Text consolidated by Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre) with amending laws of:
9 February 2023 [shall come
into force on 7 March 2023].
If a whole or part of a section has been amended, the
date of the amending law appears in square brackets at
the end of the section. If a whole section, paragraph or
clause has been deleted, the date of the deletion appears
in square brackets beside the deleted section, paragraph
or clause.
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The Saeima1 has adopted and
the President has proclaimed the following law:
Law on
Industrial Property Institutions and Procedures
Division
A
General Provisions and Procedures of the Patent Office
Chapter I
General Provisions
Section 1. Terms Used in the Law
The following terms are used in the Law:
1) industrial property - rights related to invention
patents (including supplementary protection certificates for
medicinal products and plant protection products), topographies
of semiconductor products, trade marks (including collective
marks), certification marks, and designs;
2) objects of industrial property - invention patents
(including supplementary protection certificates for medicinal
products and plant protection products), topographies of
semiconductor products, trade marks (including collective marks),
certification marks, designs;
3) registration procedures - activities aimed at
registering certain objects of industrial property, also at
granting a patent, except for activities related to the
examination of disputes in the Industrial Property Board of
Appeal and in the court;
4) post-registration procedures - activities aimed at
amending information regarding registered objects of industrial
property, including activities for maintaining the validity and
for the renewal for a new period of the protection of the
registered objects of industrial property, including the granted
patents, except activities related to the examination of disputes
in the Industrial Property Board of Appeal and in the court;
5) industrial property legal acts - legal acts
governing the registration of the objects of industrial property
and protection of industrial property, including international
agreements binding on Latvia and directly applicable laws of the
European Union in the field of industrial property.
[9 February 2023]
Section 2. Purpose and Scope of
Application of The Law
(1) The purpose of the Law is to establish the legal
preconditions for the efficient registration of objects of
industrial property and for the examination of disputes arising
therefrom, providing the necessary authorities for this purpose,
determining their competence and basic principles of operation,
as well as regulating representation in them and basis of
operation of professional patent attorneys.
(2) The Law governs the institutional matters, procedures, and
legal relations, insofar as they are analogous to objects of
industrial property.
Section 3. Regulation in the Field
of Industrial Property
(1) The rights to industrial property in Latvia are obtained
through registration of objects of industrial property which is
made in the Patent Office in accordance with the industrial
property legal acts or, if so provided for in a law or
regulation, by recognising the exclusive rights arisen on other
grounds.
(2) The rights to industrial property in Latvia are also
obtained through registration of such objects of industrial
property which is made with respect to Latvia in accordance with
international agreements within the field of industrial property
binding on Latvia, including with regard to the European Union -
in accordance with the directly applicable legal acts of the
European Union.
(3) With regard to the registration of objects of industrial
property and protection of industrial property, foreign persons
in Latvia have the same rights as Latvian persons, insofar as
this Law or other legal acts do not provide otherwise.
(4) The rights to industrial property in Latvia acquired in
accordance with the procedures laid down in Paragraph two of this
Section shall have the same legal effect as the rights referred
to in Paragraph one of this Section, if the relevant
international agreement or industrial property legal acts do not
provide otherwise.
Chapter
II
Patent Office and Procedures in the Patent Office
Section 4. Patent Office
(1) The Patent Office is a direct administration institution
under the supervision of the Minister for Justice with the
competence in the field of industrial property laid down in this
Law and other legal acts.
(2) The Patent Office shall perform the following
functions:
1) implement the State policy within the field of industrial
property;
2) perform the functions of the State industrial property
institution provided for in international agreements binding on
Latvia;
3) register rights to objects of industrial property and
maintain the appropriate registers, as well as provide other
industrial property-related services;
4) promote awareness in the country and society of the
protection of industrial property.
Section 5. Registration of Objects
of Industrial Property
(1) The Patent Office shall, in accordance with laws and
regulations, register the following objects of industrial
property:
1) invention patents (including supplementary protection
certificates for medicinal products and plant protection
products);
2) topographies of semiconductor products;
3) trade marks (including collective marks) and certification
marks;
4) designs.
(2) Activities taken by the Patent Office within the
registration and post-registration procedures of the objects
referred to in Paragraph one of this Section, including
activities laid down in international legal acts, as well as
other industrial property-related services of the Patent Office
shall be paid services.
(3) The Cabinet shall determine the price list of the paid
services of the Patent Office, payment procedures, and
reliefs.
[9 February 2023]
Section 6. Registers Maintained by
the Patent Office, Application and Registration Files
(1) The Patent Office shall maintain a Patent Register which
also includes the supplementary protection certificates for
medicinal products and plant protection products, a Register of
Topographies of Semiconductor Products, a Register of Trade Marks
which also includes collective marks and certification marks, and
a Register of Designs (hereinafter - the registers).
(2) The Patent Office shall arrange the registers in
accordance with the procedures laid down in the industrial
property legal acts.
(3) Each number of an application or registration (patent) of
an object of industrial property shall have a corresponding file
with the same number where those documents on the basis of which
entries have been made in the register and also other documents
specified in legal acts are stored.
(4) The Patent Office shall ensure permanent storage of
registers, application and registration files and the submitted
original documents.
[9 February 2023]
Section 7. Public Access to
Registers, Application and Registration Files
(1) The entries of registers shall have public credibility.
Entries of registers shall be published in the official gazette
of the Patent Office and on the website of the Patent Office in
accordance with the industrial property legal acts.
(2) In conformity with the restrictions laid down in legal
acts, any person may become acquainted with the application and
registration files and receive extracts from the registers,
derivatives of the documents in the application and registration
files, and statements.
(3) If additional resources are not required for data
processing and analysis, the Patent Office shall, in conformity
with the restrictions laid down in laws and regulations, provide
free of charge the necessary information from the registers and
application and registration files to the Saeima, the
Cabinet, law enforcement authorities, and other State
administration institutions, as well as to the natural and legal
persons to whom such rights are established by laws and
regulations.
Section 8. Official Gazette of the
Patent Office
(1) The Patent Office shall have its official gazette in which
it shall publish the entries of registers and the information
specified in the industrial property legal acts which refers to
the registration of objects of industrial property.
(2) The official gazette of the Patent Office shall be
published electronically at least once a month on the website of
the Patent Office.
(3) The legal consequences laid down in this Law or in another
industrial property legal act for the registration of the
specific object of industrial property or for the information
related to such registration shall enter into effect from the day
of the publication or another date indicated in the official
publication.
Section 8.1 Certificate
of Registration of an Object of Industrial Property
After the registration of an object of industrial property,
the Patent Office shall issue to the owner thereof a patent,
supplementary protection certificate, registration certificate of
a trade mark, collective mark, certification mark or, where
applicable, design. The registration certificate shall indicate
the information which, in accordance with the industrial property
legal act, are entered in the register at the time of the
registration of the object.
[9 February 2023]
Section 9. Competence of the
Officials of the Patent Office
The officials of the Patent Office shall, independently and in
accordance with the industrial property legal acts on behalf of
the Patent Office, take the decision to register or to refuse to
register an object of industrial property, as well as other
decisions and interlocutory decisions in the registration and
post-registration procedures.
Section 10. Restrictions for
Officials and Employees of the Patent Office
(1) While officials and employees of the Patent Office are
working for the Patent Office, as well as two years after their
employment or service relations with the Patent Office were
terminated, they are not entitled to submit a patent or design
application, or directly or indirectly, except for inheritance,
obtain registration of a patent or design, or acquire any rights
resulting from the registration of a patent or a design. Rights
of priority shall not be granted to patent or design applications
of these persons if the respective application has been submitted
within one year after the termination of employment or service
relations with the Patent Office.
(2) Officials and employees of the Patent Office have an
obligation, also after their employment or service relations with
the Patent Office have ended, not to disclose and not to use the
restricted access information which has become known to an
official or employee while fulfilling the work duties, as well as
not to represent persons in cases regarding objects of industrial
property or their applications which have been within their
competence while performing the role of an expert or responsible
official.
Section 11. Determining of Terms
The Patent Office may specify a term for performing further
activities within a registration or post-registration procedure
in its decisions and documents. If the term is not determined in
an industrial property legal act, the Patent Office shall
determine a reasonable term by taking into account the scope and
importance of the activity to be performed in the procedure.
Section 12. Submission of
Documents
A person handling registration or post-registration procedures
shall submit documents in printed form or electronically,
including online data transmission mode, in accordance with the
procedures laid down in the industrial property legal acts.
[9 February 2023]
Section 13. Information on the
Submitter to be Indicated in the Documents
(1) The following information on the submitter shall be
indicated in the document to be submitted to the Patent
Office:
1) for a natural person - the given name, surname, and address
of the declared place of residence (for persons residing abroad,
the address of the place of residence shall be indicated);
2) for a legal person - the full name and legal address.
(2) Abbreviations in names of legal persons shall be permitted
in indications of the type of merchant.
(3) The address of a person shall include all the necessary
information for a postal delivery to the indicated address.
(4) For communication with the Patent Office, a person may
additionally indicate a telephone number and electronic mail
address, and also the address (address for communication) which
is different from the address referred to in Paragraph one of
this Section.
(5) The given names, surnames, names, and addresses of foreign
persons shall be indicated in the original form of the respective
foreign language (if it is a language of Latin alphabet) or in
Latin transliteration of the original form.
(6) Except for the cases specifically provided for in laws and
regulations, the Patent Office is entitled to require that any
person who submits an application and handles the registration or
post-registration procedures in the Patent Office indicates the
address for communication in the territory of Latvia. This
provision shall be without prejudice to the requirements of this
Law in relation to the representation of persons in the Patent
Office (Chapter XVII).
(7) For communication with a person, the Patent Office shall
use the address indicated in accordance with Paragraph one of
this Section, but, if the person has indicated a different
address for communication (Paragraph four of this Section), this
address. If a person has appointed a representative, the address
of the representative shall be used for communication, except
when the authorising person has indicated that he or she wishes
to receive the document at the address for communication
indicated by him or her. The person shall, without delay, inform
the Patent Office of any changes in the information on the
submitter.
[9 February 2023]
Section 14. Regulations Regarding
Authenticity of Signature of a Person and Documents
(1) Documents to be submitted while handling registration and
post-registration procedures shall be signed by the submitter or
a representative of the submitter.
(2) The following shall be indicated next to the person's
handwritten signature:
1) transcript of the signature - the given name and surname of
the natural person;
2) the capacity in which the person has signed the document
(for example, the applicant, owner, licensee, representative, in
documents of legal persons - position of the natural person), if
it is not obvious from the text of the document.
(3) Except for the cases specially provided for in the
industrial property legal acts, the documents and person's
signature in them do not need a notarisation, legalisation, or
other proof of authenticity. The Patent Office is entitled to
request additional documents, if it has a reason to doubt the
legal force of the document.
(4) In the documents that are submitted through the special
online forms set up on the website of the Patent Office for this
purpose, the person of the submitter shall be identified with the
help of the authentication means available in them. When an
application for the registration of an object of industrial
property or a submission for the maintenance of registration
(renewal for a new period of protection) is submitted through the
special online form set up for this purpose, the person shall be
identified as indicated in the online form.
Section 15. Identification of
Applications and Registrations
In each document which is submitted within the registration
and post-registration procedures, a specific application or
registration shall be identified by indicating the object of
industrial property and the number of the application or
registration (patent). An application or registration may be
additionally identified with a reference to the applicant (owner)
and characteristics of the object of industrial property (for
example, title of the invention, inventor, verbal part or image
of a trade mark, indication of the product to which the design
refers, the designer).
Section 16. Examination of Documents
Submitted in a Foreign Language
In the registration and post-registration procedures which are
conducted in the official language in accordance with industrial
property legal acts, the Patent Office shall allow submission of
separate written documents in a foreign language without a
translation which is certified in accordance with the procedures
laid down in laws and regulations, if this does not restrict the
rights or legitimate interests of third persons and contributes
to the progress of the procedure.
Section 17. Correction of Errors
(1) A person who is handling the registration and
post-registration procedures is entitled, in conformity with the
restrictions laid down in the industrial property legal acts, to
require the Patent Office to correct clerical or technical errors
made in an application, found in a register entry or official
publication.
(2) For the correction of an error, the fee determined in the
price list of the services shall be paid. The errors referred to
in Paragraph one of this Section shall be corrected free of
charge if they have been made by the Patent Office.
(3) If the information in which an error is corrected has been
previously published in the official gazette of the Patent
Office, also the correction of errors shall be published in
it.
Division
B
Industrial Property Board of Appeal and Examination of Disputes
in the Industrial Property Board of Appeal
Chapter
III
Industrial Property Board of Appeal, Its Status and
Competence
Section 18. Industrial Property
Board of Appeal and Its Status
(1) The Industrial Property Board of Appeal (hereinafter - the
Board of Appeal) is a collegial decision-making institution which
examines extrajudicial disputes arising from registration and
post-registration procedures.
