(217) Regarding Patent and Trademark Rights
in the Republic of Lithuania
The State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania has provided the
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office with information regarding the
protection of inventions, industrial designs, and trademarks in the
Republic of Lithuania.
Following is the unedited text of the SUMMARY OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
PROTECTION IN LITHUANIA, provided in English translation by the
Government of Lithuania, outlining the status of industrial property
protection in Lithuania pending enactment of new legislation.
"The system of industrial property protection in Lithuania functioned
reasonably well until 1940 (`Law on Protection of Trademarks' of Jan.
27, 1925, `Law on the Protection of Inventions and Improvements' of May
14, 1928, `Law on the Protection of Industrial Models and Designs').
Since 1940 industrial property protection in Lithuania had been based
on legal acts of the Soviet Union.
After Lithuania has declared it's independence it started establishing
an independent national industrial property legislation. On Apr. 12,
1991, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania established the
Lithuanian Patent Office, which is functioning under the name of the
State Patent Bureau. On Dec. 1, 1991, the State Patent Bureau has
proceeded the registration of Company Names of the Republic of Lithuania
under the Regulations of Company Names.
Since Apr. 30, 1992 the Republic of Lithuania is a member of the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
In order to ensure legal protection of industrial property
(inventions, industrial designs and trademarks), rights of inventors,
patent owners and investors on May 20, 1992 the Government of the
Republic of Lithuania adopted a Decree No 362 on provisional measures
until the laws of the Republic of Lithuania on inventions, industrial
designs and trademarks are adopted. The contents of the provisional
measures and their main consequences are summarized below.
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS GRANTED BY THE PATENT OFFICE OF THE FORMER
SOVIET UNION
1. Valid patents for inventions, as well as valid inventor's
certificates, granted by the Patent Office of the former Soviet Union on
the basis of applications filed beginning with Jan. 1, 1978, shall be
registered as patents of the Republic of Lithuania for a period not
longer than 15 years from the date of filing an application, provided
that the inventor together with the applicant or the patent owner files
a request to that effect with the State Patent Bureau no later than
Sept. 30, 1993 and pays the prescribed State fee. Failing such a
request, the patent or inventor's certificate will not have any effect
in the Republic of Lithuania.
2. Industrial design for which valid industrial design patent or
industrial design certificates granted by the Patent Office of the
former Soviet Union on the basis of applications filed beginning with
Jan. 1, 1983 shall be registered as industrial designs in the Republic
of Lithuania for a period of 5 years with a possibility of renewing the
registration for 5 consecutive years but not longer than for a period of
10 years from the date of filing an application provided that the
creator of the industrial design together with the applicant or the
patent owner files a request to that effect with the State Patent Bureau
not later than Sept. 30, 1993 and pays the prescribed State fee. Failing
such a request, the industrial design patent or certificate shall not
have any effect in Lithuania.
3. A patent or industrial design, which has been registered under
paragraph 1 or 2 above, will have no effect against any person who in
the Republic of Lithuania, prior to the date of the request for
registration was using the invention or industrial design protected by
inventor's certificate or certificate or was making effective and
serious preparation for such use.
4. Trademarks for which valid trademark certificates were granted by the
Patent Office of the former Soviet Union shall be registered as
trademarks in the Republic of Lithuania for a period of 10 years,
provided that the owner of the trademark certificate files a request to
that effect with the State Patent Bureau not later than Sept. 30, 1993
and pays the prescribed State fee. The same applies to international
trademark registration effected under Madrid Agreement concerning the
International Registration of Marks, for which valid trademark
certificates had the territorial extension to the Former Soviet Union.
Failing such a request, the trademark certificate will not have any
effect in the Republic of Lithuania.
5. Priority rights may be claimed from May 20, 1992 onwards, but not
later than Apr. 30, 1993, on the basis of previous patents, industrial
design and trademark applications filed with the Patent Office of the
former Soviet Union after Jan. 1, 1990, and which were pending on Jan.
31, 1992. Such priority rights are governed by the provisions of Article
4 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
6. Information regarding patents for inventions and industrial designs
and trademark certificates shall be published in the OFFICIAL GAZETTE of
the State Patent Bureau of the Republic of Lithuania.
NEW APPLICATIONS FOR INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FILED WITH THE STATE
PATENT BUREAU OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA
7. Pending the enactment of industrial property legislation in
Lithuania, it is possible to file patent applications and applications
for the registration of industrial designs and of trademarks with the
State Patent Bureau on the basis of legal acts of the Republic of
Lithuania.
Foreign natural and legal persons, having their ordinary residence or
principle place of business outside Lithuania, shall file requests and
applications only through a patent attorney, registered in the Register
of patent attorneys of the Republic of Lithuania.
Copies of the list of fees of the State Patent Bureau of the Republic
of Lithuania and of the list of registered patent attorneys are
available from Box 4, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, D.C.
20231
July 7, 1993 MICHAEL K. KIRK
Acting Assistant Secretary
and Acting Commissioner of
Patents and Trademarks
[1153 TMOG 4]