the owner of the registered mark proves imminent infringement, the Court
shall grant an injunction to prevent further infringement and any other
remedy provided in general law.
According to Article 91:
1) The Court may, on the request of any person, invalidate a registration on the ground
that the registration does not comply with Article 73 (3), 74, 75 and 76 of this Law.
2) Any invalidated registration shall be considered to be null and void from the date of
the registration.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 23
3) When the decision of the Court to invalida te the registration becomes final the Court
shall notify the Patent Office of the decision.  The Patent Office shall record the
decision in the register of marks and publish it.
Industrial designs:
According to Article 70:1) The owner of the registered design shall have the right to institute proceedings in the
Court against any person who has infringed or is infringing his rights under Article 67
of this Law.  The owner shall have th e same rights against any person who has
performed acts or is performing acts which make it likely that such infringement willoccur ("imminent infringement ").
2) a) If the owner of the registered design proves that an infringement has been
committed or is being committed, the Court shall award compensations.  In
these compensations, will be included the profit of the person who hasperformed the infringement, the damage which has incurred the owner of the
design except the one is included in the profit of the breaker and the expenses
including the law costs.  The Court shall grant an injunction to prevent further
infringement and any other remedy provided in general Law.
b) If the owner of the registered design proves imminent infringement, the Court
shall grant an injunction to prevent infringement and any other remedy
provided in the general law.
Appellation of origin:
According to Article 93/1 (as amended by Law No. 8477 dated 22 April 1999):
Any person who has registered an appellation of origin and/or whose name is entered as a
user of the appellation of origin shall be entitled to use it for the designation of the goods covered by
its registration or to use it in advertising or on business papers.  He shall be entitled to prohibit the
use of the appellation of origin by third persons not entered as its users.
Article 10.1 of the Law on Industrial Property authorizes Courts to impose a fine on any
natural or legal person who knowingl y infringes an intellectual property right; the amount of  the fine
is to be doubled in the  event of a repetition of the knowing infringement within 5 years of the original
offence.
Albanian Law on Copyright, under its new Article 50.b (as amended by Law No. 8594 dated
6 April, 2000, Article 5), states that disputes between the user of an intellectual property work and the
author or the agency to which the rights have been transferred by the author, because of a violation of
the conditions specified in the contract concluded between them, are submitted by the interested party
to the relevant court for civil settlement.
Article 67 the Law on Competition authorizes courts to impose fine to any person who does
not respect business secrets.
Article 82(4) of the Customs Code states as following: "The customs authorities, upon request
of the holder of a trademark or patent of production or other neighbouring rights specified in theImplementing Provisions of this Code may prohibit their release in free circulation, the exportation,
the re-exportation and their placing under the suspensive procedure of the goods that are recognized to
be counterfeited or pirated goods, according to the procedures provided for in the ImplementingIP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 24
Provisions of this Code (The Implementing Pr ovisions of the Customs Code, under points 119-120,
states in more details about this subject).
47. Please explain whether or not your legislation provides for a mechanism to appeal to judicial
bodies of final administrative decisions.
According to Article 18 of the Administrative Procedures Code, in order to protect
constitutional and legal rights of private persons, the administrative activity is submitted to :
a) the interior administrative control;
b) the judicial control.
According to Article 97 of the Law on Industrial Property (as amended by Law No. 8477,
dated 22 April, 1999), a Board of Appeal shall be established for the review of the disputes relating topatents, trademarks, industrial designs and appellations of origin within the structure of the
Directorate of Patents and Trademarks which shall act in accordance with the law. Paragraph 4 of
Article 82/2 of the Law amended states.  The decisi on of the Board of Appeal on the conformity of
the application with the requirements of Articles 73(3)(4) of this Law shall be final.  The applicant
may, within six months from the date of decisi ons, appeal against other decision of the Board of
Appeal to the Court.
Article 57 of the Law on Industrial Property provides for appeal to the Court of Appeal of
decisions of the Regional Court in Tirana on patent disputes.