(2) When taking decisions in the disputes referred to in
Paragraph one of this Section, members of the Board of Appeal
shall be independent and not subjected to orders of other persons
or other direct or indirect influence.
Section 19. Administrative
Management of the Board of Appeal
The Patent Office shall ensure organisational and
administrative operation of the Board of Appeal.
Section 20. Competence of the Board
of Appeal
(1) The Board of Appeal shall examine the following disputes
provided for in the industrial property legal acts:
1) regarding a decision of the Patent Office taken within the
registration or post-registration procedure and against which a
notice of appeal has been submitted (cases of appeal);
2) regarding the registration of an object of industrial
property to which a notice of opposition of a third person has
been submitted (cases of opposition);
3) regarding the registration of a trade mark against which a
third person has submitted a notice of invalidation of
registration (cases of invalidation);
4) regarding the registration of a trade mark against which a
third person has submitted a notice of revocation of registration
(cases of revocation).
(2) The decisions taken when examining the disputes referred
to in Paragraph one of this Section on their merits shall be
published by the Board of Appeal on the website of the Patent
Office.
(3) The Board of Appeal shall, in accordance with the
determined procedures, participate in the evaluation of issues
related to industrial property protection analysis and
development.
(4) Each year, the Board of Appeal shall prepare an annual
report on its activities during the previous year and make it
public on the website of the Patent Office.
(5) The Board of Appeal is entitled to provide recommendations
on matters related to the implementation of procedures and
application of legal acts by the Patent Office.
[9 February 2023]
Chapter
IV
Composition of the Board of Appeal
Section 21. Composition of the Board
of Appeal
(1) The Board of Appeal shall be composed of the chairperson
of the Board of Appeal and members of the Board of Appeal.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall examine disputes within its
competence collegially in the composition which has been set up
for the examination of the particular dispute.
(3) In the cases laid down in this Law, the decisions on
behalf of the Board of Appeal shall be taken by the chairperson
of the Board of Appeal or the chairperson of the composition for
the examination of the case sitting alone.
Section 22. Restrictions Imposed on
the Chairperson of the Board of Appeal and Members of the Board
of Appeal
(1) The chairperson of the Board of Appeal and the members of
the Board of Appeal shall be subjected to restrictions and
obligations imposed on judges - Presidents of district (city) and
regional courts - with respect to earning of income, combining of
positions, job performance, as well as other related restrictions
and obligations as laid down in the law On Prevention of Conflict
of Interest in Activities of Public Officials.
(2) In addition to the restrictions referred to in Paragraph
one of this Section, the following additional restrictions shall
apply to the chairperson of the Board of Appeal and members of
the Board of Appeal:
1) to maintain political neutrality and not to combine the
obligations of the position with affiliation to political parties
and other political organisations;
2) the restrictions specified for the officials of the Patent
Office in Section 10 of this Law.
Section 23. Chairperson of the Board
of Appeal
(1) The chairperson of the Board of Appeal shall organise and
manage the work of the Board of Appeal, including:
1) for the examination of each dispute, confirm the
composition for the examination of the case and the chairperson
of the composition for the examination of the case;
2) approve the schedule of the sessions of the Board of
Appeal;
3) within his or her competence, represent the Board of Appeal
in relations with natural persons and legal persons governed by
private law in matters relating to the examination of cases in
the Board of Appeal;
31) represent the Board of Appeal in court
regarding complaints in the cases referred to in Section
98.1 of this Law;
4) ensure the conformity of the qualification of the members
of the Board of Appeal with the merits of the cases to be
examined, including by taking care of the raising of
qualification, training, and the required additional
specialisation of the members of the Board of Appeal, taking into
account the provisions of Paragraphs two and three of Section 38
of this Law;
5) manage the preparation of the reports on the activities of
the Board of Appeal.
(2) The obligations of the chairperson of the Board of Appeal
during his or her temporary absence shall be performed by the
member of the Board of Appeal who, by a majority of votes, is
appointed from amongst its members by the members of the Board of
Appeal present.
(3) The chairperson of the Board of Appeal shall perform his
or her obligations in parallel with the obligations of the member
of the Board of Appeal. The chairperson of the Board of Appeal
shall be subjected to the regulations regarding members of the
Board of Appeal, insofar as it is not provided for otherwise in
this Law.
[9 February 2023]
Section 24. Member of the Board of
Appeal
(1) A member of the Board of Appeal shall:
1) participate in the examination of a case in the Board of
Appeal if he or she is included in the composition for the
examination of the case;
2) chair the examination of a case if he or she has been
appointed as the chairperson of the composition for the
examination of the case;
3) represent the Board of Appeal in court regarding complaints
in the cases referred to in Section 98.1 of this Law
if he or she is a person delegated by the composition for the
examination of the case.
(2) A member of the Board of Appeal shall, when performing his
or her obligations, ensure confidentiality with regard to the
taking of a decision and case files, the disclosure of which
might harm the lawful interests of persons.
(3) A member of the Board of Appeal has an obligation to
continuously improve his or her qualification, become acquainted
with the special literature, case law and rulings of the Court of
Justice of the European Union in the field of industrial
property.
[9 February 2023]
Section 25. Secretary of the Board
of Appeal
(1) The secretary of the Board of Appeal shall be an employee
of the Patent Office who ensures secretarial and office work of
the Board of Appeal.
(2) The secretary of the Board of Appeal shall ensure
confidentiality with regard to taking of a decision and case
files the disclosure of which might harm the lawful interests of
persons.
Section 26. Procedures for
Appointing and Dismissing the Composition of the Board of
Appeal
(1) The chairperson of the Board of Appeal and members of the
Board of Appeal shall be, upon a proposal of the Minister for
Justice, appointed by the Cabinet for a period of seven
years.
(2) The Cabinet may, upon a proposal of the Minister for
Justice, repeatedly appoint the chairperson of the Board of
Appeal or a member of the Board of Appeal for a new term of
office. In the same procedures, a member of the Board of Appeal
may be approved as the chairperson of the Board of Appeal, or the
chairperson of the Board of Appeal may be approved as a member of
the Board of Appeal.
(3) If so requested by the chairperson of the Board of Appeal
or a member of the Board of Appeal, the Minister for Justice
shall release them from the performance of their obligations
before the end of their term of office, or shall release the
chairperson of the Board of Appeal from the obligations of the
chairperson, maintaining the status of a member of the Board of
Appeal.
(4) In the cases provided for in this Law, the Cabinet shall,
upon a proposal of the Minister for Justice, dismiss the
chairperson of the Board of Appeal or a member of the Board of
Appeal before the end of their term of office.
Section 27. Applicants for the
Position of a Member of the Board of Appeal and Their
Selection
(1) The following person may be a member of the Board of
Appeal:
1) who is a citizen of the Republic of Latvia;
2) who is fluent in the official language at the highest
level;
3) who has impeccable reputation;
4) who has acquired academic or second-level higher vocational
education, master's degree or similar higher education;
5) who has at least five years of experience in the field
related to the protection of industrial property;
6) who has passed the certification examination of the
applicant for the position of a member of the Board of
Appeal.
(2) The applicants for the position of a member of the Board
of Appeal shall be selected by the means of competition. The
selection procedure of applicants shall be carried out by the
commission for the selection of the applicants for the position
of a member of the Board of Appeal (hereinafter - the selection
commission) consisting of five persons, appointed by the Minister
for Justice. The selection commission shall consist of:
1) a representative of the Ministry of Justice;
2) a representative of the Patent Office;
3) a judge of the Riga City Court;
4) a representative of the organisation of professional patent
attorneys;
5) a representative of the academic staff of higher education
institutions.
(3) The representative of the Ministry of Justice shall be the
chairperson of the selection commission.
(4) The selection commission shall organise and conduct
certification examination of the applicants for the position of a
member of the Board of Appeal and certification examination of
the members of the Board of Appeal. The procedures and the
required amount of knowledge for the certification examination of
the applicants for the position of a member of the Board of
Appeal and certification examination of the members of the Board
of Appeal shall be determined by the Cabinet.
(5) All applicants for the position of a member of the Board
of Appeal shall take a certification examination on the general
matters of the protection of industrial property and in the field
of trade mark protection, but optionally may also take
examinations in additional specialisations - in the field of
patent protection or design protection.
(6) If it is necessary to ensure the conformity of the
qualification of the current composition of the Board of Appeal
with the case to be examined on its merits in accordance with the
requirements of Section 38, Paragraphs two and three of this Law,
the certification examination in the respective additional
specialisation shall be taken by a member of the Board of
Appeal.
(7) The selection commission shall draw up a proposal to the
Minister for Justice regarding the applicants for the position of
members of the Board of Appeal and the position of the
chairperson of the Board of Appeal from the list of persons who
have passed the certification examination of the applicants for
the position of a member of the Board of Appeal.
[9 February 2023]
Section 28. Disciplinary
Responsibility of Members of the Board of Appeal
(1) A member of the Board of Appeal may be subjected to
disciplinary liability if the following is found in his or her
activities:
1) intentional violation of legal acts during examination of a
case;
2) failure to fulfil the work duties;
3) gross negligence during the examination of a case;
4) an action inappropriate for the status of a member of the
Board of Appeal, dishonourable action;
5) failure to comply with the restrictions and prohibitions
provided for a member of the Board of Appeal by the law.
(2) The revoking or amendment of a decision of the Board of
Appeal, as well as the fact that a decision has not entered into
effect because the court has made a ruling which differs in its
nature shall not serve as a reason for the member of the Board
who had participated in the taking of the decision to be
subjected to liability, unless during the examination of the case
he or she has intentionally violated laws and regulations or made
gross negligence.
(3) The Minister for Justice may initiate a disciplinary
matter against a member of the Board of Appeal:
1) upon a proposal of the director of the Patent Office;
2) upon proposal of the organisation of professional patent
attorneys;
3) due to a complaint received;
4) upon his or her own initiative.
(4) If a disciplinary matter has been initiated against a
member of the Board of Appeal, the Minister for Justice, if he or
she considers it to be necessary, may suspend the member of the
Board of Appeal from the office by maintaining the monthly wage,
but for not longer than until the decision is taken in the
disciplinary matter.
(5) For the period during which the pre-trial criminal
proceedings and proceedings in a criminal case take place, the
Minister for Justice shall suspend from the office the member of
the Board of Appeal who is suspected or accused of an intentional
criminal offence or on whom in accordance with the procedures
laid down in the Criminal Procedure Law a security measure
related to prohibition from specific employment that prevents him
or her from fulfilling the obligations of a member of the Board
of Appeal has been imposed.
(6) The commission of disciplinary matters of members of the
Board of Appeal (hereinafter in this Section - the disciplinary
commission) for the examination of a disciplinary matter shall be
set up by the Minister for Justice.
(7) The Minister for Justice may, by taking into account the
opinion of the commission of disciplinary matters, impose the
following disciplinary sanctions on a member of the Board of
Appeal:
1) issue a reproof;
2) issue a reprimand;
3) reduce the monthly wage for a period of up to one year,
withholding up to 20 per cent of the wage.
(8) The Minister for Justice shall, by taking into account the
opinion of the commission of disciplinary matters, draw up a
proposal to the Cabinet on dismissal of the member of the Board
of Appeal, if the nature of the offence is such that his or her
subsequent activities in fulfilment of the obligations is not
permissible.
(9) Disciplinary matters of the members of the Board of Appeal
shall be examined, disciplinary violations established and
disciplinary sanctions imposed in accordance with the principles
and procedures laid down for the examination of disciplinary
matters of State civil servants insofar as it is not laid down
otherwise in this Law.
Chapter V
Basic Conditions for the Examination of Cases in the Board of
Appeal
Section 29. Directness and
Objectivity of the Examination of a Case
(1) The Board of Appeal shall, when examining the disputes
under its competence, objectively clarify the facts of the case
and examine the evidence itself.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall, when examining cases, ensure
objectivity and give the participants to the case a reasonable
opportunity to express their point of view and to present
evidence, as well as to become acquainted with the case
files.
(3) The Board of Appeal shall substantiate its decision with
the facts necessary for taking the decision and with the
consequent objective and rational legal considerations.
Section 30. Cases of Appeal,
Opposition, Invalidation, and Revocation
(1) If a notice of appeal has been submitted against a
decision of the Patent Office (case of appeal), such case shall
be examined between the submitter of the notice of appeal and the
Patent Office.
(2) If a notice of opposition has been submitted to
registration of an object of industrial property (case of
opposition), such case shall be examined between the submitter of
the notice of opposition and the owner of the contested
registration.
(3) If, after expiry of the term for submitting a notice of
opposition, a notice of the invalidation of the registration of
trade mark has been submitted (case of invalidation), such case
shall be examined between the submitter of the notice of the
invalidation of the registration of trade mark and the owner of
the contested registration.
(4) If a notice of the revocation of the registration of trade
mark has been submitted (case of revocation), such case shall be
examined between the submitter of the notice of the revocation of
the registration of trade mark and the owner of the contested
registration.
