Patent-Related Flexibilities in the Multilateral Legal Framework and Their Legislative Implementation at the National

CDIP/15/6 ANNEX I (1) PROVISIONS OF LAW ON CRIMINAL SANCTIONS FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT ALGERIA: Articles 61 and 62 of the Ordonnance n° 03-07 du 19 Joumada El Oula 1424 correspondant au 19 juillet 2003 relative aux brevets d'invention Section 2 - Actions pénales 61. Tout acte au sens de l’article 56 ci-dessus, commis sciemment, constitue un délit de contrefaçon. Le délit de contrefaçon est puni d’un emprisonnement de six (6) mois à deux (2) ans et d’une amende de deux millions cinq cent mille (2.500.000 DA) dinars à dix millions (10.000.000 DA) de dinars ou de l’une de ces deux peines seulement. 62. Ceux qui ont sciemment recelé, vendu ou exposé en vente ou introduit sur le territoire national un ou plusieurs objets contrefaits sont punis des mêmes peines que les contrefacteurs. ANDORRA: Article 35 of the Law on Patents of 10/06/1999 Article 35 - Right to Bring Action; actions; procedure (1) Violation of any right established by article 23 constitutes an infringement of the rights of the patent proprietor. Any infringement of the rights protected under this law, shall make the infringer liable to civil and/or criminal prosecution. (2) The proprietor of a patent may institute the appropriate civil and/or criminal proceedings before the judicial authorities against any person who infringes his rights, in particular: (a) to obtain an injunction ordering the infringer to cease and decease from actual and threatened use of the patented invention; (b) to obtain an adequate compensation for damages; (c) to obtain an order for the disposal outside the channels of commerce or the destruction without compensation, of infringing goods as well as of materials and implements, predominantly used for the creation of infringing goods or the making of the infringing process. (3) (a) Unless the license contract provides otherwise, any licensee may request the proprietor of the patent to institute Court proceedings for any infringement of the rights of the patent proprietor, who must specify the relief desired. (b) Such licensee may, if he proves that the proprietor of the patent refused or failed to comply with the request within the period prescribed by the Implementing Regulations, institute such proceedings on his own behalf after notifying the proprietor of the patent of his intention. The proprietor of the patent shall have the right to join in the proceedings. (c) Where before the expiry of the period referred to in subparagraph (b), the licensee proves that immediate action is necessary to avoid substantial harm, he may institute the proceedings mentioned in that subparagraph immediately. (d) Any licensee shall be entitled to join in any proceedings instituted by the proprietor of the patent, in order to secure adequate relief for any injury suffered by him as a result of the infringement, without prejudice to the proceedings that such licensee may institute on his own. CDIP/15/6 Annex I, page 2 (4) Unless a provisional measure has been applied for under article 37, infringement proceedings may be instituted only after such confirming evidence as referred to in Article 21 has been submitted to the Patent Office and, if required, the patent specification has been amended accordingly. (5) Civil actions derived from the violation of the rights of a patent proprietor must be instituted within a period of five years from the date when the patent proprietor or, where appropriate, the licensee, has obtained knowledge of the infringement and of the identity of the alleged infringer. (6) Proceedings concerning a patent application may be instituted only after a patent has been granted on that application. (7) Where the subject-matter of the patent is a process for obtaining a new product, the same product when produced by any third party shall in the absence of proof to the contrary be deemed to have been obtained by the patented process. In the adduction of proof to the contrary in the course of legal proceedings, the Judicial Authority shall, after declaring that it its pertinent, proceed with the due caution to ensure the protection of the legitimate interests of the defendant in protecting his manufacturing and business secrets. (8) The Judicial Authority shall order the loosing party to pay the winning party its legal costs, including appropriate counsel fees, unless the Judicial Authority considers the case as doubtful. ANGOLA: Article 68 of the Law No. 3/92 on Industrial Property of 28/02/1992 Article 68 - (Violation of rights conferred by a patent) 1. A person shall be liable for prosecution where: a) they manufacture, without authorization from the patent owner, the goods or products covered by the subject matter of said patent; b) they use the methods or processes that are the subject matter of the patent without due authorization; c) they import, sell, export for sale or conceal, for the purpose of sale, a product manufactured in violation of an invention patent. 