The Implementing Provisions of the Customs Code, under Point 119.3, constitutes that
"Against the decision of General Directorate of Customs concerning the suspension or not of the
infringing goods, the applicant may, lodge an appeal to the court according to the procedures provided
under Point 19(4) and 20(5) of the Customs Code.
And Point Article 120.3 underlines that if within 20 days from notification of the seizure of
goods or from the decision to suspend the release of the goods, the customs authorities do not receive
a copy of the appeal lodged with the competent authorities by the holder of the right, the customs
authorities revoke the decision to suspend the release of the goods or the seizure of the goods and
release the goods.
48. Please describe how your legislation authorizes judges to order production of evidence by the
opposing party.  Please give precise information on what measures are taken to ensure the protection
of confidential information.
As a rule the Judicial authorities have the authority, subject at all times to the right of defense,
to order any of the parties to submit documentation or any other type of evidence at their disposal that
could be useful in clarifying the rights of the disputing parties, whether or not such evidence is heldby the parties or by third persons.  Specifically under Article 223 of the Albanian Civil Procedure
Code it is stated: "On the request of the interested party, the court may order the other party to present
in trial a document or another thing when this is esti mated as necessary by the court.  In this case the
court gives the necessary instructions on the time, place and manner of their presentation.  The party
which has requested the acquisition of the document is obliged to indicate in detail all thecircumstances which make credible as to where the document is, its characteristics as well as the facts
which shall be proved by this document".
Whatever the type of action or proceedings, the judicial authorities are under an obligation to
prevent the wrongful publication of confidential in formation brought forward in court or obtained by
the court in the course of the dispute.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 25
In conformity with Article 26 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Article 173 of the same Code
cites some cases where, by a justified decision of the Court, the trial is allowed to be held in a entirely
or partially session behind closed doors. One of these cases is when trade, or invention secrets, the
publication of which would affect interests protected by law, are mentioned.
Article 26 of this Code states that the court may no allow the participation of press organs
when it estimates that such participation is not to the benefit of the case.
49. Please quote provisions of your legislati on that authorize judges to order a defendant to
desist from an infringement.
Articles 42, 70 and 89 of the Law on Industrial Property (cited in question 46) authorize the
court to enjoin patent, industrial designs and trademark infringements.
Article 243 of the Criminal Procedural Code states: "By the decision disposing the prohibition
to exercise specific professions or managing duties to legal entities, the judge prohibits temporarily
the defendant entirely or partly to exercise activities connected with them.
Article 240 of the same Code foresees as interdictive measures- suspension from exercise of a public duty or service;
- temporary prohibition from exercise of specific professional or business activities.
According to Article 288/a of Penal Code, the unlawful production and distribution on
commercial scale of industrial and nutritive articles and goods constitutes a criminal infringement
and is punishable with fine or imprisonment up to 2 years.  This offence, when committed incollaboration with other persons, more than once, or when has brought serious consequences, is
punishable with imprisonment from 3 to 10 years.
50. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize judges to order the payment to the
right holder of adequate damages to compensate the injury he suffered.
Article 42, 70 and 89 of the Law on Industrial Property already cited authorize the court to
award compensation for patent, industrial designs and trademark infringements.
Treating the content of the court decision, Article 310 of Albanian Civil Procedure Code
states that this decision must contain the introduction, the descriptive justifying part and the ordering.
In the ordering part, among others must be men tioned who is charged with the judicial expenses.
Under Section IV "Rules on determining value of lawsuit", Article 68 of this Code states:
"When a sum of money or a removable thing is requested, the value is determined on the
basis of the amount indicated or of the value declared by the plaintiff. In the absence of
indication or of declaration, it is accepted that the determination of the value is a competenceof the court".
51. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize judges to order the payment of the
right holder's expenses by the infringer.
The Code of Civil Procedure constitutes the right of any person, according to the law, to claim
compensation of costs and damages caused by the infringer.  Under Article 106 it is stated amongIP/C/W/267/Add.2
Page 26
others : In its final decision, the court charges the party whose lawsuit has been dropped, to pay the
Judicial expenses in conformity with Article 102 of this Code including the payment for one advocate.
