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Information for Cyprus Expats on Cyprus Intellectual Property & Cyprus Copyright Law
Intellectual property (IP) is an evolving field that affects the functioning of the world at
large. Its range of influence is immense, since it dominates areas of technology, social
development and economic growth. It encapsulates a number of separate areas of creation.
Article 2 of the World Intellectual Property Convention of 1968 defines IP as including:
· Literary, artistic and scientific works;
· Performances of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts;
· Inventions in all fields of human endeavour;
· Scientific discoveries;
· Industrial designs;
· Trademarks, service marks and commercial names and designations;
· Protection against unfair competition; and
· All other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific,
literary or artistic fields.
Cyprus
In recent years, IP protection in Cyprus has attracted much attention. This can be attributed
mainly to the increasing importance of Cyprus as an international commercial centre and to
its recent accession to the European Union, which has resulted in a greater awareness of the
need to protect IP rights.
Cyprus has been developing this area of law along with the rest of the world so as to protect
local as well as international IP rights. It is a signatory to a number of treaties and the latest
amendments to its IP law bring Cyprus into line with the acquis communautaire,
international IP laws and the surrounding concepts. The courts and authorities in Cyprus
adhere strictly to the relevant provisions of the law so as to ensure the protection of
intellectual property rights against piracy and infringement.
Trade marks
The principal law dealing with the registration and protection of marks in relation to goods
and services is the Trade Marks Law, Cap. 268, as amended by Laws 63/62, 69/71, 206/90,
176(I)/2000 and 121(I)/2006 and by the Regulations of 1951-1992 as amended. The Nice
Classification is used, under which goods are categorized into 34 classes and services into 11
classes.
Application for registration. To register a mark, an applicant or a lawyer licensed to
practise law in Cyprus must file with the Trade Marks Registrar a full application (in Greek)
containing all relevant details, including the name, address and occupation of the applicant,
the name and/or picture of the mark and a form signed by the applicant authorizing the
lawyer to file the application.
Examination of the application by the Registrar. On receipt of the application, the
Registrar appoints a filing date, allocates a number to the mark and conducts a search to
establish the registrability of the mark. Where the mark is not registrable, the Registrar may
either object to such registration or impose conditions.
If the conditions imposed by the Registrar are not satisfied, the application may be rejected.
If the Registrar refuses the registration, the applicant may apply for judicial review of the
decision, under article 146 of the Constitution, to the Supreme Court of Cyprus in its
revisional jurisdiction.
Registration. When the Registrar has accepted the application, whether absolutely or
conditionally, the mark will be registered and its registration will be advertised in the
Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus.
Any person may, within two months from the date of the advertisement of an application,
give notice to the Registrar of opposition to the registration. The Registrar sends a copy of
the notice of opposition to the applicant who is required to file, in the prescribed manner, a
counter-statement of the grounds on which he relies for his application. The Registrar must
provide a copy of any counter-statement to the person opposing registration. After hearing
the parties and considering the evidence, the Registrar determines whether and subject to
what conditions, if any, registration is to be granted.
Protection against infringement. Section 6 of the Law defines the following possible
infringements of registered trade marks:
Section 6(2)(a) - identical goods and/or services
If a mark for goods or services is identical with a registered trade mark, there is an
infringement. The classic legal test in this case is explained in Kerly’s Law of Trade Marks
and Trade Names, 12th edition, page 154, paragraphs 10-11, where it is noted: “The question
whether goods are ‘of the same description’ is one of fact; it cannot be decided merely by
reference to the Registrar’s classification….”
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Section 6(2)(b) - similarity
Where there is identity or similarity between goods or services and/or similarity between the
defendant’s sign and the plaintiff’s mark, there may be infringement if the plaintiff proves
that “there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public, which includes a
likelihood of association with the trade mark.”
Section 6(2)(c) - marks known in Cyprus
Where a mark has a reputation in the Republic of Cyprus, it is an infringement to use an
identical or similar sign for dissimilar goods or services, where “the use of the sign, being
without due cause, takes unfair advantage of, or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or
the repute of the mark.”
Available remedies. The usual remedy in the case of an infringement of a registered or
unregistered trade mark is the filing of an action in the District Court, seeking an interim
order to prevent the use of the mark pending the full hearing of the case. In the case of a
registered mark the only onus of proof on the applicant is to prove the registration. On the
other hand a defendant will usually resort to the following arguments by way of defence:
· No title by the plaintiff;
· Invalid registration;
· No infringement; or
· The plaintiff is debarred from suing the defendant for all or part of the relief he
seeks by an agreement or some personal estoppel, because the mark is deceptive
or because his business is fraudulent.
Duration of registration and protection. Trade marks are registered for an initial
period of 7 years and may be renewed on application for 14 years periodically.