2. A person committing the offenses referred to in paragraph (1) shall be punished with up to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of between New Kwanza (NKz) 20,000.00 and NKz 100,000.00. ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA: Section 34 of the Patents Act, Act No. 23 of 2003 Infringement; unlawful acts; offences 34. (1) Subject to sections 11(4), 13, and 14, an infringement shall consist of the performance of any act referred to in section 1 1 in Antigua and Barbuda by a person other than the owner of the title of protection and without the agreement of the latter. (2) On the request of the owner of the title of protection, or of a licensee if he has requested the owner to institute court proceedings for a specific relief and the owner has refused or CDIP/15/6 Annex I, page 3 failed to do so, the court may grant an injunction to prevent infringement, an imminent infringement, award damages and grant any other remedy provided for in the general law. (3) Any person who knowingly performs an act which constitutes an infringement as defined in subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of three years. ARGENTINA: Articles 75 to 80 of the Law on Patents and Utility Models (Consolidated Text of Law No. 24.481 of March 30, 1995, as last amended by Law No. 25.859/2003) ARTICULO 75 - La defraudación de los derechos del inventor será reputada delito de falsificación y castigada con prisión de SEIS (6) meses a TRES (3) años y multa. ARTICULO 76 - Sufrirá la misma pena del artículo anterior el que a sabiendas, sin perjuicio de los derechos conferidos a terceros por la presente ley: a) Produzca o haga producir uno o más objetos en violación de los derechos del titular de la patente o del modelo de utilidad; b) El que importe, venda, ponga en venta o comercialice o exponga o introduzca en el territorio de la REPUBLICA ARGENTINA, uno o más objetos en violación de los derechos del titular de la patente o del modelo de utilidad. ARTICULO 77 - Sufrirá la misma pena aumentada en un tercio: a) El que fuera socio mandatario, asesor, empleado u obrero del inventor o sus causahabientes y usurpe o divulgue el invento aún no protegido; b) El que corrompiendo al socio, mandatario, asesor, empleado u obrero del inventor o de sus causahabientes obtuviera la revelación del invento; c) El que viole la obligación del secreto impuesto en esta ley. ARTICULO 78 - Se impondrá multa al que sin ser titular de una patente o modelo de utilidad o no gozando ya de los derechos conferidos por los mismos, se sirve en sus productos o en su propaganda de denominaciones susceptibles de inducir al público en error en cuanto a la existencia de ellos. ARTICULO 79 - En caso de reincidencia de delitos castigados por esta ley la pena será duplicada. ARTICULO 80 - Se aplicará a la participación criminal y al encubrimiento lo dispuesto por el Código Penal. ARMENIA: Article 159 of the Criminal Code of Armenia Article 159. Infringement of Patent Rights Illegal use of subject matter patent right, or dissemination of information concerning its nature prior to official recognition of that right without the applicants consent, misappropriation of authorship or compulsion to co- authorship shall entail a fine at the rate of from two-hundred to four-hundred times minimum salary or imprisonment for a maximum term of two years. CDIP/15/6 Annex I, page 4 AUSTRALIA: No provision of Law on criminal sanctions for patent infringement AUSTRIA: § 159 of the Patents Act 1970 (as last amended by Federal Law Gazette (BGBl) I No. 135/2009) Strafbare Patentverletzung § 159. (1) Wer ein Patent verletzt, ist vom Gericht mit Geldstrafe bis zu 360 Tagessätzen zu bestrafen. Wer die Tat gewerbsmäßig begeht, ist mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu zwei Jahren zu bestrafen. (2) Ebenso ist der Inhaber oder Leiter eines Unternehmens zu bestrafen, der eine im Betrieb des Unternehmens von einem Bediensteten oder Beauftragten begangene Patentverletzung nicht verhindert. (3) Ist der Inhaber des Unternehmens nach Abs. 2 eine Gesellschaft, eine Genossenschaft, ein Verein oder ein anderes, nicht zu den physischen Personen gehöriges Rechtssubjekt, so ist Abs. 2 auf die Organe anzuwenden, wenn sie sich einer solchen Unterlassung schuldig gemacht haben. (4) Abs. 1 ist auf Bedienstete oder Beauftragte nicht anzuwenden, die die Handlung im Auftrag ihres Dienstgebers oder Auftraggebers vorgenommen haben, sofern ihnen wegen ihrer wirtschaftlichen Abhängigkeit nicht zugemutet werden konnte, die Vornahme dieser Handlungen abzulehnen. (5) Die Verfolgung erfolgt nur auf Verlangen des Verletzten.

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