52. Please explain if and how judges have the authority to order that infringing goods are placed
outside channels of commerce or destroyed.
The new Article 89.3,of the Law on Industrial Property (as amended by Law No. 8477, dated
22 April, 1999), states: In addition to the measures specified in paragraph 2(a) of this Article, the
Court may re-establish the situation that existed befo re the infringement and to stop infringing actions,
to proceed with an effective seizure of the goods and, when necessary, to destroy illegally used marks,
tools that could be used to manufacture the goods and the goods themselves in absence of possibility
to remove any illegally mark from such goods.
Under Implementing Provisions of the Customs Code, Point 120.1 it is stated that "when
customs authorities are satisfied after consulting the applicant if necessary, that goods or part of the
goods referred to on Point 119.1(a) and (b), correspond to the description of the counterfeit or pirated
goods contained in the decision of the General Directorate of Customs, they suspend the release of the
goods or provide for the seizure of the goods depending on the situation".
Article 202 of the Criminal Procedure Code states:
"When grounded reasons to think that someone hides real evidence of criminal offence or
objects belonging to criminal offence exist, the court renders a decision regarding completion
of inspection of the person.  When these objects are in a certain place inspection of the placeor of the house is ordered";
and Article 207:"The objects which are found during the inspection may be attached in compliance with
provisions on attachment".
53. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize judges to indemnify a defendant in
the event of abuse by the plaintiff.
The Code of Civil Procedure constitutes the right of any person, according to the law, to claim
compensation of costs and damages caused by the infringer.  Under Article 106 it is stated among
others: In its final decision, the Court charges the party whose lawsuit has been dropped, to pay theJudicial expenses in conformity with Article 102 of this Code including the payment for one advocate.
Under Implementing Provisions on the Customs Code, Point 120/4 and 119/4 it is stated that "the
plaintiff is obliged to forward payment of all even tual charges related to the warehousing of the goods
and is responsible for any damage caused to the defendant/importer or a third party".
54. Please explain how your legislation impl ements Article 50 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Article 42 of the Law on Industrial Property states that it has a course of action against any
person who is performing acts that make it likely that infringement will occur (Imminent
infringement).  Courts are authorized to grant an  injunction to prevent infringement and any other
remedy provided in general law.  Article 70 provides similarly for industrial designs.  Article 89
provides similarly for trademarks.  The new Article 93/1 provides similarly for geographicalindications.
In Article 101, paragraph 4 is added by Law No. 8477, dated 22 April 1999, which reads:IP/C/W/267/Add.2
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The judicial authorities shall have the authority to order prompt and effective provisional
measures:
a) to prevent an infringement of any intellectual property right from occurring, and in
particular to prevent the entry into channels of commerce in their jurisdiction ofgoods, including imported goods immediately after customs clearance;
b) to preserve relevant evidence in regard to the alleged infringement.
Under Albanian Civil Procedure Code, Article 170 seventh paragraph, states "as preliminary
actions, the judge decides, according to the case, the provision of the seizure of the goods or other
provisional relief".
Article 274 of the Criminal Procedural Code states"When there is a danger that free possession of an object related to the criminal offence may
aggravate or prolong its consequences or facilitate the commission of other criminal offences
the competent court, on demand of the prosecutor, orders its attachment by reasoned
decision."'
Under Implementing Provisions on the Customs Code, Article 119/4 states that General
Directorate of Customs can decide, upon approval of the application. that the applicant forward
advance payment, subject to revising, to the sa tisfaction of enforcement costs and indemnify the
defending party against harm due to the unjustified suspension of free release of goods.
The Code of Civil Procedure, under Title VI, Chapter IV deals with notices, whereas
Article 21 of the Code states that, when the law allows, and the circumstances of the case dictate the
taking of a judicial decision, independently from the knowledge of one party, the latter has the right to
appeal in a judicial way against the decision made.