[9 February 2023]
Section 31. Equality of the Parties
and Adversary Proceedings
(1) The parties shall have equal procedural rights. The Board
of Appeal shall ensure that the parties have equal opportunities
to exercise their rights for the protection of their
interests.
(2) In the course of the examination of a case, the parties
shall exercise their procedural rights in the form of adversary
proceedings. In adversary proceedings, the parties may provide
explanations, submit evidence and submissions addressed to the
Board of Appeal, participate in the examination and assessment of
evidence, debates of the parties, and take other procedural
actions in accordance with the procedures laid down in this
Law.
(3) In order to establish the true circumstances of a case
within the limits of the claim, the Board of Appeal may, upon its
own initiative, clarify the facts which are relevant to the
dispute and which are available in the registers of industrial
property and other public registers.
Section 32. Examination of a Case in
the Board of Appeal
(1) The Board of Appeal shall examine cases in the written
procedure.
(2) When examining a case in the written procedure, the Board
of Appeal shall clarify the circumstances of the case on the
basis of the evidence included in the case and shall request in
writing the necessary information from the participants to the
case.
(3) When examining a case in the written procedure, the Board
of Appeal shall ensure that the principles laid down in Section
31 of this Law are complied with. Upon a request of a participant
to the case, the Board of Appeal shall give him or her an
opportunity to examine the evidence in the work premises of the
Board of Appeal.
(4) The Board of Appeal may, at its discretion or upon a
request of a participant to a case, determine the examination of
the case in a session of the Board of Appeal. If the examination
in the oral procedure is requested by the participant to the
case, the request shall be accompanied by a document confirming
the payment of the additional fee set for the examination of a
case in the oral procedure.
(5) Regardless of whether a case is examined in the written or
oral procedure, the Board of Appeal may, at its own discretion or
upon a motivated request of a participant to the case, determine
a session of the Board of Appeal for taking a separate procedural
action or for the clarification or resolving of a procedural
issue.
Section 33. Transparency of the
Examination of a Case
(1) The Board of Appeal shall examine cases openly.
(2) In order to protect professional or trade secrets, as well
as in other cases where the open examination of specific case
files may harm the lawful interests of a person, the Board of
Appeal may declare the examination of the case, session or part
thereof to be closed upon a motivated request of a participant to
the case or at the discretion of the Board of Appeal.
(3) In the case referred to in Paragraph two of this Section,
the Board of Appeal shall ensure to a participant to the case the
right to become acquainted with the respective case files,
preventing copying, photographing, scanning, or making of other
types of derivatives.
(4) Participants to a case and, if necessary, an interpreter
shall take part in the closed session of the Board of Appeal.
(5) The course of an open session of the Board of Appeal may,
with the permission of the Board of Appeal, be recorded (sound or
image recording and transmission equipment may be used), provided
that the course of the session is not disturbed.
(6) In cases that are examined in the oral procedure, the
operative part of a decision of the Board of Appeal shall be
pronounced publicly.
(7) The parts of a decision of the Board of Appeal which
relate to the case files referred to in Paragraph two of this
Section or contain other restricted access information shall not
be published, but shall be replaced with a notice why the
respective part of the decision is not generally accessible.
Section 34. Language of the
Examination of a Case
(1) The Board of Appeal shall examine cases in the official
language.
(2) A participant to a case who does not know the official
language has the right to become acquainted with the case files
and participate in the examination procedure, using the
assistance of an interpreter. The services of an interpreter
shall be ensured by the participant to the case.
(3) Written evidence in a foreign language shall be submitted
by a participant to a case, by attaching a translation into the
official language which is certified in accordance with the
procedures laid down in laws and regulations.
(4) If all participants to the case agree, the Board of Appeal
may authorise submission of certain documents and written
evidence in a foreign language without a translation which is
certified in accordance with the procedures laid down in laws and
regulations.
(5) Decisions of the Board of Appeal and minutes of sessions
shall be drawn up in the official language.
Section 35. Services of the Board of
Appeal
(1) Examination of cases of appeal, opposition, invalidation,
and revocation and the related activities which are carried out
by the Board of Appeal within the limits of its competence shall
be paid services.
(2) The Cabinet shall determine the price list of paid
services of the Board of Appeal, the payment procedures thereof
and reliefs.
[9 February 2023]
Section 36. Application of the
Regulations Provided for the Registration and Post-registration
Procedures in the Board of Appeal
The Board of Appeal shall apply the regulations provided for
the registration and post-registration procedures laid down in
this Law regarding submission of documents, indication of persons
and addresses, identification of applications and registrations,
authenticity of personal signatures and documents, insofar as the
industrial property legal acts do not provide otherwise.
Section 36.1 Storage of
the Files of the Board of Appeal
The Patent Office shall ensure permanent storage of the files
of the Board of Appeal and the submitted original documents.
[9 February 2023]
Chapter
VI
Composition for the Examination of a Case in the Board of
Appeal
Section 37. Composition for the
Examination of a Case
(1) A case shall be examined by the Board of Appeal in the
composition of three members of the Board of Appeal (hereinafter
- the composition for examination of a case).
(2) Decisions of procedural nature needed during the course of
preparation of the case shall be taken by the chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case, except when the
respective procedural decision is taken by the composition for
the examination of the case or when the chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case decides that the
procedural issue should be transferred to the composition for the
examination of the case for collegial examination.
(3) When examining a case collegially, members of the Board of
Appeal included in the composition for the examination of the
case have equal rights to participate in the deciding of the
issues related to the examination of the case and taking the
decisions. The members of the Board of Appeal shall decide the
issues related to the examination of a case and take decisions of
the Board of Appeal by majority vote. None of the members of the
Board of Appeal included in the composition for the examination
of a case are entitled to refrain from voting.
(4) Examination of a case shall be chaired by the chairperson
of the composition for the examination of the case. He or she
shall also fulfil the obligations of the rapporteur and prepare a
draft decision of the Board of Appeal, except when the
chairperson of the Board of Appeal has assigned these obligations
to another member of the Board of Appeal.
(5) A case shall be examined on its merits by a constant
composition for the examination of the case. If any of the
members of the Board of Appeal in the composition for the
examination of a case is substituted by another member during the
course of the examination of the case, the examination of the
case on its merits shall be started anew.
Section 38. Approval of the
Composition for the Examination of a Case
(1) If the Board of Appeal has received a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation, the chairperson of the
Board of Appeal shall approve the composition for the examination
of the case and approve one of the members of the Board of Appeal
as the chairperson of the composition for the examination of the
case. The composition for the examination of a case shall be
published on the website of the Patent Office.
(2) When examining patent disputes, disputes concerning
supplementary protection certificates for medicinal products and
plant protection products, and disputes relating to topographies
of semiconductor products, at least one member of the Board of
Appeal who has additionally specialised in the field of patent
protection shall be included in the composition for examination
of the case.
(3) When examining design disputes, at least one member of the
Board of Appeal who has additionally specialised in the field of
protection of designs shall be included in the composition for
the examination of the case.
(4) If, after the commencement of the examination of a case,
the composition for the examination of the case changes
(Paragraph five of Section 37), the chairperson of the Board of
Appeal shall approve a new composition for the examination of the
case and publish it in accordance with the procedures laid down
in Paragraph one of this Section.
[9 February 2023]
Section 39. Withdrawal of a Member
of the Board of Appeal or an Objection Thereto
(1) A member of the Board of Appeal is not entitled to
participate in the examination of a case if:
1) he or she has participated in the taking of the decision of
the Patent Office against which the notice of appeal to be
examined has been submitted;
2) he or she is personally directly or indirectly interested
in the outcome of the case;
3) there are other circumstances that are not acceptable for a
public official or may give rise to justifiable doubts as to the
objectivity of the member of the Board of Appeal.
(2) If the circumstances referred to in Paragraph one of this
Section exist, the member of the Board of Appeal shall, before
the examination of the case, inform the chairperson of the Board
of Appeal thereof and withdraw himself or herself from the
examination of the case by stating the grounds. A member of the
Board of Appeal shall, without delay, withdraw himself or herself
also if he or she finds such circumstances within the examination
of the case.
(3) If a member of the Board of Appeal has failed to withdraw
himself or herself in the case referred to in Paragraph one of
this Section, the participants to the case may raise an objection
to him or her.
(4) Objection shall be raised and motivated before the
examination of the case on its merits. An objection may be raised
later if the person who raises the objection has become aware of
the grounds thereof within the examination of the case.
(5) The remaining composition for the examination of the case
shall examine the validity of objection and take a decision. If,
when deciding on the validity of the objection, members of the
Board of Appeal vote equally, the member of the Board of Appeal
shall be removed.
(6) If a member of the Board of Appeal has withdrawn himself
or herself or has been removed, the chairperson of the Board of
Appeal shall substitute this member of the Board of Appeal with
another member. If a member of the Board of Appeal withdraws
himself or herself or an objection has been satisfied within a
session of the Board of Appeal, the examination of the case shall
be postponed.
Chapter
VII
Participants to a Case, Their Rights and Obligations
Section 40. Participants to a
Case
(1) Participants to a case of appeal shall be:
1) the submitter of the notice of appeal;
2) the Patent Office;
3) a third person;
4) representatives of the persons referred to in Clauses 1, 2,
and 3 of this Paragraph.
(2) Participants to a case of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation shall be:
1) the submitter of the notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation;
2) the owner of the contested registration;
3) a third person;
4) representatives of the persons referred to in Clauses 1, 2,
and 3 of this Paragraph.
[9 February 2023]
Section 41. Rights and Obligations
of Participants to a Case
(1) A participant to a case shall have the following
rights:
1) to access the materials of the case and to prepare
derivatives from them;
2) to raise an objection;
3) to submit evidence;
4) to provide explanations to the Board of Appeal, express his
or her arguments and observations on the circumstances of the
case;
5) to participate in examination of the evidence;
6) to submit requests, including request that for the case to
be examined in the written procedure a session of the Board of
Appeal is determined for taking a separate procedural action, for
clarification or resolution of a procedural issue, as well as to
request that the case is examined in the oral procedure;
7) to participate in a session of the Board of Appeal if the
case is examined in the oral procedure or if a session of the
Board of Appeal has been determined for taking a separate
procedural action;
8) to contest requests, arguments, and observations of another
participant to the case;
9) to receive derivatives of the decisions and other documents
of the Board of Appeal and also to use other procedural rights
which have been granted to the participant to a case by this
Law.
(2) A submitter of a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation has the right to fully or partially
withdraw from the claim included in the notice.
(3) The owner of the contested registration in a case of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation has the right to provide
counterarguments to the claim included in the notice or to
recognise it fully or in part.
(4) In a case of opposition, invalidation, or revocation, the
parties may conclude a settlement.
(5) In a case of appeal, the Patent Office may fully or in
part recognise the claim included in the notice of appeal, but it
is not entitled to expand the legal basis of the contested
decision of the Patent Office.
(6) Participants to a case have the right to contest the
decision taken by the Board of Appeal and apply to the court in
accordance with the procedures laid down in the Law.
(7) A participant to a case has the obligation:
1) to provide explanations to the Board of Appeal;
2) upon invitation, to attend a session of the Board of Appeal
or in a timely manner to notify the reasons why he or she is
unable to attend it, by submitting relevant evidence;
3) to perform other procedural obligations imposed on him or
her by this Law.
(8) The owner of a contested registration in a case of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation is entitled to refuse to
provide explanations or from other obligations and may request
that the case is examined on the basis of the existing materials
in it.
(9) The participant to a case has an obligation to exercise
his or her rights and perform his or her obligations in good
faith.
[9 February 2023]
Section 42. Third Person
(1) A third person who does not submit independent claims may
enter a case before the completion of the examination of the case
on its merits if the decision of the Board of Appeal in the
respective case may affect the rights or legal interests of such
party or obligations towards any of the participants to the
case.
(2) The third person shall be granted the status of a
participant to a case with a decision of the chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case, upon a request of
such person. The third person may be invited to participate in
the case also upon an initiative of a participant to the case or
the Board of Appeal.
(3) In the submission for the invitation of a third person and
in a submission of a third person for entry in the case, the
grounds on which the third party is allowed to participate in the
case shall be indicated.
(4) A person to whom the status of a third person has been
granted in the procedure of the Patent Office already before the
examination of the case by the Board of Appeal is entitled to be
a participant to the case without independent claims if the Board
of Appeal is examining a dispute related to the relevant
procedure of the Patent Office.
(5) If it is established in the course of the examination of a
case that such person has been invited or admitted to the case in
the status of a third person whose rights or legal interests
cannot be affected by the decision taken by the Board of Appeal
in the relevant case, the chairperson of the composition for the
examination of the case shall decide on the removal of the status
of a third person for this person.
(6) A third person shall have the procedural rights and
obligations of a participant to the case, except for the rights
to amend the grounds or subject of the notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation or revocation, to withdraw from the
claim included in the notice, or to recognise it.
