official translation
REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
LAW
ON INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
July 4, 1995. No. I-1006
Vilnius
CHAPTER I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Objective of the Law
This law shall establish the procedure for registration,
legal protection and use of an industrial design.
An industrial design shall acquire legal protection upon the
registration with the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of
Lithuania.
CHAPTER II. DEFINITION AND PROTECTION OF
AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Article 2. Definition of an Industrial Design
Industrial design shall be the aesthetic appearance of the
whole product or a part of it, composed of specific lines,
contours, colours, forms and (or) materials.
A product shall be an object manufactured industrially or
handicraft, or its separate parts, as well as assortments of
objects or compositions, packaging, graphic symbols and
typographic typefaces.
An industrial design must be new and must have individual
characters and be not contradictory to the principles of public
morality.
Article 3. Novelty
An industrial design shall be new, if up to the filing of
an application or priority dates, it shall not be identical to
another disclosed to the public and familiar in Lithuania,
product.
An industrial design shall be publicly accessible or known,
if it had been published in the Official Bulletin of the State
Patent Bureau Bulletin, exhibited at an exhibition, submitted for
marketing or demonstrated to the public in another way.
Novelty of an industrial design shall not be disturbed by
dissemination of information about it, if this information has
been disseminated within a period of six months prior to the
filing date of an application, or the priority date and if the
information has been disseminated by:
1) the author himself or his successor in title, who had the
right to acquire the right to an industrial design; and
2) another person wishing to harm the author or his
successor.
Article 4. Individual Characters
An industrial design shall possess individual character, if
an informed user is able to differentiate one industrial design
on the basis of its general appearance, from another industrial
design:
1) submitted to the market of the Republic of Lithuania; and
2) registered with the State Patent Bureau and published in
the procedure established by this law and having validity period,
not yet expired.
Article 5. Rights Conferred by a Registration
Without the consent of the holder of a design, another
person shall be prohibited from the following:
1) to manufacture a product, or a part thereof, which has
been registered as an industrial design; and
2) to offer to import or export, as well as to accumulate
for market, products or the parts thereof, which have been
registered as industrial designs.
The actions enumerated in the first part of this article
shall not be deemed in violation of industrial design owner's
rights, if:
1) they shall be carried on in order to meet own needs and
shall not contradict the economic interests of the holder of a
design;
2) they shall be carried on for science or scientific
investigation and experimentation purposes; and
3) industrial design shall be used on board of the vessels,
aircrafts or other transport means registered in foreign
countries, and their equipment and imported spare parts and other
necessities, intended for repairs of these transportation means,
while these vessels, aircraft and other transport means are
temporarily situated within the territory of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Article 6. Right of Prior Use
Natural and legal persons, who were legally using or were
making effective or serious preparations for the use of an
industrial design before the filing date of an application for
issuing of an industrial design certificate, or, where priority
is claimed, the priority date of an application, may continue
such use or to use the industrial design as envisaged in such
preparations without taking into consideration the will of the
owner of the industrial design.
The right of prior use may only be transferred together with
the enterprise or activities, or with that part of the enterprise
or activities in which the use of an industrial design or
preparations for such use have been made.
Article 7. The Term of Validity of a Registered
Industrial Design
Industrial design protection shall be valid for 5 years from
the filing date of an application.
The term of validity of an industrial design may in addition
be extended four times, for 5-year periods, for up to 25 years,
counting from the date of filling the application.
The renewal of the term of validity of the protection of an
industrial design shall be subjected to the following conditions:
1) the filing of a request for renewal of the term of
validity within the last six months of the validity of the
industrial design; and
2) the payment of the fee for the next 5-year period.
A request for renewal may be filed up to six months after
the end of the term specified in item 1 of Paragraph 2 of this
Article, upon payment of a 50 per cent higher fee.
Article 8. The Right to the Protection of an
Industrial Design
The owner of an industrial design or his successor in title,
shall hold exclusive right to it. Joint owners, unless they agree
otherwise, shall have equal rights to an industrial design.
Article 9. Service Inventions
The right of ownership to an industrial design created by an
employee during the execution of a commission or an employment
contract shall belong to the employer if this is provided for in
the contract made by an employer and employee.
The employer shall be obligated to pay to the employee an
equitable remuneration, the amount of which is provided for in
the contract made by an employer and employee, taking into
account the economic value of the industrial design and any
benefit derived by the employer from the utilisation of the
industrial design.
Article 10. Mention of Author's Name
An industrial design application must contain mention of the
name of the author or authors.
The State Patent Bureau, in publishing data concerning the
registration of an industrial design, must mention the names of
the author or authors.
In the event an author files a declaration with the State
Patent Bureau requesting not to mention his name, the State
Patent Bureau shall not mention it.
