Paris Convention For The Protection of Industrial Property (1883)

Paris Convention for the Protection
of Industrial Property (1883)

revised in 1900 (Brussels), 1901 (Washington), 1925 (Hague), 1934 (London),
1958 (Lisbon) and 1967 (Stockholm - WIPO)
The Paris Convention applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including
patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models (a kind of "small-scale
patent" provided for by the laws of some countries), service marks, trade names
(designations under which an industrial or commercial activity is carried out),
geographical indications (indications of source and appellations of origin) and
the repression of unfair competition.
The Three Key Provisions
 National Treatment
 Right of Priority
 Common Rules
National Treatment
 The Convention provides that, as regards the protection of industrial
property, each Contracting State must grant the same protection to
nationals of other Contracting States that it grants to its own
nationals.
 Nationals of non-Contracting States are also entitled to national
treatment under the Convention if they are domiciled or have a real
and effective industrial or commercial establishment in a
Contracting State.
Right of Priority
 On the basis of a regular first application filed in one of the Contracting
States, the applicant may, within a certain period of time (12 months for
patents and utility models; 6 months for industrial designs and marks),
apply for protection in any of the other Contracting States. These
subsequent applications will be regarded as if they had been filed on
the same day as the first application.
 In other words, they will have priority (hence the expression "right of
priority") over applications filed by others during the said period of time
for the same invention, utility model, mark or industrial design.
 Moreover, these subsequent applications, being based on the first
application, will not be affected by any event that takes place in the
interval, such as the publication of an invention or the sale of articles
bearing a mark or incorporating an industrial design.
 One of the great practical advantages of this provision is that
applicants seeking protection in several countries are not required to
present all of their applications at the same time but have 6 or 12
months to decide in which countries they wish to seek protection, and
to organize with due care the steps necessary for securing protection.
Common Rules – Patents
 Patents granted in different Contracting States for the same invention
are independent of each other: the granting of a patent in one
Contracting State does not oblige other Contracting States to grant a
patent.
 A patent cannot be refused, annulled or terminated in any Contracting
State on the ground that it has been refused or annulled or has
terminated in any other Contracting State.
 The grant of a patent may not be refused, and a patent may not be
invalidated, on the ground that the sale of the patented product, or of
a product obtained by means of the patented process, is subject to
restrictions or limitations resulting from the domestic law.
 Each Contracting State that takes legislative measures providing for the
grant of compulsory licenses to prevent the abuses which might result
from the exclusive rights conferred by a patent may do so only under
certain conditions.
Common Rules – Trademarks
 The Paris Convention does not regulate the conditions for the filing and
registration of marks which are determined in each Contracting State
by domestic law.
 Consequently, no application for the registration of a mark filed by a
national of a Contracting State may be refused, nor may a registration
be invalidated, on the ground that filing, registration or renewal has not
been effected in the country of origin.
 The registration of a mark obtained in one Contracting State is
independent of its possible registration in any other country, including
the country of origin; consequently, the lapse or annulment of the
registration of a mark in one Contracting State will not affect the validity
of the registration in other Contracting States.
 Where a mark has been duly registered in the country of origin, it must,
on request, be accepted for filing and protected in its original form in
the other Contracting States.
Common Rules – Trademarks
(Cont.)
 Nevertheless, registration may be refused in well-defined cases, such as where
the mark would infringe the acquired rights of third parties; where it is devoid of
distinctive character; where it is contrary to morality or public order; or where it is
of such a nature as to be liable to deceive the public.
 If, in any Contracting State, the use of a registered mark is compulsory, the
registration cannot be canceled for non-use until after a reasonable period,
and then only if the owner cannot justify this inaction.
 Each Contracting State must refuse registration and prohibit the use of marks
that constitute a reproduction, imitation or translation, liable to create
confusion, of a mark used for identical and similar goods and considered by the
competent authority of that State to be well known in that State and to already
belong to a person entitled to the benefits of the Convention.
 Each Contracting State must likewise refuse registration and prohibit the use of
marks that consist of or contain, without authorization, armorial bearings, State
emblems and official signs and hallmarks of Contracting States, provided they
have been communicated through the International Bureau of WIPO.
Common Rules
 Industrial Designs: Industrial designs must be protected in each
Contracting State, and protection may not be forfeited on the
ground that articles incorporating the design are not manufactured
in that State
 Trade Names: Protection must be granted to trade names in each
Contracting State without there being an obligation to file or register
the names
 Indications of Source: Measures must be taken by each Contracting
State against direct or indirect use of a false indication of the source
of goods or the identity of their producer, manufacturer or trader.
 Unfair competition: Each Contracting State must provide for
effective protection against unfair competition.

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