[9 February 2023]
Section 43. Assumption of Procedural
Rights
(1) If any of the participants to a case withdraw (for
example, a natural person has died, a legal person has ceased to
exist), the Board of Appeal may substitute this participant to
the case with his or her successor in title.
(2) In case of change of the owner of a contested
registration, the Board of Appeal shall substitute the former
owner with his or her successor in title as soon as the
information on the change of the owner has been included in the
register.
(3) If the Board of Appeal has been informed of the fact that
the applicant or owner who has submitted the notice of appeal has
been substituted by another person, the Board of Appeal shall,
without delay, inform the respective person of the appeal
proceedings.
(31) If the Board of Appeal is informed of the fact
that information on the change of the owner of the opposing
rights in a case of opposition or invalidation has been included
in the register, the Board of Appeal shall, without delay, inform
the respective person of the opposition or invalidation
proceedings.
(32) If the person referred to in Paragraphs three
and 3.1 of this Section (the new applicant, the new
owner) fails to notify the Board of Appeal upon invitation of the
Board of Appeal within three months of the fact that he or she
maintains the notice of appeal, opposition, or invalidation, the
Board of Appeal does not have the obligation to examine the case
and the composition for the examination of the case shall take
the decision to terminate the proceedings.
(4) Assumption of procedural rights shall be possible at any
stage of the examination of the case.
(5) The activities that have been executed in the procedure
for the examination of the case before intervention of the
successor in title shall be equally binding on him or her as they
were on the person whose rights have been assumed.
[9 February 2023]
Chapter
VIII
Procedural Terms
Section 44. Procedural Terms for the
Activities of the Board of Appeal
(1) In the Board of Appeal, procedural actions shall be taken
within the terms laid down in this Law or in other industrial
property legal acts. If the procedural term has not been
determined in a legal act, it shall be determined by the Board of
Appeal.
(2) The term determined by the Board of Appeal shall be such
that it is possible to execute the procedural actions without
delaying the examination of the case. If there is no good reason
for determining a different term, the Board of Appeal shall
determine the term of two months.
(3) If the fee for the submission of a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation, or the fee for
procedural activity in the Board of Appeal has not been paid
within the determined term, a term of one month shall be
determined for the payment thereof, unless otherwise provided by
an industrial property legal act.
(4) Upon hearing a participant to the case and substantiating
the grounds, the Board of Appeal is entitled to determine a
reasonable term which is different from that provided for in
Paragraph two or three of this Section, but not longer than three
months.
(5) Unless it has been laid down otherwise in an industrial
property legal act or in the document of the Board of Appeal by
which the term has been determined, the term for the execution of
procedural actions in the Board of Appeal shall start on the next
day after the date on which the respective document of the Board
of Appeal is to be considered as notified in accordance with the
norms of the Law on Notification.
[9 February 2023]
Section 45. Suspension of a
Procedural Term
When suspending the examination of a case in the Board of
Appeal, also counting of the term shall be suspended. Counting of
the term shall be suspended at the moment when a circumstance
which serves as the ground for suspending the term occurs.
Counting of the procedural term shall continue from the day when
the examination of the case is renewed.
Section 46. Renewal of a Procedural
Term
(1) The delayed procedural terms, except for the terms which
are determined as non-renewable under this Law or in other
industrial property legal acts, may be renewed by the Board of
Appeal upon a request of a participant to the case if the Board
recognises that the reason for the delay is justified.
(2) A request for the renewal of the delayed procedural term
shall be submitted within three months after the end of the
respective term.
(3) When renewing the delayed term, the Board of Appeal shall
also permit execution of the delayed procedural action.
Section 47. Extension of a
Procedural Term
(1) Procedural terms, except for those identified as
non-extendable under this Law or other industrial property legal
acts, may be extended by the Board of Appeal for a period not
exceeding three months upon a request of a participant to the
case.
(2) A request for the extension of a procedural term shall be
submitted before the end of the determined term. A request for
the extension of a procedural term submitted after the end of
this term shall be considered as the request for the renewal of
the procedural term.
Section 48. Procedures for the
Extension and Renewal of a Procedural Term
(1) A reasoned request for the extension of a procedural term
or renewal of a delayed procedural term shall be submitted to the
Board of Appeal. The request for the renewal of a delayed term
shall be accompanied by evidence proving the reasons which
justify the delay of the term.
(2) The request provided for in Paragraph one of this Section
shall be considered submitted if, within the term determined for
its submission, the fee for the extension of the procedural term
or fee for the renewal of the delayed procedural term has been
paid.
(3) The issue of the extension or renewal of a procedural term
shall be decided by the chairperson of the composition for the
examination of the case or, if the composition for the
examination of the case is not yet approved, by the chairperson
of the Board of Appeal in the written procedure within seven days
from the day of the receipt of the request provided for in
Paragraph one of this Section, without hearing the point of view
of other participants to the case.
(4) If a participant to a case repeatedly requests an
extension of the procedural term, the request shall be
accompanied by a document certifying the payment of the
additional fee determined for a repeated extension of the
procedural term. When deciding on an issue of repeated extension
of the procedural term, the Board of Appeal shall hear other
participants to the case. When assessing the usefulness of the
extension of the term, it shall be taken into account whether the
repeated extension will not unduly delay the examination of the
case.
(5) A decision taken by the chairperson of the composition for
the examination of a case or by the chairperson of the Board of
Appeal sitting alone on an issue of the renewal or extension of a
procedural term may be contested in accordance with the
procedures laid down in Section 97 of this Law.
(6) The provisions for the continuation of the proceedings and
the reinstatement of rights provided for in industrial property
legal acts shall not be applied in the procedures of the Board of
Appeal insofar as it is not laid down otherwise in this Law.
Chapter
IX
Regulations Regarding Evidence
Section 49. Evidence and Evidentiary
Means
(1) Evidence is information by which the claims and
counter-arguments of the participants to a case are
substantiated, as well as other information which has
significance in the examination of the case.
(2) Evidentiary means may be written evidence, explanations of
the parties and third persons, and material evidence which
contain information on the facts relating to the case to be
examined.
Section 50. Burden of Proof
(1) Each participant to a case shall prove the circumstances
to which they refer.
(2) In a case of appeal, the Patent Office may refer only to
the justifications stated in the contested decision of the Patent
Office.
(3) If the evidence submitted by the participants to a case is
not sufficient, the Board of Appeal shall invite the participant
to the case to whom such evidence is accessible to submit it.
Section 51. Grounds for Exemption
from Burden of Proof
(1) Facts that have been recognised by the Board of Appeal as
generally known, need not be proven.
(2) The Board of Appeal may recognise a fact as proven, if
other participants to the case do not contest it.
(3) A fact that has been established with an effective
judgement of the court, or a decision of the Board of Appeal,
need not be proved anew, upon examining a case involving the same
participants to the case in the Board of Appeal.
Section 52. Assessment of
Evidence
(1) The Board of Appeal shall assess the evidence according
its own convictions, based on a comprehensive, fully and
objectively verified evidence, as well as guided by legal
awareness based on the rules of logic, scientific knowledge,
principles of justice, and observations gained from
experience.
(2) In its decision, the Board of Appeal shall specify why it
has given priority to one evidence as compared to other evidence,
and has recognised one fact as proven, but other facts - as not
proven.
Section 53. Explanations
(1) Explanations of the parties and third persons which
contain information on the facts by which the claims or
oppositions of these parties and third persons have been
justified shall be recognised as evidence if they are confirmed
by other evidence verified and evaluated in the case.
(2) If one party recognises the facts by which the other party
justifies its claims or oppositions, the Board of Appeal may find
such facts as proven if it has no doubt that the recognition has
not been made as a result of fraud, violence, threats or deceit
or for the purpose of concealing the truth.
Section 54. Written Evidence
(1) Written evidence shall be information regarding facts
which are relevant to the case to be examined which, with the
help of letters, numbers and other signs or technical means, have
been recorded in documents, in other writings, also in the
respective systems of records, including audio recordings and
video recordings, recordings in disks and other information
media.
(2) Written evidence, depending on their significance in the
case to be examined, shall be submitted in the original form, in
the form of a certified or uncertified derivative of the
document, or a print-out.
(3) For print-outs from generally accessible databases and
websites, their extraction time and place shall be indicated.
(4) For photos and other recording made with the help of
technical means, their time and place of emergence, as well as
other information which is relevant for the examination of the
case shall be indicated.
(5) A participant to a case may receive back a document or
other written evidence which has been submitted to the Board of
Appeal in the original copy if he or she submits a respective
derivative. The correctness of such a derivative may be certified
by the chairperson of the Board of Appeal or by the chairperson
of the composition for the examination of the case.
[9 February 2023]
Section 55. Evidence of Registered
Subject Matter
(1) Evidence of registered subject matter shall be the
registration certificate issued by the registration authority,
the official publication of the registration, an extract from a
register or a print-out from a database.
(2) The Board of Appeal may recognise the rights as proven
with a non-certified copy of a registration certificate or
official publication, non-certified extract from a register or
non-certified print-out from a database if other participants to
the case do not contest such evidence.
(3) The Board of Appeal is entitled to request from a
participant to the case an up-to-date extract from a register
(certified or non-certified) or other evidence if there is a
reason to believe that, in comparison with the information in the
case, amendments may be introduced to the registration, which
cannot be established from generally accessible databases.
(4) A participant to the case who relies on objects of
industrial property registered in the Patent Office shall submit
the information on them necessary for examination of the
case.
Section 56. Material Evidence
(1) Material evidence is tangible objects which with their
qualities, characteristics, or their existence might be useful to
establish the facts which are relevant to the case.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall only collect such material
evidence which can be stored with the files of the case to be
examined. If the storage of material evidence is not possible,
the participant to the case may submit a motivated request to
inspect the evidence in a session of the Board of Appeal
(Paragraph five of Section 32) and request that photos or, if
necessary, a video recording of this material evidence is added
to the case.
Chapter X
Initiation of a Case in the Board of Appeal
Section 57. Grounds for the
Initiation of a Case
The grounds for the initiation of a case in the Board of
Appeal shall be the following documents submitted in accordance
with specific procedures and terms:
1) a notice of appeal against a decision of the Patent
Office;
2) a notice of opposition to the registration of an object of
industrial property in Latvia, also a notice of opposition to the
entry into effect of international registration (if it refers to
Latvia) of a trade mark or design in Latvia (Chapter XVI);
3) a notice of the invalidation of the registration of trade
mark, also a notice of the invalidation of international
registration (if it refers to Latvia) of trade mark in Latvia
(Chapter XVI);
4) a notice of the revocation of the registration of trade
mark, also a notice of the revocation of international
registration (if it refers to Latvia) of trade mark in Latvia
(Chapter XVI).
[9 February 2023]
Section 58. Submission of a Notice
of Appeal
(1) If the applicant or another addressee of the decision of
the Patent Office (owner, former owner, successor of property
rights, licensee) completely or partly disagrees with the
decision of the Patent Office which has been taken in the
registration or post-registration procedure, he or she is
entitled to, upon paying the fee for the submission of a notice
of appeal, submit a motivated written notice of appeal to the
Patent Office within three months from the day when the decision
is notified.
(2) If a decision of the Patent Office does not terminate the
procedure regarding the addressee of the decision and the
possibility to submit a notice of appeal has not been indicated
therein, a notice of appeal may be submitted when the final
decision has been taken in the respective registration or
post-registration procedure.
(3) The notice of appeal shall suspend the enforcement of the
decision of the Patent Office.
(4) The Patent Office shall, without delay, hand over the
submitted notice of appeal to the Board of Appeal.
[9 February 2023]
Section 59. Notice of Appeal
(1) The following shall be indicated in a notice of
appeal:
1) the submitter of the notice of appeal and his or her
address, as well as the representative of the submitter of the
notice of appeal, if such has been appointed, and his or her
address in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of this
Law;
2) the date of the appealed decision of the Patent Office and
the application or registration to which the decision refers (the
application and registration shall be indicated in accordance
with the provisions of Section 15 of this Law);
3) the subject and the substantive grounds of the notice of
appeal (analysis of those grounds of the decision of the Patent
Office to which the submitter of the notice of appeal does not
agree; explanations or justifications of the submitter of the
notice of appeal; characterisation of the circumstances of the
case and reference to the evidence; reference to the norms which
are not complied with or with which the decision of the Patent
Office does not comply, or which justify the notice of
appeal);
4) the claim of the submitter of the notice of appeal;
5) the place and time for drawing up the notice of appeal;
6) the list of attached documents.
(2) Also other information which is considered significant by
the submitter for the examination of the case may be indicated in
the notice of appeal.
(3) The notice of appeal shall be addressed to the Board of
Appeal, and it shall be signed by the submitter of the notice of
appeal or his or her representative. If a notice of appeal is
submitted by a representative on behalf of its submitter, he or
she shall, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XVII of
this Law, attach to the notice of appeal a power of attorney or a
reference to a power of attorney previously submitted to the
Patent Office or the Board of Appeal.
