1. Intellectual Property In Malta
5th September 2007
Michelle Bonello
Director
Industrial Property Registrations Directorate

2. ORGANISATIONAL CHART DIRECTOR GENERAL COMMERCE MALTA CRAFTS COUNCIL
SUPPORT
SERVICES
INDUSTRIAL
PROPERTY
REGISTRATION
TRADE SERVICES
SMALL BUSINESSES
& CRAFTS
SOLVIT CENTRE

3. DUTIES of the IPR Foreign Participation:
EU, WIPO, WTO, OHIM, EPO on all aspects of intellectual property
Registration of
Trademarks
Designs
Patents
Supplementary Protection Certificates for medicinals and pharmaceutical products

4. IP in Summary Law Covers Registration Duration Patent
Technical Process
Yes
20 years
Design
Look
Yes/No
5 x 5 years
Trademark
Brand name of product or service
10 years x forever
Copyright
Artistic and literacy works/Software No
life + 70 years thereafter

5. What is a Trademark?
Trademark:
A distinctive sign which identifies the goods and services of one company from those of another.
A trademark helps consumers to identify and choose between products/services based on the reputation and quality of these products/services
Coca-Cola registered since 1887
Classes
Nike registered since 1971

6. Conditions for a Good Trademark
Distinctive (unique)
Not descriptive
Not similar or identical
Well-known marks
45 classes
Search
Descriptive e.g. Sweet for chocolate products or however if sweet is used on paints that is not descriptive.
Dove for soap and dove for chocolate – different products
Sneakers called Cokeline – thinking that they’re coming from Coca-Cola

7. ® ™ Why register? To have exclusive right Forbid others from copying
Certificate of ownership
Indefinite protection ™
Explain the R, TM and TMReg
McDonalds’s burgers

8. Copyright Protection newspaper articles to novels
Protects most literary and artistic works,
ranging from:
newspaper articles to
novels
drawings to paintings to
architectural works
music to dance
photographs to movies
applied art to cartoons
Software
rights given to creators for their literary and artistic works.
Applied art – e.g. a clown, Dr Gawdenz Bilocca
Literacy – books, music, drama stories, computer programmes & websites, manuals and notes
Artistic works – films, paintings, sculptures, performances
© means that something is protected by copyright – usually put in the c, date and author’s name

9. Copyright Prohibit or authorise: Reproduction Public performance
Recordings
Broadcasting
Translation or adaptation
-automatic protection from the moment work is created – advisable to make it public e.g. issue book, internet, website
Related rights
Anyone can paint the same landscape or picture but not exact copy
The office does not have the authority and expertise to give any legal advise on this matter however we help with unofficial advice

10. Requirements & Protection Terms
The works have to be:
Original
Expression of thought (NOT idea)
Made available to the public
and
Duration: life + 70 years
No registration
Protection against a perfect copy
Shown to people outside family & friends… the more the better!
Made by a human being!

11. What is an Industrial Design?
A design is the protection of the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of a product
The look of the product or part of the product but not the function or idea
Could also be the packaging, a homepage, the interior or setup of a shop e.g. McDonald’s layout
Sony Ericsson

12. Conditions to register a design
Novelty
Completely new look on the market
(worldwide) prior to filing
Could have been shown up to
12 months before filing
(grace period)
Global novelty
12 months – shown by the owner himself or somebody having permission to do so – in an exhibition or fair
12 months – all EU countries respect this period but have to be careful about other countries
Explain the 6 month priority

13. Why register? To have exclusive right & forbid others from copying
Certificate of ownership which can be used in Court
Design registration gives a more tangible protection than copyright
A protected design may be licensed to others for a fee enabling you to enter markets that you are otherwise unable to serve.

14. What is a Patent? Patent:
An invention which could be a product or a process that provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem.
Microwave
Percy Spencer – during Second World War – employed by the radar unit – bar of chocolate – melted when he
was too close to the equipment
Copyright © J. Carlton Gallawa

15. Patents What is a patent? An agreement between the
inventor and society
Alternative definition (legal):
A patent is an exclusive right to commercially work the invention in this country. Protection up to 20 years
Inventor gets the right to be the only one on the market - control of use, manufacture and import
Society gets a recipe of something that may have been hidden – further development

16. What can be patented? A Product The machinery for
producing the product
The process
The use
Process – a more efficient way of producing the same thing
Example of duplicate use: the pill ‘Aspirin’
Lm100,000,000 – it takes from the start of developing a medicinal product – many tests – patent gives them security

17. The patentable invention must be:
Capable of industrial application
New / Novelty
Significantly different from that which
is already known
Inventive step
Novelty
Inventive Step – not known to person skilled in the art
Industrially applicable

18. Why patent?
provide insurance for one’s invention and investments in developing technology
prevent others from patenting the invention and securing one’s place in the market
attract investors for further development, and to hold on to current investors
sell the patent rights in the future, as a single commodity or business
marketing value

19. Contact Details Opening Hours: Winter: 9.00-12.00 13.30-15.30
Summer: – 12.00
Commerce Division
Lascaris, Valletta
Tel: Fax:
Website:

20. Thank you