CHAPTER III. REGISTRATION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Article 11. Filing of an Application
A person, wishing to register an industrial design, shall
file an application with the State Patent Bureau.
A representative of the applicant may file the application
on his behalf. Foreign legal and natural persons shall file
applications with the State Patent Bureau, through a patent
attorney of the Lithuanian Republic.
An application may be filed for one or several industrial
design examples, belonging to the same international class of the
classification for industrial design, under the Locarno Treaty
On International Industrial Design Classification. One
application may include up to 10 examples of the design applied
for.
On filing an application, the applicant must pay the fee for
the application and every additional example of industrial
design.
An application shall be filed in the Lithuanian language.
Article 12. Industrial Design Application Documents
An industrial design application shall comprise:
1) a request to grand an industrial design certificate;
2) photos and graphic representations of the industrial
design;
3) description of the industrial design;
4) document confirming the payment of the fee;
5) document certifying powers of the representative, if the
application is filed by the representative; and
6) document confirming to the transfer of author's rights.
Article 13. Granting the Filing Date
Filing date for application of an industrial design shall be
considered the day when the State Patent Bureau has received the
following documents:
1) a request to grant industrial design certificate;
2) photos or graphic representation of industrial design;
and
3) document confirming payment of the fee.
In the event the applicant has failed to file one of the
documents listed in part one of this article, the filing date
shall not be granted.
Article 14. Priority Right
The application may contain a request to grant priority to
one or more earlier applications to register the same industrial
design within the state, which is a party to the Paris Convention
for the Protection of Industrial Property, if the applicant or
his successor in title shall file an application to the State
Patent Bureau within 6 months from the first application or
application filing date.
The application may contain a request to recognise the
priority date, when the industrial design was displayed in an
official or officially recognised international exhibition, if
the application shall be filed with the State Patent Bureau
within 6 months of the day of opening of the exhibition.
The applicant desiring to make use of the provisions of
Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, must produce to the State
Patent Bureau copies of the first application or applications
certified as correct by a patent office of that state, or a
certificate issued by the administration of the exhibition, in
which the industrial design was displayed for the first time.
Such documents may be furnished at the time of filing of an
application in the Republic of Lithuania or within 3 months from
the filing date.
Upon determining that the requirements of Paragraph 3 of
this Article are not complied with, the State Patent Bureau shall
regard the applications specified in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
Article as not have been filed.
Article 15. Examination of Industrial Design
Application
The State Patent Bureau shall perform examination of an
industrial design application. The State Patent Bureau examiner
shall verify the industrial design application documents, named
in Articles 12 and 14 of this Law.
The examiner of the State Patent Bureau, having established
that the documents named in Articles 12 and 14 of this Law, are
not included in the application, or these documents are not
prepared according to the requirements, shall inform the
applicant or his representative of this. If, in the course of 3
months from the day of dispatching of this information, the
application documents shall not be prepared in accordance with
requirements, the expert of the State Patent Bureau shall adopt
the decision not to register the industrial design.
If an applicant disagrees with the decision of the State
Patent Bureau, he shall have the right to appeal to the Section
of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau, within 3 months from the
day the examiner's decision had been dispatched. The applicant
shall have the right to participate at meetings of the Section of
Appeals, when his appeal is being settled. The applicant shall be
informed of the decision adopted by the Section of Appeals.
Article 16. Withdrawal or Correction of Application
An applicant shall have the right to withdraw his/her
application or to reduce the number of design examples contained
in it.
Article 17. Registration of an Industrial Design
Following his decision to register an industrial design, the
examiner of the State Patent Bureau shall notify the applicant of
this. The applicant must within 3 months from the day of being
informed pay the fee for registration, publication and granting
certificate. In the event the applicant fails to pay the fee in
due time, the industrial design shall not be registered.
The State Patent Bureau shall enter the industrial design
into the Industrial Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania.
A representation of the industrial design shall be produced
in the Industrial Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania
and the data concerning the issuance of the industrial design
certificate, its use and protection shall be included in it.
The State Patent Bureau shall issue an extract from the
Industrial Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania to every
person who had paid the fee. The confirmed extract from the
Register shall be regarded as an official document.
Article 18. Publication of Registration of an
Industrial Design and the Procedure for
Opposition
Inclusion of an industrial design into the Industrial Design
Register of the Republic of Lithuania shall be published in the
official State Patent Bureau Bulletin.
Interested persons, who have paid the fee, and are basing
themselves on Articles 2-4 of this Law, may file an opposition
against the registration of an industrial design within a period
of 3 months from the date of publication. The opposition must be
motivated and presented in writing, to the Section of Appeals of
the State Patent Bureau. The author of the registered industrial
design shall be acquainted with the content of opposition and
shall be granted the right of a just cause reply, within a 3-
month period from the day of the receipt of opposition.