Section 60. Submission of a Notice
of Opposition and a Notice of Invalidation
(1) The persons determined in industrial property legal acts
in the presence of the legal basis provided for in these legal
acts shall submit a notice of opposition or a notice of
invalidation within the term determined in the industrial
property legal act by paying the fee for the submission of a
notice of opposition or a notice of invalidation.
(2) The terms laid down in industrial property legal acts for
the submission of a notice of opposition shall not be extended or
renewed, they are not subject to the provisions for the
continuation of proceedings or reinstatement of rights.
(3) After expiry of the term for submitting a notice of
opposition, the submitter of the notice of opposition is not
entitled to introduce amendments to the initial legal basis of
the notice of opposition that would extend it.
(4) The submitter of a notice of invalidation is entitled to
introduce amendments to the legal basis that would extend it
within the term specified in Paragraph one of Section 73 if the
examination of the case has been determined in the written
procedure or until the moment of the commencement of the
examination of the case on its merits in a session of the Board
of Appeal if the examination of the case has been determined in
the oral procedure.
(5) The submitter of a notice of opposition and a notice of
invalidation has the right to submit additional documents and
evidence in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Law,
confirming the facts by which the notice has been justified.
(6) A notice of opposition or a notice of invalidation
submitted to the Board of Appeal shall not prevent the
registration of the industrial object from being contested in a
court in accordance with the civil procedure laid down in laws
and regulations.
[9 February 2023]
Section 61. Notice of Opposition and
Notice of Invalidation
(1) The following shall be indicated in a notice of opposition
or a notice of invalidation:
1) the submitter of the notice and his or her address, and
also the representative of the submitter of the notice, if such
has been appointed, and his or her address (given name, name, and
address of persons shall be indicated in accordance with the
provisions of Section 13 of this Law);
2) the registration of an object of industrial property to
which the notice of opposition has been submitted or the
registration of a trade mark against which the notice of
invalidation has been submitted (the registration shall be
indicated in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of this
Law);
3) the subject of the notice (explanations of the submitter of
the notice or justification of notice, characterisation of the
circumstances of the case and reference to evidence);
4) the information on earlier rights if the notice is based on
the existence of earlier rights (applications and registrations
shall be indicated in accordance with the provisions of Section
15 of this Law);
5) the substantive grounds of the notice (reference to the
norms which have been violated when registering the contested
rights for the object of industrial property or with which the
notice has been justified);
6) the claim of the submitter of the notice;
7) the place and time for drawing up the notice;
8) the list of attached documents.
(2) Also other information which is considered significant by
the submitter for the examination of the case may be indicated in
the notice.
(3) The notice shall be addressed to the Board of Appeal and
it shall be signed by the submitter of the notice or his or her
representative. If a notice is submitted by a representative on
behalf of its submitter, he or she shall, in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter XVII of this Law, attach to the notice a
power of attorney or a reference to a power of attorney
previously submitted to the Patent Office or the Board of
Appeal.
[9 February 2023]
Section 61.1 Submission
of a Notice of Revocation
(1) The persons determined in the industrial property legal
acts in the presence of the legal basis provided for in these
legal acts shall submit a notice of revocation by paying the fee
for the submission of a notice of revocation.
(2) The submitter of a notice of revocation is entitled to
introduce amendments to the legal basis that would extend it
within the term specified in Paragraph one of Section 73 if the
examination of a matter has been determined in the written
procedure or until the moment of the commencement of the
examination of the case on its merits in a session of the Board
of Appeal if the examination of the case has been determined in
the oral procedure.
(3) A notice of revocation submitted against the registration
of a trade mark shall not prevent this registration from being
contested in the court in accordance with the civil procedures
laid down in laws and regulations.
[9 February 2023]
Section 61.2 Notice of
Revocation
(1) The following shall be indicated in a notice of
revocation:
1) the submitter of the notice of revocation and his or her
address, and also the representative of the submitter of the
notice, if such has been appointed, and his or her address (given
name, name, and address of a person shall be indicated in
accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of this Law);
2) the registration of a trade mark against which the notice
of revocation has been submitted (the registration shall be
indicated in accordance with the provisions of Section 15 of this
Law);
3) the subject of the notice (explanations of the submitter of
the notice or justification of notice, characterisation of the
circumstances of the case and reference to evidence);
4) the substantive grounds of the notice (reference to the
norms with which the notice has been justified);
5) the claim of the submitter of the notice;
6) the place and time for drawing up the notice;
7) the list of attached documents.
(2) Also other information which is considered significant by
the submitter for the examination of the case may be indicated in
the notice.
(3) The notice shall be addressed to the Board of Appeal and
it shall be signed by the submitter of the notice of revocation
or his or her representative. If a notice is submitted by a
representative on behalf of its submitter, he or she shall, in
accordance with the provisions of Chapter XVII of this Law,
attach to the notice of revocation a power of attorney or a
reference to a power of attorney previously submitted to the
Patent Office or the Board of Appeal.
[9 February 2023]
Section 62. Attaching of Documents,
Evidence and Other Additions
(1) Documents and other evidence confirming the following
shall be attached to a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation:
1) payment of the fee for the submission of a notice;
2) the circumstances with which a notice has been
justified.
(2) If a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation and the attached documents are submitted to the Board
of Appeal in printed form, then their derivatives shall be
submitted in as many copies as the number of participants to the
case, excluding the submitter of the notice.
(3) The evidence and other additions needed for the
examination of a case shall be submitted within the term
determined in this Law or, if the Board of Appeal has invited
them to be submitted, within the term determined by the Board of
Appeal.
(4) Evidence of all the earlier rights on which a notice of
opposition or invalidation is based shall be submitted together
with the respective notice. Evidence shall be submitted in
conformity with the term for the submission of a notice of
opposition or invalidation laid down in industrial property legal
acts.
(5) If the examination of a case has been determined in the
oral procedure (Section 32, Paragraph four of this Law) or if a
session of the Board of Appeal has been determined for taking a
separate procedural action, for the clarification or resolving of
a procedural issue (Section 32, Paragraph five of this Law), the
participants to the case have the obligation to ensure that not
later than 14 days before the date of the session all written
evidence needed for the examination of the case or for taking the
respective procedural action, clarification or resolution of the
procedural issues are received by the Board of Appeal.
(6) If evidence or other additions, other than those referred
to in Paragraphs one and four of this Section, are submitted by a
participant to a case without complying with the term laid down
in this Law or determined by the Board of Appeal, the Board of
Appeal shall add it to the case if it recognises that they are
significant for the examination of the case, the term for the
submission is not complied with due to a justified reason, and
with the addition thereof the examination of the case is not
unduly delayed.
(7) All additions to notices of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, and revocation, and also the response to the
respective notice and other documents that are submitted
separately from the initial notice shall be supplemented with a
reference to the respective notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation.
[9 February 2023]
Section 63. Decision on a Submitted
Notice of Appeal, Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation
(1) The chairperson of the Board of Appeal shall, within three
working days after receipt of a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation, instruct the secretary of the Board
of Appeal to commence proceedings regarding the notice and shall,
in accordance with the provisions of Section 38 of this Law,
approve the composition for the examination of the case and the
chairperson of this composition.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall, within ten working days after
receipt of a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation, take the decision to:
1) accept the notice and initiate a case;
2) refuse to accept the notice;
3) leave the notice not proceeded with.
(3) The decision to accept the notice and to initiate a case
shall be taken by the chairperson of the composition for the
examination of the case and it shall be recorded as a resolution
to the respective notice. The decision shall be notified to the
submitter, but in case of a notice of appeal, also to the
official or unit of the Patent Office which has taken the
contested decision and it shall be published on the website of
the Patent Office.
(4) If a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation has been left not proceeded with, the term specified
in Paragraph two of this Section for taking the decision to
accept the respective notice and to initiate a case, or to refuse
to accept the notice shall be counted from the date of expiry of
the term for the elimination of deficiencies (Paragraph two of
Section 65).
[9 February 2023]
Section 64. Non-acceptance of a
Notice of Appeal, Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation
(1) The Board of Appeal shall refuse to accept a notice of
appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation if:
1) the case is obviously not to be examined according to the
procedures prescribed for appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation;
2) in the proceedings of the Board of Appeal there is a case
with the same participants to the case, regarding the same
subject and on the same basis;
3) a notice has been submitted by a person who is not entitled
to do so;
4) a notice of appeal has been submitted after the term
determined for its submission, and it has been determined as
non-renewable, or another reason not to renew it has been laid
down in an industrial property legal act, or the term laid down
in Section 46, Paragraph two of this Law has ended;
5) the term for the submission of a notice of opposition laid
down in an industrial property legal act has not been complied
with;
6) a notice the acceptance of which has already been refused
by the Board of Appeal has been repeatedly submitted to the Board
of Appeal;
7) a notice of invalidation has been submitted and in the
proceedings of the Board of Appeal there has been a case of
opposition or invalidation with the same participants to the
case, regarding the same subject, and on the same basis, unless
new circumstances have been found in the case or case law has
changed with regard to the issues under consideration in the
case.
(2) A motivated decision to refuse to accept a notice of
appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation shall be taken by
the chairperson of the composition for the examination of the
case within the term specified in Section 63, Paragraph two of
this Law.
(3) A decision which has been taken by the chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case sitting alone to
refuse to accept a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation may be contested in accordance with the procedures
laid down in Section 97 of this Law.
[9 February 2023]
Section 65. Leaving of a Notice of
Appeal, Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation not Proceeded
With
(1) The Board of Appeal shall leave a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation not proceeded with
if:
1) when submitting the notice of appeal, the requirements of
Section 58, Paragraphs one and two, and Section 59, Paragraphs
one and three of this Law have not been complied with;
2) when submitting the notice of opposition, the requirements
of Section 60, Paragraphs one and two, and Section 61, Paragraphs
one and three of this Law have not been complied with;
21) when submitting the notice of invalidation, the
requirements of Section 60, Paragraphs one and two, and Section
61, Paragraphs one and three of this Law have not been complied
with;
22) when submitting the notice of revocation, the
requirements of Section 61.1, Paragraphs one and two,
and Section 61.2, Paragraphs one and three of this Law
have not been complied with;
3) the documents referred to in Section 62, Paragraphs one,
two, and four of this Law have not been attached to the
notice;
4) the notice of appeal has been submitted after the end of
the time limit laid down in this Law and a request for the
renewal of the term for the submission of a notice of appeal with
an explanation of the reason for the delay of the term and
evidence to prove it, or a request to extend the term for the
submission of a notice of appeal in accordance with Section 48,
Paragraph one of this Law has not been attached thereto, or the
fee for the renewal or extension of the procedural term has not
been paid in accordance with Section 48, Paragraph two of this
Law;
5) several claims have been joined into one notice of appeal,
but these claims are not bound to each other with substantive
grounds, motivation or provided evidence;
6) several claims have been joined into one notice of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation, but these claims are not
bound to each other with substantive grounds, motivation, or
provided evidence;
7) the representative of the submitter of a notice of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation is concurrently
representing the owner of the contested registration.
(2) A motivated decision to leave a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation not proceeded with shall
be taken by the chairperson of the composition for the
examination of the case and it shall be notified to the submitter
of the notice (in the case of a notice of appeal, also to the
official or unit of the Patent Office which took the contested
decision) and another term for the elimination of deficiencies
shall be determined.
(3) If the submitter of a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation eliminates the deficiencies within
the determined time limit, the notice shall be deemed to have
been submitted on the day when it was submitted to the Board of
Appeal for the first time.
(4) If the submitter of a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation fails to eliminate the deficiencies
within the determined time limit, the composition for the
examination of the case shall, with a motivated decision,
recognise the notice as not submitted.
[9 February 2023]
Chapter
XI
Advancement and Preparation of a Case for Examination
Section 66. Advancement of a Case of
Appeal after Initiation of a Case
(1) If a notice of appeal has been accepted and a case of
appeal has been initiated, the Board of Appeal shall, without
delay, hand over the notice of appeal to the Patent Office - to
the official or unit which took the decision against which the
notice of appeal has been submitted.
(2) The Patent Office shall, without delay, revoke or amend
the relevant decision insofar as it recognises the claim of the
notice of appeal as justified.
(3) If revocation or amendment of a decision of the Patent
Office may affect the rights or legal interests of a third person
or if the decision has not been revoked or amended within a month
after its handing over to the Patent Office in accordance with
the procedures laid down in Paragraph two of this Section, the
Patent Office shall, without delay, return the notice of appeal
for examination to the Board of Appeal.
(4) If the Patent Office has revoked or amended its previously
taken decision, and it satisfies the submitter of the notice of
appeal, he or she shall, within two months from the day when this
decision is notified, withdraw his or her notice of appeal with a
respective submission. In such cases, the Board of Appeal shall,
when terminating the proceedings, reimburse to the submitter of
the notice of appeal 50 per cent of the fee paid for submitting a
notice of appeal.