Community Trade Mark. Following its accession to the European Union on 1 May
2004, Cyprus became a full member of the Office of Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Industrial Designs). Since 1 May 2004, applications for the registration of
Community Trade Marks (CTMs) may be filed directly with the Registrar of Trade Marks in
Cyprus, while all CTMs registered or applied for before the date of accession will
automatically be extended to Cyprus (Council Regulation 40/94 on the Community Trade
Mark).
Cyprus is also a contracting member of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International
Registration of Marks and of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement, allowing for
the designation in an international application based on the WIPO registration system and for
the trade mark subsequently to be registered nationally.
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Patents
The law regulating the registration and protection of patents is the Patents Law 16(I)/98, as
amended by Laws 21(I)/99, 153(I)/2000, 163(I)/2002 and 122(I)/2006 and by the relevant
patent regulations of 1999 and 2000 (the Regulations).
Application for registration. To register a patent, an applicant or a lawyer licensed to
practise law in Cyprus must file a full application with the Patent Registrar on behalf of the
applicant. This application must be written in Greek, using the prescribed form P9, and must
contain all the prescribed information including:
· A request for a patent to be granted;
· The name, address and nationality of the applicant, the inventor and the
representative;
· The title of the invention in a summary form which must be accurate and precise
and must state the item or use to which the invention is related;
· Something which prima facie appears to be a description of the invention for
which the patent has been applied;
· Something which prima facie appears to be a claim or claims, which must be
presented in the manner prescribed by law and must state in detail, free from any
inaccuracies or ambiguities, the extent of the protection to be conferred by the
application for a patent or the patent itself;
· Any drawings referred to in the description or claims; and
· An abstract of the invention, in the form of a comprehensive and succinct
summary, in no more than 150 words, of the matters included in the description
of the invention.
Examination of the application by the Registrar. Once the application has been filed
with the Registrar and the relevant fees paid, the application will be forwarded to an
examiner to determine whether it complies with all the requirements contained in the Law
and the Regulations. The examiner will then submit his findings to the Registrar. The
application is published in the Official Gazette eighteen months after the date of filing or the
priority date of the application.
Where the application as filed is not in compliance with the provisions of the Law, the
applicant will be given an opportunity to make observations on the report of the examiner
and to make any necessary amendments before the Registrar determines the application. If
no problems or complications arise, the applicant must then file within the prescribed period
a search report prepared by a prescribed authority which must cover any technological
matters that must be taken into consideration to ascertain whether the subject matter of the
application refers to an invention capable of patent protection, according to the provisions
contained in the Law.
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Registration. When an application is accepted, the Registrar will grant a patent on the basis
of the application upon payment of the prescribed fee. The Registrar will then issue a patent
certificate, which will be advertised with the search report in the Official Gazette.
If the Registrar does not grant a patent, the applicant may apply for judicial review of the
decision, under article 146 of the Constitution, to the Supreme Court of Cyprus in its
revisional jurisdiction.
Protection against infringement. Once a patent has been registered and a certificate of
registration granted and published, any person other than the patentee is expressly prohibited
from manufacturing, selling, importing or otherwise commercially exploiting either the
patented product or a product obtained by the patented process. In the event of infringement
the patentee may bring an action in court seeking an injunction, damages or both.
The most important grounds upon which any action for infringement of a patent may be
defended are that:
· The patent is not for an invention within the meaning of the Law;
· The invention was not novel;
· The invention was obvious;
· The invention is not capable of industrial application;
· The invention belongs to a category of excluded subject-matter such as methods
of treating humans and animals;
· The claims of the complete specification are ambiguous;
· The complete specification is insufficiently explicit; or
· The application for the patent was not in order.
Duration of registration and protection. A patent granted in accordance with the Law lasts
for a period of 20 years from the date of the filing of the application. The maintenance of a
patent is subject to annual renewal and to the payment of a modest renewal fee.
Exhaustion of rights. The Law is in line with European Union case law, setting limits on
the rights granted to patent owners. For example, once a product has been put on the market
by the patent owner or with his express consent, he cannot restrict the use or the resale of the
product, nor can he prevent private acts that do not substantially affect the financial benefit
of the right holder, such as acts done for non-commercial purposes.
Priority rights. The Law contains provisions for priority rights in accordance with the
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property for patent applications already
filed with other signatory states. When filing a patent application claiming priority in one or
more previous states, for regional or international applications filed by the applicant in any
state which is signatory to the Convention, the applicant must submit, within the prescribed
time limit, a copy of the initial application, certified by the relevant authority with which the
initial application was filed or, in the case of an international application filed according to
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the Patent Co-operation Convention, by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual
Property Organisation.
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Trade names
Trade names may be registered in Cyprus under the provisions of the Partnerships and
Business Names Law, Cap.116.
