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

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

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

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

® 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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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.

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 - 1945 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

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

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

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

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

Contact Details Opening Hours: Winter: 9.00-12.00 13.30-15.30 Summer: 8.00 – 12.00 Commerce Division Lascaris, Valletta Tel: 2122 6688 Fax: 2569 0338 Email: ipoffice@gov.mt Website: http://commerce.gov.mt/

Thank you