(5) If the Patent Office has amended its previously taken
decision, but it does not satisfy the submitter of the notice of
appeal, he or she shall notify the Patent Office thereof in
writing within the term specified in Paragraph four of this
Section. The Patent Office shall, without delay, return the
notice of appeal for examination of the case to the Board of
Appeal.
(6) While the examination of a case of appeal on its merits is
not completed, the submitter of the notice of appeal is entitled
to update and supplement the submitted notice of appeal.
[9 February 2023]
Section 67. Joining and Splitting of
Claims of Appeal
(1) The submitter of a notice of appeal is entitled to join
several interrelated claims of appeal (claims of appeal against
several decisions of the Patent Office) into one notice of
appeal, if the substantive grounds, motivation or provided
evidence thereof are the same or are interrelated. When
submitting a joint notice of appeal, the time limits for the
submission of all the notices of appeal shall be observed, and
for each claim the fee for the submission of a notice of appeal
shall be paid.
(2) If there are several cases of appeal of the same type in
the proceedings of the Board of Appeal, involving the same
participants to the case, the Board of Appeal is entitled to join
these cases into one proceeding if such joining of cases promotes
a faster and more accurate examination of the cases.
(3) The Board of Appeal is entitled, with a decision, to
separate one or several claims of a notice of appeal from the
joint proceedings in a separate proceeding, if it recognises
separate examination of these claims to be more useful or if
their examination in one proceeding has become encumbered or
impossible.
Section 68. Sending of a Notice of
Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation to the Owner of the
Contested Registration and Response of the Owner
(1) If a notice of opposition, invalidation, or revocation has
been accepted and a case has been initiated, the Board of Appeal
shall, without delay, send the notice and the attached documents
or true copies thereof to the owner of the contested registration
and invite him or her to submit a written response to the
respective notice of opposition, invalidation, or revocation
within two months after the day of notification of the respective
documents.
(2) The owner of the contested registration in the response to
the notice of opposition, invalidation or revocation shall
indicate his or her counterarguments to the claim of the notice
and attach evidence proving them. The owner of the contested
registration may recognise the claim of the notice of opposition,
invalidation, or revocation fully or in part thereof as well.
(3) If a notice of opposition or invalidation is fully or
partly based on an earlier trade mark, after the day of
completion of the registration procedure of which not less than
five years have passed, the owner of the contested registration
is entitled, within the term determined for submitting a
response, to request in writing that the submitter of the notice
of opposition or invalidation submits evidence for the actual use
of the earlier trade mark.
(4) If the response to a notice of opposition, invalidation,
or revocation and the attached documents are submitted in printed
form, then their derivatives shall be submitted in as many copies
as the number of participants to the case, excluding the
submitter of the response.
(5) After receipt of the response, the Board of Appeal shall,
without delay, send it to the submitter of the notice of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation and to the third
person.
(6) Failure to submit a response shall not constitute a bar
for the examination of the case of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation.
[9 February 2023]
Section 69. Joining and Splitting of
Claims of Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation
(1) The submitter of a notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation is entitled to join several interrelated claims of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation into one notice of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation (claims against several
registrations of one owner) if their substantive grounds,
motivation, or provided evidence are the same or they are
interrelated. The fee for the submission of a notice shall be
paid for each claim. When submitting a joint notice of opposition
or invalidation, the time limits for submitting all the
respective notices shall be observed.
(2) If there are several cases of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation in the proceedings of the Board of Appeal where the
notices have been submitted against the same registration, the
Board of Appeal is entitled to join these cases into one
proceeding if such joining of cases promotes a faster and more
accurate examination of cases.
(3) Notices submitted by several submitters shall not be
joined in accordance with the procedures provided for in
Paragraph two of this Section if the joined proceedings do not
allow to protect a professional or trade secret or may otherwise
harm the legal interests of a participant to the case.
(4) If there are several cases of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation of the same type in the proceedings of the Board of
Appeal, involving the same participants to the case, the Board of
Appeal, with the consent of the participants to the case, is
entitled to join these cases into one proceeding if such joining
of cases promotes faster and more accurate examination of
cases.
(5) Having heard the points of view of the participants to the
case, the Board of Appeal may separate one or several claims from
the joint claim of opposition, invalidation, or revocation
(Paragraph one, two, or four of this Section) into a separate
proceeding if it recognises separate examination of these claims
to be more useful or if their examination in one proceeding has
become problematic or impossible.
[9 February 2023]
Section 70. Conciliation of the
Parties to a Case of Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation and
Agreeing on a Settlement
(1) The Board of Appeal shall endeavour to reconcile the
parties to a case of opposition, invalidation, or revocation.
(2) The Board of Appeal may approve the settlement between the
parties in a case of opposition, invalidation, or revocation,
insofar as the provisions of the settlement concern the recording
of amendments in the relevant registrations information, provided
for in industrial property legal acts and under the competence of
the Patent Office.
(3) Settlement shall not be allowed if its provisions affect
the rights or legal interests of a third person, and the third
person has not agreed thereto.
(4) If a settlement is concluded or a notice of opposition,
invalidation, or revocation is completely withdrawn before expiry
of the time limit for submitting the response by the owner of the
contested registration (Paragraph one of Section 68), the Board
of Appeal shall, when terminating the opposition, invalidation,
or revocation proceedings (Clauses 4 and 8 of Section 108),
reimburse to the submitter of the notice 50 per cent of the fee
paid for submitting a notice.
(5) If both parties express readiness to agree on a settlement
in the course of the preparation or examination of a case, the
Board of Appeal shall postpone the examination of the case for
the period needed by the parties to come to an agreement, but for
not longer than six months. If the proposal for settlement is
expressed by one of the parties, the Board of Appeal shall, after
hearing the point of view of the opposite party, take the
decision to postpone the examination of the case if the fee for
postponing the examination of the case has been paid. If both
parties request to extend the term which has been determined to
agree on settlement, and for the purpose of settlement the fee
for extending the term for the examination of a case has been
paid, the Board of Appeal shall extend the term, but for not
longer than two years, counting from the day when the readiness
to agree was expressed for the first time.
[9 February 2023]
Section 71. Preparation of a Case
for Examination
(1) When preparing a case of appeal, opposition, invalidation,
or revocation for examination, the chairperson of the composition
for the examination of a case shall take the following procedural
actions:
1) decide on the issue of inviting third persons to the
case;
2) decide on the issue of joining or splitting cases;
3) if necessary, request additional evidence from participants
to the case;
4) decide on the issue of the examination of the case in the
oral procedure and the issue of determining a session of the
Board of Appeal for taking a separate procedural action or for
the clarification or resolving of a procedural issue;
5) if necessary, explain the participants to the case their
procedural rights and obligations;
6) take other procedural actions.
(2) The chairperson of the composition for the examination of
a case in a case of appeal - as soon as the Board of Appeal has
received the notice of appeal back from the Patent Office
(Paragraph three or five of Section 66) - and in a case of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation - concurrently with
sending a true copy of the respective notice to the owner of the
contested registration, or, if necessary at a later stage of the
preparation of the case - shall determine and notify the
participants to the case of the term within which the
participants to the case may raise objections, submit
explanations, submissions, and requests, including a request for
the invitation of a third person, a request for determining a
session of the Board of Appeal for taking a separate procedural
action, or for the clarification or resolving of a procedural
issue. If there is no valid reason to determine a different term,
this term shall be two months from the day of notification.
[9 February 2023]
Chapter
XII
Examination of a Case in the Written Procedure
Section 72. Examination of a Case of
Appeal in the Written Procedure
(1) Examination of a case of appeal on its merits shall be
completed not later than three months after the day of initiating
the case. The chairperson of the composition for the examination
of the case shall notify this date to the participants to the
case at least one month in advance. After this date, participants
to the case are entitled to submit any new submissions, requests,
and evidence only if they are requested by the Board of
Appeal.
(2) If, in accordance with the procedures and within the term
laid down in this Law, responses to the questions of the Board of
Appeal or other submissions or requests have been received from a
participant to the case, the chairperson of the composition for
the examination of the case shall, without delay, communicate
them to other participants to the case and shall determine a term
for submitting their opinion.
(3) If there is a valid reason, the Board of Appeal is
entitled to determine another date when the examination of the
case on its merits is to be completed. The chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case shall notify this
date to participants to the case at least one month in
advance.
Section 73. Examination of a Case of
Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation in the Written
Procedure
(1) If the chairperson of the composition for the examination
of a case does not determine another time limit due to valid
reasons, the submitter of the notice of opposition, invalidation,
or revocation has the right, within two months after the Board of
Appeal has notified the response to the notice to him or her, or
if the response is not submitted, after expiry of the time limit
for submitting the response, to submit additions or
clarifications, additional explanations, and evidence.
(2) Unless the chairperson of the composition for the
examination of a case determines otherwise due to valid reasons,
the owner of the contested registration has the right, within two
months after the Board of Appeal has notified additions,
clarifications, additional explanations, or evidence to the
notice of opposition, invalidation, or revocation to him or her,
or if such have not been submitted, after expiry of the time
limit for their submission, to submit additions to the response
to the notice of opposition and additional evidence.
(3) If the owner of the contested registration has failed to
submit a response to the notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation in accordance with the specified procedures and time
limit, he or she may not exercise the rights provided for in
Paragraph two of this Section. This provision shall not affect
the rights of the owner of the contested registration to provide
a response to a notice of opposition or invalidation or its
additions within the time limit specified in Paragraph two of
this Section if he or she has submitted a request for evidence of
actual use of the opposing earlier trade mark in the case of
opposition or invalidation (Paragraph three of Section 68) within
the time limit specified for providing a response.
(4) If, in accordance with the procedures and within the term
laid down in this Law, responses to the questions of the Board of
Appeal or other submissions or requests have been received from
the participant to the case, the chairperson of the composition
for the examination of the case shall, without delay, communicate
them to other participants in the case and shall determine a term
for submitting their opinion.
(5) Concurrently with the sending of additions to the notice
of opposition, invalidation, or revocation to the owner of the
contested registration, or if additions to the notice have not
been submitted, immediately after expiry of the time limit
determined for this purpose, the chairperson of the composition
for the examination of the case shall determine and notify all
the participants to the case of the day when the examination of
the case on its merits is to be completed. If there are no valid
reasons to decide otherwise, the examination of the case on its
merits shall be completed on the same day which has been
determined as the time limit by which additions to a response to
a notice of opposition, invalidation, or revocation shall be
submitted. After this date, participants to the case are entitled
to submit any new submissions, requests, and evidence only if
they are requested by the Board of Appeal.
(6) If there is a valid reason, the chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case is entitled to
determine a new date when the examination of the case on its
merits is to be completed.
(7) If the participants to a case declare that they will not
exercise the rights to submit additions or clarifications to the
notice of opposition, invalidation, or revocation, additional
explanations or evidence, or additions to the response to the
notice or additional evidence, and also in other justified cases,
the date when the examination of the case on its merits is to be
completed may be determined earlier than determined
originally.
[9 February 2023]
Section 74. Communication between
the Board of Appeal and Participants to a Case in the Examination
of a Case in the Written Procedure
(1) At any stage of the examination of a case, the Board of
Appeal may invite participants to the case, within a determined
term, to answer questions regarding the actual circumstances and
formal legal basis of the case.
(2) A participant to a case has the obligation to inform the
Board of Appeal without delay, if at any stage of the preparation
or examination of the case he or she does not wish to exercise
the rights to provide his or her point of view or arguments
regarding documents submitted by another participant to the
case.
Chapter
XIII
Session of the Board of Appeal
Section 75. Determination and
Notification of a Session of the Board of Appeal
(1) If it is requested to examine a case of opposition,
invalidation, or revocation in the oral procedure, the
chairperson of the composition for the examination of the case
shall decide this issue as soon as the response of the owner of
the contested registration to the notice of opposition,
invalidation, or revocation has been received, or the time limit
for submitting the response has expired. If a case is determined
to be examined in the oral procedure, the session of the Board of
Appeal shall be, without delay, notified to participants to the
case in conformity with the provisions of Paragraphs two, three,
and four of this Section.
(2) If the examination of a case in the oral procedure is
determined (Paragraph four of Section 32) or a session of the
Board of Appeal is necessary for taking a separate procedural
action, for the clarification or resolving of a procedural issue
(Paragraph five of Section 32), the Board of Appeal shall, at
least a month in advance, notify the participants to the case of
the day, time, and place of the session of the Board of Appeal,
and also of the obligation of the participants to the case to
submit to the Board of Appeal all the necessary evidence within
the time limit determined in Section 62, Paragraph five of this
Law.
(3) If a session of the Board of Appeal which had already been
determined is postponed, the chairperson of the composition for
the examination of the case shall notify information on the
postponed session of the Board of Appeal referred to in Paragraph
two of this Section to the participants to the case at least 10
days in advance.
(4) With a consent of all participants to the case, the
session of the Board of Appeal may be determined and notified
without complying with the time limits referred to in Paragraphs
two and three of this Section.
[9 February 2023]
Section 76. Recording of the Course
of a Session of the Board of Appeal
(1) During a session of the Board of Appeal, minutes shall be
taken and a recording of the course of the session shall be
made.
