Latvia adopted a new Law on the Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures
Latvian Parliament has adopted a new Law on the Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures which will enter into force on January 1, 2016.
The Law aims to create the legal conditions for effective registration of the industrial property types and the settling of disputes, related to the functions of the Patent Office and Industrial Property Board of Appeal as well as some regulations with respect to patent attorneys. The law consists of three sections:
Section A establishes the basic rules, institutional matters and procedures of the Patent Office, e.g. IP types for registration, register of applications, official gazette of the Patent Office, required applicant’s details, regulations on the identification of application, etc.
Section B determines more detailed procedure of appealing decisions of the industrial property office and is based on the principles of civil procedure law. The decisions of the Board of Appeal cannot be further appealed in administrative proceedings, as it was stipulated earlier.
The party which is not satisfied with the decision of the Board will be entitled to contact the Riga Vidzeme District Court.
Besides, the new law has brought some changes into the opposition procedure, such as: the period of time for trademark applicant to reply to an opposition has been reduced from three to two months, written exchange of arguments during the opposition or appeal process has become mandatory.
Section C prescribes applicant’s right to be represented before the Patent Office and the Industrial Property Board of Appeal by the registered patent and trademark attorneys. The Law also improves the professional status and introduces new obligations and rights for the patent and trademark attorneys.
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You are also welcome to review our brief applicant guide for registration of the IP rights in Latvia:
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