REGULATIONS UNDER THE LISBON AGREEMENT FOR THE PROTECTION OF APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN AND THEIR INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION

(Notification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic No. 13/2003 Coll. on adoption of the new version of Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration (Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 81/1970 Coll.), as amended (Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 67/1975 Coll., Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs No. 79/1985 Coll.))

Under the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, the countries concerned by the Agreement create a Special Union within the Union on Protection of Industrial Property. The said countries undertake, under conditions of this Agreement, to protect on their territories appellations of origin of other countries of the Special Union, being recognised and protected thereby in the country of origin and registered in the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (the ``International Bureau'').

The appellations of origin are registered at the International Bureau in the name of natural or legal persons, public or private, persons entitled to use the appellations under their national legislation, based on the applications of the authorities of countries of the Special Union.

The International Bureau is obliged to announce entries to the authorities of the member states of the Special Union and to publish them in a periodically issued bulletin without undue delay.

The regulation under the Lisbon Agreement contains e.g. provisions on calculation of time limits, on working languages, on requirements concerning the application, on action in the case of irregular application. The regulation also contains details on the entry of the appellation of origin in the international register, on declaration on refusal of the protection, on further entries concerning the international entry and on fees for the registration of an appellation (CHF 500), for entry of a modification of registration (CHF 200), for providing an extract from the international register (CHF 90) and fees for providing an attestation or any other information given in writing concerning the contents of the international register (CHF 80).

The regulation further stipulates that each contracting country notifies to the International Bureau the name and address, as well as any change concerning the name and address, of its authority competent to submit an international application, to remedy an irregularity contained in the international application, to receive notifications of the International Bureau, etc.

The regulation came into force on 1 April 2002.

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