This article on ‘Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property‘ was written by Charu Atrey, an intern at Legal Upanishad.
Introduction:
Intellectual Property is one major part of any mergers and acquisitions of the company and is also an important part of the growth, research, innovation, and generating employment in the country. It is a subject matter of treaties for several countries and in order to protect the IPs several countries come together to form the treaties. Paris Convention is a part of one such treaty and currently, 176 countries are part of this treaty. In this article we will be discussing what is the Paris Convention, why exactly was this convention needed, and what protections this convention provides to the contracted States.
What is Industrial Property?
Industrial Property is part of Intellectual Property. Industrial Property includes patents for inventions, trademarks of the company or business, industrial designs, names used for commercial purposes, logos, service marks, corporate identities, brand names or trade names, and any geographical indication associated with the product of the company. Industrial Property is required for the protection of inventions or for the protection of any creative work or industrial designs. In other words, we can say that Industrial Property includes industrial designs, trademarks, patents, service marks, logos, corporate identities, trade names, or names used for branding or the geographical indications
Why are Industrial Property and Intellectual property protection Important?
For several businesses, intellectual property is more than just an idea or design and it is essential to protect the genuine business assets that may be an essential part of the overall business. In a time of increased risk of the theft of intellectual property, makes the idea of protecting Intellectual property rights is more important than anything.
In the Vienna Exhibition of 1873, the Austrian Government enacted the Austrian Special Laws for the protection of the exhibited objects at the Universal Exhibition in Vienna and with this, an International Patent Congress was also held. In the Vienna Patent Congress, all the participating countries agreed that the existing patent laws were inadequate and that international agreements should be formed in order to protect the patents and the interests of the inventors.
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is applicable to all Intellectual Property such as trademarks, industrial designs, patents, trade names or brand names, logos, and geographical indications and to eliminate unfair competition. The Paris Convention is broadly divided into 3 parts:
- National Treatment
- Right of Priority
- Common Rules
- National Treatment: As per Article 2 and Article 3 of the Paris Convention each and every Contracting State must treat all the other Member States as equal when granting intellectual property protection. The protection provided under these articles is also extended to all the citizens of the non-member states provided that the citizens already have existing industrial or commercial establishments in the contracting states of the convention.
- Right of Property: As per Article 4 of the Paris Convention intellectual property protection will be provided on a first come-first serve basis. For example, If the intellectual property claim is filed in any of the Contracting States, then the first filing will be provided with protection overall future filings in the Contracting States. This provision is specifically applicable within the time period provided by the convection i.e., 12 months from the first filing for patents and 6 months for industrial designs and trademarks.
- Common Rules: The Paris Convention provides the general rules for the protection of Industrial Properties from any undue influence and infringement or damage due to the infringement, which abides by all the Contracting States of the Convention are:
- Patents- Patents granted for the same invention in different Contracting states are independent of each other. In case the Patent is refused, annulled, or terminated in any contracting state does not affect its status in other member states of the convention nor it binds any of the member States to grant the Patent. This provision also provides the right to the inventor to be named in the Patent.
- Trademark- As per the Paris Convention, all the Contracting States should determine their own laws to regulate Trademark registration. With this, the registered marks in any of the Contracting States are independent of each other and no member State is obligated to grant or refuse the Trademark if the Trademark is not registered under its country of origin.
- Industrial Designs- The Member States should provide protection to the Industrial Designs and should not forfeit the protection on the mere ground the designs are not manufactured in that Member State.
- Trade Names- Trade names should be granted protection under all Member States of the Convention without the obligation of filing and registering the name.
- Indications of Sources- All the Contracting States must take proper measures in order to protect against any false indication of the source of goods or the identity of the manufacturer, producer, or trader.
- Unfair Competition- All the Contracting States must provide effective measures and protections against any unfair competition in the market.
Conclusion:
The Paris Convention plays a significant role in the protection of all the Intellectual Properties in the Contracting States of the convention and also provides the proper guidelines to adhere to for the Member States in order to avoid any misuse or infringement of any of the trademarks or patents or the patented process and also dealt with the unfair competition in the market. The bilateral agreements signed by all the member States were held irrelevant after the signing of the Paris Convention and all the Member States were granted more rights and privileges in accordance with the bilateral agreements.
Reference:
- Summary of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industry Property 1883- WIPO https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/paris/summary_paris.html
- Abou Naja Intellectual Property- 7/12/2021- Paris Convention of 1883 for the Protection of Industrial Property https://www.abounaja.com/blogs/paris-convention-of-1883
- Jason Gordron- September,2021- International Protection of Intellectual Property https://thebusinessprofessor.com/en_US/property-law/international-protection-of-intellectual-property
- Payal Mazumdar- E-journal Legal Service India- Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-7027-paris-convention-for-protection-of-industrial-property-1883-.html