Application for registration. Registration of a trade name is effected by sending to the
Registrar of Companies, within one month of the date on which the business in Cyprus is
commenced, an application (in Greek) containing the following particulars:
· The business name;
· The general nature of the business;
· The principal place of business in Cyprus;
· The date of commencement of the business; and
· The name, residence and nationality of the applicant.
Examination of the application by the Registrar. The Registrar may refuse to register
a business name which is too similar to an existing one or is considered to be misleading or
confusing.
Registration. After the name has been entered in the Register, it is published in the Official
Gazette.
Protection against infringement. In the event of infringement of the business name by a
third party, the only remedy is an action for passing off under section 35 of the Civil Wrongs
Law, Cap.148, claiming damages, an injunction or both.
Duration of registration and protection. Once registered, a trade name remains on the
register until an application for removal is filed by the trader. Section 57 of the Partnership
and Business Names Law provides that where a firm, individual or corporation has
registered a trade name and ceases to carry on business, the Registrar must be informed
within one month after the business has ceased. The Registrar will then remove the trade
name from the register.
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Copyright
Copyrights in Cyprus are regulated by the Right of Intellectual Property Law 59/76, as
amended by Laws 63/77, 18/93, 54(I)/99, 12(I)/2001, 128(I)/2002, 128(I)/2004, 123(I)/2006
and 181(I)/2007. Rights are recognized under the Law for every protected object whose
beneficiary or, if there is more than one beneficiary, any one of them is at the time of the
creation of the right, or if it is a broadcast, the time of the transmission of the broadcast, a
qualifying person, namely:
· A person who is a citizen of the Republic of Cyprus or who habitually resides in
the Republic;
· A legal person, established in accordance with the laws of the Republic; or
· A citizen of another member state of the European Union.
Protection against infringement. The Right of Intellectual Property Law provides
remedies for copyright infringement. For the criminal offences listed in the Law, penalties
include a fine or imprisonment for up to three years. In addition, the court may order the
offender to destroy any copies of the work in his possession or to deliver them to the
copyright owner. Civil remedies include damages, destruction or delivery of infringing
copies and the equipment by which copies are produced, an account of profits and an
injunction.
Duration of registration and protection. There is no system of copyright registration in
Cyprus. Copyright is conferred on works once created, as of right. Copyright law protects
Cyprus nationals for their works which are published anywhere in the world, and foreign
nationals for their works published in Cyprus. Copyright exists in:
· Scientific works, literary works including computer software, musical works,
artistic works including photographs and an original database for a period of 70
years, commencing from the death of the author.
· Films, for a period of 70 years, commencing from the death of the last survivor
of the following, irrespective of whether they have been appointed
conventionally, or are considered by law, as co-creators:
· producer
· primary director
· script writer
· screenplay writer
· composer of any music specially composed for the film.
The 2002 amendment of the Right of Intellectual Property Law harmonises domestic
legislation with the EU Copyright Directive 93/98 which itself harmonized the term of
protection of copyright and certain related rights. At the same time it implements other EU
directives on the legal protection of software, rental and lending rights, copyright and rights
related to copyright applicable to satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission and the
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legal protection of databases.
The 2004 amendment establishes a new type of copyright within the framework of the
information society; it expands the legal protection afforded in relation to reproductions and
contains new provisions on interactive, on-demand broadcasting and rights-management
information. In an effort to combat copyright infringement, a further development is the
substantial increase in the amount of fines and the term of imprisonment imposed on persons
infringing copyright.
Law 123(I)/2006 amends copyright law to facilitate the disclosure of information by any
person who is in possession of illegal products on a commercial scale or who has been found
using illegal services on a commercial scale, regarding their origin and distribution channels.
Law 181(I)/2007 prohibits the reproduction of the euro note and coins.
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Designs
Industrial designs. A newly developed legal concept, both internationally and
domestically, industrial design is the protection given to industrial objects or work of
craftsmanship used or sold in industry. Such objects are protected because they usually
increase the marketability, and consequently the value, of a product of which they form part.
In line with the efforts of the government to harmonise domestic legislation with the acquis
communautaire, the House of Representatives enacted the Legal Protection of Industrial
Designs and Samples Law, 4(I) of 2002 (amended by Law 170(I)/2003), where previously
there had been no specific law in force in relation to the protection of industrial designs.
For a design to be eligible for protection, it generally needs to be both “new” and to have an
“individual character”. Law 4(I)/2002 specifies the following requirements:
Novelty. Section 4(2) provides that a design is considered to be new if, up to the filing or
priority date, no identical design or sample has been disclosed to the public. The section
defines the meaning of “identical” as designs or samples whose characteristics differ only in
minor details.