(2) Minutes shall be taken and the recording shall be ensured
by the secretary of the Board of Appeal or a member of the Board
of Appeal who, upon assignment of the chairperson of the Board of
Appeal, performs the obligations of the secretary (hereinafter -
the secretary of the session).
(3) The following shall be indicated in the minutes of a
session of the Board of Appeal in addition to other
information:
1) the place and time of the session;
2) the composition for the examination of the case, and the
secretary of the session;
3) the persons present at the session;
4) what decisions have been taken.
(4) Minutes and recordings of a session of the Board of Appeal
shall be available to the participants to the case and other
persons in conformity with the transparency regulations for the
examination of the case. A copy of the recording of the session
may be obtained by paying the fee specified in the price list of
the paid services of the Board of Appeal.
[9 February 2023]
Section 77. Procedures in a Session
of the Board of Appeal
(1) Participants to the case, interpreters, and other persons
present at the session of the Board of Appeal shall comply with
the procedures laid down in this Law, and shall unconditionally
obey the instructions of the chairperson of the composition for
the examination of the case and the rulings of the Board of
Appeal.
(2) The persons present at a session of the Board of Appeal
shall behave in such a way that the course of the session is not
disturbed.
(3) If a person, during a session of the Board of Appeal,
repeatedly disturbs the session, the Board of Appeal shall expel
him or her from the session hall. If a session is repeatedly
disturbed by a participant to the case, the fact of exclusion
shall be recorded in the minutes of the session. The Board of
Appeal is entitled to examine the case without the presence of
such person.
Section 78. Commencement of a
Session
(1) A session of the Board of Appeal shall be chaired by the
chairperson of the composition for the examination of the
case.
(2) The chairperson of the composition for the examination of
the case shall chair the examination of the case and procedural
actions in a session so as to ensure all participants to the case
equal rights to participate in clarification of the circumstances
of the case and objective examination of the case.
(3) When opening a session, the chairperson of the composition
for the examination of the case shall notify which case will be
examined, name the composition for the examination of the case,
and the secretary of the session.
(4) The Board of Appeal shall clarify which persons invited
have arrived and what information on the reasons for not arriving
of the persons invited has been received, verify the identity of
the persons present, and authorisation of the
representatives.
(5) The chairperson of the composition for the examination of
the case shall explain to the participants to the case their
procedural rights and obligations, as well as the consequences of
the execution or non-execution of the procedural actions.
Section 79. Examination of a Case on
Its Merits in the Absence of a Participant to the Case
(1) If any of the participants to a case or an interpreter has
not arrived, the Board of Appeal shall commence the examination
of the case, unless there is a reason to postpone it in
accordance with Section 101 of this Law.
(2) If the submitter of a notice of appeal or a party to a
case of opposition, invalidation, or revocation has submitted the
request to examine the case in the absence of the person before
the session, the Board of Appeal may examine the case without the
abovementioned person.
(3) In case of absence of an official of the Patent Office who
has been invited to the session, the Board of Appeal shall
examine the case of appeal in the absence of the abovementioned
person according to the case files.
(4) The Board of Appeal shall examine a case of opposition,
invalidation, or revocation in the absence of the owner of the
contested registration if there is no information on the reasons
for his or her absence or if they are not recognised as
justified.
[9 February 2023]
Section 80. Objection and Deciding
Thereon
(1) The Board of Appeal shall examine whether a participant to
a case has objection to a member of the Board of Appeal. If an
objection has been raised, a record thereof shall be entered in
the minutes of the session.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall decide on the raised objection
in accordance with the procedures laid down in Section 39,
Paragraphs five and six of this Law.
Section 81. Deciding on Requests
Applied by Participants to a Case
The Board of Appeal shall clarify whether participants to a
case have requests that are related to the examination of the
case and decide on them after hearing the point of view of
participants to the case.
Section 82. Commencement of the
Examination of a Case on its Merits
(1) When commencing the session of the Board of Appeal in
which a case is examined on its merits, the chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case, if it is necessary,
shall notify of the circumstances of the case and the procedural
actions taken in the course of the preparation of the case.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall clarify whether the submitter of
a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation
maintains the claim included in his or her submission and whether
the Patent Office or the owner of the contested registration
recognises it.
[9 February 2023]
Section 83. Withdrawal from a Claim
and Recognition of a Claim
(1) A withdrawal from a claim (complete or partial), verbally
expressed in a session of the Board of Appeal, shall be recorded
in the minutes of the session and signed by the submitter of the
notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation. If a
withdrawal from a claim has been submitted to the Board of Appeal
in writing, it shall be added to the file.
(2) Recognition of a claim (fully or in part) in a session of
the Board of Appeal shall be recorded in the minutes of the
session and signed by the official of the Patent Office who
recognises the claim included in the notice of appeal or by the
owner of the contested registration who recognises the claim
included in the notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation. If a recognition of a claim has been submitted to the
Board of Appeal in writing, it shall be added to the file.
(3) It is possible to withdraw from a claim and recognise a
claim before the examination of the case on its merits has been
completed.
(4) The Board of Appeal shall take the decision on complete
withdrawal from the claim of the submitter of a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation concurrently with which
it ends the proceedings in the case.
[9 February 2023]
Section 84. Explanations of the
Participants to a Case and Written Evidence
(1) In the session of the Board of Appeal in which a case of
appeal is examined on its merits, the participants to the case
shall provide explanations in the following order: first, the
submitter of the notice of appeal, then the Patent Office.
(2) In the session of the Board of Appeal in which a case of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation is examined on its
merits, the participants to the case shall provide explanations
in the following order: first, the submitter of the respective
notice, then the owner of the contested registration.
(3) A third person who participates in the case without
independent claims shall provide explanations after the person on
the side of whom he or she participates in the case.
(4) Representatives of participants to a case shall provide
explanations on behalf of the persons they are representing.
(5) The participants to a case shall indicate the
circumstances justifying their claims or counterarguments in
their explanations.
(6) If a participant to a case refers, in his or her
explanations, to evidence which is not submitted in the case and
the Board of Appeal recognises that such evidence is necessary,
the Board of Appeal may, by taking into account the provisions of
Section 62 of this Law, invite to submit them.
(7) The participants to a case are entitled to submit their
explanations to the Board of Appeal in writing.
(8) Written explanations of the participants to a case and the
written evidence shall be read out in a session of the Board of
Appeal in the order laid down in this Section, except when the
participants to the case present at the session agree that
reading out is not necessary.
[9 February 2023]
Section 85. Procedures for Asking
Questions
(1) With a permission of the Board of Appeal, the participants
to a case may ask each other questions. The Board of Appeal shall
reject questions that are not relevant to the case.
(2) When examining a case, the Board of Appeal may, at any
time, ask questions to participants to the case.
Section 86. Examination of Material
Evidence
(1) Material evidence shall be inspected in a session of the
Board of Appeal and presented to participants of the case.
(2) A participant to a case may provide explanations and
express his or her point of view and requests regarding the
material evidence.
(3) If material evidence have been inspected in a session of
the Board of Appeal which has been scheduled for the examination
of material evidence, then, when examining the case on its
merits, the minutes of inspection shall be read out, if
necessary.
Section 87. Completion of the
Examination of a Case on its Merits
(1) In the session of the Board of Appeal in which a case is
examined on its merits, the Board of Appeal shall, after the
examination of the applied evidence, clarify the point of view of
participants to the case on the possibility to complete
examination of the case on its merits.
(2) If it is not necessary to examine additional evidence, the
Board of Appeal shall clarify whether the submitter of the notice
of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation maintains the
claim included in the notice and whether the parties (in cases of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation) are willing to conclude
settlement.
(3) If the submitter of a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation does not withdraw from the claim and
the parties (in cases of opposition, invalidation, and
revocation) are not willing to conclude settlement, the Board of
Appeal shall declare the examination of the case on its merits as
completed and shall continue with debate.
[9 February 2023]
Section 88. Debate
(1) In the debate, the participants to a case shall speak in
the same order as they are providing explanations.
(2) A participant of the debate is not entitled to refer to
circumstances and evidence which have not been examined in a
session of the Board of Appeal in his or her speech.
(3) The Board of Appeal shall interrupt a participant of the
debate if he or she is speaking about circumstances that are not
relevant to the case.
Section 89. Replies
(1) After participants to a case have spoken in the debate,
each of them is entitled to one reply.
(2) The following persons have the right to the last
reply:
1) in a case of appeal - the submitter of the notice of appeal
or his or her representative;
2) in a case of opposition, invalidation, or revocation - the
owner of the contested registration or his or her
representative.
(3) The Board of Appeal may limit the length of the reply.
[9 February 2023]
Section 90. Deliberation of the
Board of Appeal, Rendering and Declaring a Decision
(1) After the debate and the replies, if any, the chairperson
of the composition for the examination of the case shall notify
those present in the session hall of the Board of Appeal of
deliberation of the Board of Appeal.
(2) The composition for the examination of the case shall
deliberate and take a decision without the presence of other
persons. There shall be no direct or indirect interference in the
decision-making or influence on the Board of Appeal.
(3) When taking a decision collegially, the chairperson of the
composition for the examination of the case shall be the last to
express his or her point of view.
(4) After deliberation, the chairperson of the composition for
the examination of the case shall publicly inform those present
in the session hall of the Board of Appeal on the operative part
of the decision of the Board of Appeal.
Section 91. Session of the Board of
Appeal for Taking a Procedural Action or for the Clarification or
Resolving of a Procedural Issue
(1) In a session of the Board of Appeal determined for taking
a separate procedural action or for the clarification or
resolving of a procedural issue, the provisions of Sections 76,
77, 78, 80, 81, 84, 85, and 87 of this Law shall be applied with
the necessary changes.
(2) If a session of the Board of Appeal determined for taking
a separate procedural action or for the clarification or
resolving of a procedural issue is not attended by any of the
participants to the case who have been duly notified of the day,
time, and place of the session, and who has not requested to
postpone the session for any valid reason, it shall be considered
that the participant to the case has agreed to taking the
procedural action or the clarification or resolving of the
procedural issue in his or her absence.
(3) In the case referred to in Paragraph two of this Section,
the respective participant to the case is not entitled to contest
the decision taken in the session, except when objective
circumstances which were beyond his or her control have served as
an obstacle to attend the session of the Board of Appeal or
request it to be postponed.
Chapter
XIV
Decision of the Board of Appeal, its Revision, Entry into Effect
and Enforcement
Section 92. General Rules Regarding
a Decision of the Board of Appeal
(1) A decision of the Board of Appeal shall be legally
effective and justified.
(2) When taking a decision, the Board of Appeal shall base it
on the norms of substantive and procedural rights.
(3) The Board of Appeal shall justify its decision with
circumstances that have been established by the evidence in the
case or which need not to be proven in accordance with Section 51
of this Law.
(4) A decision by which a dispute is resolved on its merits
shall be justified by the Board of Appeal only with such
circumstances regarding which the participants to a case have had
an opportunity to express their point of view in writing or
verbally.
(5) A decision by which a dispute is resolved on its merits
shall be taken on the subject indicated in the notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation, without exceeding the
borders of the claim.
(6) A decision which has been taken collegially shall be
signed by all members of the Board of Appeal who have been
included in the composition for the examination of a case. A
decision which has been taken by the chairperson of the Board of
Appeal or the chairperson of the composition for the examination
of a case sitting alone shall be signed by the respective
person.
(7) After signing of the decision, it may not be amended or
changed. Clerical or mathematical errors may be corrected with a
separate decision which shall be taken by the same composition
for the examination of the case.
[9 February 2023]
Section 93. Decision by Which a
Dispute is Resolved on its Merits
(1) A decision that resolves a dispute on its merits shall be
rendered in writing. It shall consist of an introductory part, a
descriptive part, a reasoned part, and an operative part.
(2) The introductory part shall include the place and date for
taking the decision, the full name of the Board of Appeal, the
composition for the examination of the case, the participants to
the case, the nature of the case to be examined (case of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation) and the subject of the
notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation, and
also the procedure (written or oral) by which the case has been
examined.
(3) The descriptive part shall include the claim of the
submitter of the notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation and the counterarguments of the Patent Office or the
owner of the contested registration, and also the nature of the
explanations provided by participants to the case.
(4) The reasoned part shall include:
1) the facts established in the case, the evidence by which
the conclusions of the Board of Appeal have been justified, and
arguments by which this or other evidence has been refused;
2) the legal norms which the Board of Appeal has used as
basis;
3) the legal assessment of the established circumstances of
the case;
4) references to the case-law and legal literature, as well as
other special literature which has been used by the Board of
Appeal in its reasoning;
5) the conclusions of the Board of Appeal on the validity of
the notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation.