If the opposition shall be rejected, the Section of Appeals
of the State Patent Bureau shall inform both the person who had
submitted the protest and the owner of the industrial design.
If the opposition shall be acknowledged as justifiable,
registration shall be totally or partially abolished. The
decision adopted by the Section of Appeals of the State Patent
Bureau shall be published in the official bulletin.
Article 19. Granting of Industrial Design Certificate
If the opposition was not submitted in accordance with the
conditions established in Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 18, or
was rejected, the State Patent Bureau shall grant the registered
industrial design certificate to the design owner.
Based upon Paragraph 3 of Article 17 of this Law, data from
the Industrial Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania,
shall be inscribed on the industrial design certificate.
CHAPTER IV. TRANSFER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN AND GRANTING LICENSE TO
USE IT
Article 20. Transfer of Industrial Design
The owner may transfer a registered industrial design
according to the contract, with or without his own business.
An industrial design transfer agreement shall only be valid
following its inclusion in the Industrial Design Register of the
Republic of Lithuania.
Article 21. The Licence to Use an Industrial Design
The owner of an industrial design shall have the right to
grant an exclusive or non-exclusive right to use of an industrial
design throughout the entire territory of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Licence agreement, upon payment of fee, shall be included in
the Industrial Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania and
shall become effective from the date of registry.
CHAPTER V. INVALIDATION AND REVOCATION OF
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN REGISTRATION
Article 22. Invalidation of Registration
Upon the request of any interested person, the court may
invalidate the registration because the industrial design does
not correspond to the requirements in Articles 2-4 of this Law.
The court, having adopted the decision to invalidate the
registration of the industrial design, shall prescribe to enter
in the Industrial Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania
and publish it in the Official Bulletin.
Article 23. Revocation of Registration
The owner of an industrial design may revoke the
registration by submitting a written request to the State Patent
Bureau. Revocation of an industrial design registration shall
become effective from the day when the State Patent Bureau
received the request.
One or several industrial design examples, registered as
result of one application, may be revoked.
The State Patent Bureau includes information concerning
revocation of an industrial design registration shall be
inscribed in the Industrial Design Register of the Republic of
Lithuania and published in the official bulletin.
CHAPTER VI. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT. DEFENCE OF RIGHTS
Article 24. Dispute Settlement Institutions
Disputes regarding registration and use of industrial
designs shall be settled by the following institutions:
1) Section of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau - disputes
regarding industrial design registration, arising prior to
granting of industrial design certificate;
2) Vilnius District Court - disputes concerning:
decision of the Section of Appeals of the State Patent
Bureau, not to grant an industrial design certificate;
recognition of an industrial design registration as inval
id;
defence of rights of the owner or owners of an industrial
design.
Article 25. Enforcement of Rights
The court may adopt a decision, according to a claim by the
industrial design owner, to interrupt actions that violate or may
violate the rights enumerated in Article 5.
The court may adopt, in accordance with an industrial design
owner's claim, a decision concerning compensation for damages
incurred by an industrial design owner, if another person
performed the actions enumerated in Article 5 of this Law,
without his consent.
Article 26. Persons Having Right to File Claims
The owner of an industrial design shall have the right to
file a claim concerning violation of an industrial design right.
In the event he fails to avail himself of this right, however,
the licensee may file a claim, if no provision to the contrary,
exists for that in the license contract.
Every contract license state shall have the right to
participate in the court process initiated by another state, for
violation of rights to an industrial design and to receive
compensation for damage incurred.
Article 27. Invalidation of Industrial Design
Registration in Industrial Design Register of
the Republic of Lithuania.
Industrial design registration shall be abolished in the
Industrial Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania, if:
1) author of the industrial design requests such;
2) term of the industrial design registration was not
extended according to procedure established in Article 7; and
3) industrial design registration has been opposed in
accordance with Paragraph 4 of Article 18.
CHAPTER VII. INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Article 28. International Agreements, Rights of Foreign
Natural and Legal Persons
If international agreements of the Republic of Lithuania
shall establish other regulations and they shall be more
favourable to design owners, than those established in this law
and other normative acts, the international agreement regulations
shall apply.
Foreign natural and legal persons shall utilise all of the
rights established by this law as well as, other normative acts
regulating industrial design protection.
CHAPTER VIII. FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 29. Coming Into Force of the Law
The Law on Industrial Design of the Republic of Lithuania
comes into force from September 1, 1995.
I promulgate this Law enacted by the Seimas of the Republic
of Lithuania.
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC ALGIRDAS BRAZAUSKAS