55. Please identify the competent authorities in your jurisdiction who receive requests from right
holders for an application to suspend the release of counterfeit goods by the customs authorities.
Article 82(4) of the Customs Code states that the customs authorities, upon request of the
holder of a trademark or patent of production or other neighbouring rights specified in the
Implementing Provisions of this Code may prohibit the release in free circulation, the exportation, the
re-exportation and their placing under the suspensive procedure of the goods that are recognized to becounterfeit or pirated goods, according to the procedures provided for in the Implementing Provisions
of this Code.
Under Implementing Provisions of the Customs Code, Point 119.1 constitutes that the holder
of the right may lodge an application in writing at the General Directorate of Customs, upon which,customs authorities may suspend the release of the goods or seize the goods depending on the
situation (Point 120.1).
56. Please indicate whether or not procedures are available to suspend the exporting of
counterfeit goods.
According to Article 82, the General Director orders the relevant customs authorities, anti-
smuggling structures and customs offices to suspend the counterfeit goods under any of the customs
regime (import, export etc) mentioned above.
57. Please quote what provisions of your legislation authorize the competent authorities to order
the destruction or disposal of infringing goods.IP/C/W/267/Add.2
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Article 81 of the Customs Code states that, where the circumstances so require, in cases of
danger in cases of danger for the life or health of humans or pollution, the customs authorities may
have goods presented to customs destroyed.  The customs authorities shall inform the holder of the
goods accordingly.  The costs of destroying the goods shall be borne by the holder.
The Implementing Provisions on Customs Code, Article 120/1, states the General Directorate
of Customs may suspend the release of the goods or seize the goods depending on the situation.
The new Article 89.3 of the Law on Industrial Property (as amended by Law No. 8477, dated
22 April, 1999) states: In addition to the measures specified ill paragraph 2(a) of this Article, the
Court may re-establish the situation that existed befo re the infringement and to stop infringing actions,
to proceed with all effective seizure of the goods and, when necessary, to destroy illegally used marks,tools that could be used to manufacture the goods and the goods themselves in absence of possibility
to remove any illegally mark from such goods.
58. Please indicate whether or not your legislation provides for a de minimis imports exception.
Article 199.2 of the Customs Code mentions several cases where the relief from import duties
is granted.  Goods contained in travellers' personal luggage are mentioned in point (f) of the same
Article.  Points 477 to 560 of the Implementing Provisions of the Customs Code treat in more detail
these cases.
59. Please explain how your legislation impl ements Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Article 50 of Copyright Law as amended by Law No. 8594 dated 6 April 2000 underlines that
"the translation, adaptation, sound or visual recording, reproduction, the transmission of an artistic
work without the authorization of its author, which conflicts with the provisions of this law or the
international conventions ratified by the Republic of Albania, when the author's moral and economic
rights have been infringed, constitutes a criminal work and is penalized by fine or imprisonment up to
one year."
Article 101 of the Law on Industrial Property pr ovides for fines in case of intentional
infringement stating:
"Any natural  or legal person who performs an act which he knows constitutes an
infringement of the patent, mark or design shall commit an offence and shall be punishable
from the Court by a fine between 20 000 and 100 000 Lek (Albanian currency)."
Whereas the Penal Code, as amended by Law No. 7883 dated 24 January 2001, under
Articles 147-149 underlines fines and imprisonment by up to four years for misappropriation of
property through fraudulence by introducing a work of art and culture as the original or by changing
the authenticity of the authorship; and fines and imprisonment by up to two years for partially orcompletely plagiarizing somebody else's work or for unauthorized reproduction of somebody's work.
And, according to the same Law, Article 288/a stipulates: The unlawful production and
distribution on commercial scale of industrial and nutritive articles and goods constitutes a criminal
infringement and is punishable with fine or imprisonment up to 2 years.  This offence, whencommitted in collaboration with other persons, more than once, or when has brought serious
consequences, is punishable with imprisonment from 3 to 10 years.
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