Individual character. Section 4(3) provides that a design or sample has individual
character if the overall impression that it makes on the informed user differs from that made
by a design or sample which is disclosed to the public before the filing or priority date. In
order to appraise the individual character of a design or sample, consideration is given to the
degree of free will of its creator at the time of its creation.
Disclosure to the public. Section 4(4) provides the definition of disclosure to the public.
A design or sample is considered to have been disclosed if it has been:
· Published, through its filing or by any other means; or
· Exposed; or
· Used in commerce; or
· Disclosed in any other way.
However, disclosure will prevent a design from receiving protection only when it is used
during normal business practice in the area concerned by professionals who operate either
within Cyprus or the European Union, before the filing date of the application or the priority
date. Additionally, a design or sample is not disclosed to the public when it is disclosed to
someone under an explicit or implicit term.
When the design has been disclosed by its creator, beneficiary or a third party acting on their
behalf, within the twelve month period before the filing or priority date, this does not
invalidate novelty, according to section 4(5)(a). This also applies when the disclosure has
taken place as a result of abusive misconduct against the creator or the beneficiary.
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Exclusions from protection. The following are not entitled to protection under the Law:
· A design or sample that is contrary to public order or public morality,
· A product, whose characteristics of appearance derive exclusively from its
technical function,
· A design or sample whose characteristics of appearance must necessarily be
reproduced identically for interconnection with another product so that they will
enable the latter to perform its function. However, a design or sample that
enables the multiple assembly or connection of interchangeable products inside a
modular system does not fall under this exclusion as long as it satisfies the
criteria of novelty and individual character.
Eligibility for applications for industrial design protection is available to:
· Individuals who are residents of, or have their usual residence in, Cyprus or in
another EU member state; and
· Companies or other legal entities that have their actual industrial or commercial
establishment in Cyprus or in another EU member state.
Procedure for design or sample registration. To register a design or sample, a lawyer
licensed to practise in Cyprus must file with the Registrar on behalf of the applicant:
· A fully completed application (in Greek) containing all relevant details,
including full name, nationality and address of the applicant;
· The specification of the article to which the design or sample is to be attached;
· A written or photographic representation of the design or sample that can be
produced.
Exclusive rights and their limitation. The protection of an industrial design or sample
grants to its proprietor the exclusive right to use the design or sample, and prohibit others
from using it without his consent. The Law itself defines the term “use” as including
manufacture, offer, marketing, import and export and use or possession for these purposes of
a product incorporating or applying the said design or sample.
The above rights are not infringed by:
· Private acts done for non-commercial purposes,
· Acts done for experimental purposes,
· Acts done to reproduce the design or sample for educational reasons.
Duration of protection. The maximum duration of protection of a design is 25 years from
the filing date of the application, divided into 5 periods of 5 years. The proprietor is entitled
to renew the duration of the protection for one or more periods up to 25 years by paying the
relevant fees. As in the case of patents, the renewal fees are modest.
Community registered designs. As with Community Trade Marks, since 1 May 2004 it
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has been possible to file applications for the registration of Community designs direct with
the Registrar of Industrial Designs in Cyprus, while all Community designs registered,
protected or applied for before the date of accession will be automatically extended to
Cyprus (Council Regulation 6/2002 on Community Designs, Commission Regulation
2245/2002 implementing Council Regulation 6/2002 and Commission Regulation
2246/2002 on the fees payable to the Office of Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade
Marks and Industrial Designs) in respect of Community Designs).
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International conventions
The Republic of Cyprus has ratified the following Conventions with regard to IP rights:
· The Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Act of
Paris 1971), Law 86 of 1979;
· The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Lisbon Act), Law
63 of 1965 and (Stockholm Act), Law 66 of 1983;
· The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO), Law 36 of 1984;
· The Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol, Law 9 of 1985;
· The Paris Universal Copyright Convention, Law 151 of 1990;
· The Geneva Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against
Unauthorised Duplication of their Phonograms, Law 21(III) of 1992;
· The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS
Agreement), Law 16(III) of 1995;
· The European Convention relating to Questions on Copyright Law and
Neighbouring Rights in the Framework of Transfrontier Broadcasting by
Satellite, Law 29 (III) of 1995;
· The Geneva Trade Marks Law Treaty 1994, Law 12 (III) of 1996;
· The European Patent Convention 1973, Law 26 (III) of 1997;
· The Patent Co-operation Treaty 1970, Law 27 (III) of 1997;
· The Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers and Producers of
Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations of 26 October 1996, Law 14
(III)/1999;
· The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks of 14
April 1891, as last revised at Stockholm on 14 July 1967 and as amended on 28
September 1979, Law 3(III)/2003;
· The Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International
Registration of Marks adopted at Madrid on 27 June 1989, Law 4(III)/2003.
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