(5) The operative part shall include:
1) the legal norms applied by the Board of Appeal in a single
listing (also mentioning the Section, Paragraph, Clause or
Sub-clause of the law or regulation);
2) the ruling on the satisfaction of a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation in full or in part or the
rejection, and the nature of the decision (the rights granted,
confirmed, or denied to a person, or amendments to the
registration information in accordance with the industrial
property legal acts) which must be enforced by the Patent
Office;
3) the procedures and time limit by which a participant to the
case who disagrees with the decision of the Board of Appeal is
entitled to apply to the court.
[9 February 2023]
Section 94. Rendering and
Notification of a Motivated Decision
(1) A motivated decision by which a dispute is resolved on its
merits shall be rendered by the Board of Appeal not later than
within one month after the day when the examination of the case
in the written procedure has been completed, or when the session
of the Board of Appeal at the end of which the decision was taken
took place.
(2) On the day of the rendering of a decision or on the next
working day, the Board of Appeal shall send a true copy of the
decision to the participants to the case. A participant to the
case may, upon a respective request, receive a true copy of the
decision in the work premises of the Board of Appeal. Receipt of
the decision shall not affect the counting of terms.
Section 95. Settlement and Decision
on the Settlement in a Case of Opposition, Invalidation, or
Revocation
(1) The parties to a case of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation shall conclude settlement in writing and submit it to
the Board of Appeal.
(2) The following shall be indicated in the settlement:
1) the submitter of the notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation and his or her address;
2) the owner of the contested registration and his or her
address;
3) the subject of the notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation;
4) liabilities of each party they voluntarily undertake to
perform.
(3) The Board of Appeal shall, having received the settlement
between the parties, clarify whether the parties have voluntarily
agreed on the settlement, whether it conforms to the requirements
of Section 70, Paragraphs two and three of this Law, and
Paragraphs one and two of this Section, and whether the parties
are aware of the procedural consequences of the confirmation of
the settlement.
(4) The circumstances of settlement shall be indicated in the
decision on settlement of the Board of Appeal.
(5) The Board of Appeal shall take a motivated decision on the
refusal to confirm the settlement and shall continue to examine
the case. The decision on refusal to confirm the settlement may
be included in the decision by which a dispute is resolved on its
merits.
(6) If the Board of Appeal recognises that the settlement
conforms to the requirements of the Law, it shall take a decision
by which it confirms the settlement and concurrently terminates
the proceedings in the case of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation. The decision shall be taken collegially by the
composition for the examination of the case.
[9 February 2023]
Section 96. Decision by Which a
Dispute is Not Resolved on its Merits
(1) The decision by which a dispute is not resolved on its
merits shall be rendered in a form of a separate procedural
document, a resolution, or it shall be recorded in the minutes of
the session of the Board of Appeal.
(2) A decision may be drawn up in the form of a resolution if
it is taken by the chairperson sitting alone and it does not need
an expanded motivation.
(3) The following shall be indicated in a decision that has
been rendered in the form of a separate procedural document:
1) the place and date for taking the decision;
2) the full name of the Board of Appeal and composition for
the examination of the case;
3) the participants to the case;
4) the nature of the case to be examined (case of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation) and the subject of the
notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation;
5) the matters on which the decision has been taken;
6) the motives of the decision;
7) the ruling of the composition for the examination of the
case, the chairperson of the Board of Appeal or the chairperson
of the composition for the examination of the case;
8) the time limit and procedures by which the decision may be
contested, or a remark that the decision is incontestable.
(4) A decision that has been taken in the form of a separate
procedural document shall be notified to the participants to the
case in accordance with the procedures laid down in Section 94,
Paragraph two of this Law.
[9 February 2023]
Section 97. Contesting and Entering
into Effect of a Decision of the Board of Appeal by Which a
Dispute is not Resolved on its Merits
(1) A participant to a case who is not satisfied with the
decision which is taken by the chairperson of the Board of Appeal
or the chairperson of the composition for the examination of the
case sitting alone and which has not been determined as
incontestable in this Law may, within two weeks after the day of
its notification, submit to the Board of Appeal a motivated
submission for contesting the decision, paying the determined
additional fee for contesting such a decision.
(2) The decision referred to in Paragraph one of this Section
shall enter into effect after expiry of the term for its
contesting, and it has not been contested.
(3) The chairperson of the Board of Appeal shall transfer the
submission referred to in Paragraph one of this Section to the
composition for the examination of the case for collegial
examination and taking of a decision in the written procedure,
or, if he or she considers this necessary, in the oral procedure
in a session of the Board of Appeal.
(31) If the Board of Appeal revokes or amends, in
whole or in part, the decision in respect of which the notice
referred to in Paragraph one of this Section was made, the
additional fee paid shall be repaid in full amount to the
submitter of the notice. If the notice is rejected or it has been
submitted regarding a decision which is incontestable, the
additional fee shall not be repaid, except when it is incorrectly
indicated in the contested decision that it is contestable.
(4) The decision taken by the composition for the examination
of a case by which a dispute is not resolved on its merits shall
not be contested, and it shall enter into effect on the day of
the notification thereof.
[9 February 2023]
Section 98. Applying to the Court in
Relation to a Decision of the Board of Appeal
(1) A participant to a case who disagrees with the decision of
the Board of Appeal by which a dispute in the case of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation has been resolved may,
within three months after the day of the notification of the
decision, apply to the Riga City Court in accordance with the
procedures laid down in the Civil Procedure Law with a statement
of claim, depending on the nature of the case and the
decision:
1) the submitter of a notice of appeal, if the notice of
appeal has been fully or partially refused - with a claim
regarding the protection of his or her affected legal interests
and request to impose an obligation on the Patent Office to
establish legal relations according to the application for the
registration of an object of industrial property (to register an
object of industrial property);
2) the Patent Office, if a notice of appeal has been fully or
partially satisfied - with a claim to recognise an application
for the registration of an object of industrial property as
non-conforming to the provisions of an industrial property legal
act, and the decision of the Patent Office - as legally
effective;
3) the submitter of a notice of opposition, if the notice of
opposition has been fully or partially refused - with a claim
regarding the protection of his or her affected rights and legal
interests and request to amend the record in the register (to
fully or partially invalidate a registration belonging to another
person);
4) the submitter of a notice of invalidation, if the notice of
invalidation has been fully or partially refused - with a claim
regarding the protection of his or her affected rights and legal
interests and request to amend the record in the register (to
fully or partially invalidate a registration belonging to another
person as invalid);
5) the submitter of a notice of revocation, if the notice of
revocation has been fully or partially refused - with a claim
regarding the protection of his or her affected interests and
request to amend the record in the register (to fully or
partially revoke a registration belonging to another person);
6) the owner of a contested registration, if a notice of
opposition, invalidation, or revocation has been fully or
partially satisfied - with a claim regarding the protection of
his or her contested rights (to fully or partially recognise a
registration as valid).
(2) In the case referred to in Paragraph one of this Section
or in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law,
a person whose rights or legal interests, or obligations against
any of the participants to a case are affected by a decision of
the Board of Appeal may enter the case on the side of the
claimant or the defendant as a third person without independent
claims, also if he or she had not been admitted in the status of
a third person, or if he or she has been deprived of the status
of a third person in the examination of the case in the Board of
Appeal.
(3) A person who has submitted a statement of claim to the
court in accordance with the provisions of this Section has the
obligation to inform the Board of Appeal thereof not later than
seven days after submitting the statement of claim to the court.
The decision to accept the statement of claim and initiate a
case, to refuse to accept a statement of claim, or to leave a
statement of claim without advancement, shall be sent by the
court to the Board of Appeal in the form of an electronic postal
item.
(4) If the court accepts the statement of claim referred to in
Paragraph one of this Section and initiates a case, the Board of
Appeal shall send the explanations and written evidence of the
participants to the case at its disposal to the Riga City
Court.
[9 February 2023]
Section 98.1 Appeal of a
Decision of the Board of Appeal
(1) If the notice of appeal is rejected in whole or in part,
the submitter of the notice of appeal may submit a complaint
against the decision of the Board of Appeal, except in the case
referred to in Section 98, Paragraph one, Clause 1 of this Law,
to the Riga City Court in accordance with the procedures laid
down in the Civil Procedure Law within one month from the date of
notification of the decision.
(2) If the notice of appeal is satisfied in whole or in part,
the Patent Office may submit a complaint against the decision of
the Board of Appeal, except in the case referred to in Section
98, Paragraph one, Clause 2 of this Law, to the Riga City Court
in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Civil
Procedure Law within one month from the date of notification of
the decision.
(3) If the court accepts the complaint referred to in
Paragraphs one and two of this Section and initiates a case, the
Board of Appeal shall send the explanations and written evidence
of the participants to the case at its disposal to the Riga City
Court.
[9 February 2023]
Section 99. Entering into Effect of
the Decision of the Board of Appeal by Which a Dispute has Been
Resolved in a Case of Appeal, Opposition, Invalidation, or
Revocation
(1) The decision of the Board of Appeal by which a dispute has
been resolved in a case of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation shall enter into legal effect:
1) on the day when the time limit referred to in Section 98,
Paragraph one or Section 98.1 of this Law expires
if:
a) none of the parties involved in the dispute has submitted a
statement of claim or complaint on the subject of the dispute to
the court within this time limit;
b) a respective statement of claim or complaint on the subject
of the dispute has been submitted to the court within this time
limit, but the judge has taken the decision to refuse to accept
it;
c) a respective statement of claim or complaint on the subject
of the dispute has been submitted to the court within this time
limit, but the judge has taken the decision to consider the
statement of claim or complaint as non-submitted and to return it
to the applicant;
2) on the day when the decision of the court by which the
claim or complaint has been left without examination has entered
into effect, except when the claim or complaint has been left
without examination because the dispute in the case between the
same parties involved in the dispute, regarding the same subject
and on the same basis is under examination in the same or another
court;
3) on the day when the decision of the court by which the
proceedings have been terminated has entered into effect, except
when the proceedings have been terminated due to entering into
lawful effect of a court judgement which has been given in a
dispute between the same parties involved in the dispute,
regarding the same subject, or the parties have concluded
settlement and the court has confirmed it.
(2) If a statement of claim or a complaint to the court has
been submitted in accordance with the procedures laid down in
Section 98, Paragraph one or Section 98.1 of this Law
on the subject of the dispute which concerns a part of the
decision of the Board of Appeal, this decision in the remaining
part thereof shall enter into effect when the time limit for
submitting the statement of claim or complaint to the court
expires.
(3) If the Board of Appeal has not received the information
referred to in Section 98, Paragraph three of this Law and its
decision refers to the activities in the Patent Office, the Board
of Appeal shall transfer the decision to the Patent Office for
enforcement. If a statement of claim or a complaint has been
submitted to the court regarding a subject of the dispute which
concerns a part of a decision of the Board of Appeal (Paragraph
two of this Section), the Board of Appeal shall transfer the
remaining part of the decision to the Patent Office for
enforcement.
[9 February 2023]
Section 100. Enforcement of a
Decision of the Board of Appeal
(1) If a decision of the Board of Appeal has entered into
effect and has been notified to the Patent Office, the Patent
Office shall, without delay, fulfil the obligations imposed
thereon by a decision of the Board of Appeal (Section 93,
Paragraph five, Clause 2), including make the amendments
specified in the decision to the registration information of an
object of industrial property.
(2) If the Board of Appeal has taken the decision on the
repeated examination of application for the registration of an
object of industrial property (repeated expert-examination) in
relation to newly discovered circumstances in an appeal case,
such decision shall not be contested and shall enter into effect
at the time of the notification thereof. The Patent Office shall,
as soon as such decision has been notified, fulfil the
obligations imposed on it by the decision of the Board of Appeal
in conformity with the procedures and term for the respective
procedure laid down in an industrial property legal act.
(3) If the applicant (submitter of the notice of appeal) is
not satisfied also by the decision taken by the Patent Office
after repeated examination of the application (repeated
expert-examination), he or she is entitled, within three months
from the date of notification thereof, stating the justification,
to notify the Patent Office that he or she maintains the
originally submitted notice of appeal in effect, fully or in
part.
Chapter
XV
Postponing the Examination of a Case, Suspension of Proceedings,
Leaving a Case without Examination and Termination of
Proceedings
Section 101. Postponing the
Examination of a Case
(1) The Board of Appeal shall postpone the examination of a
case if:
1) the owner of the contested registration has not received a
true copy of the notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation in due time and therefore requests postponing the
examination of the case;
2) it is necessary to invite as a participant to the case a
person whose rights or legal interests may be affected by the
decision of the Board of Appeal;
3) one of the participants to the case fails to attend the
session of the Board of Appeal, and he or she has not been
notified of the time and place of the session.
(2) The Board of Appeal may postpone the examination of a case
if it recognises that:
1) it is not possible to examine the case because any of the
participants to the case or the interpreter has failed to attend
the session of the Board of Appeal, or there are other important
reasons;
2) it is necessary to submit additional evidence.
(3) The Board of Appeal may postpone the examination of a case
also if the participants to the case of opposition, invalidation,
or revocation are preparing to conclude a settlement (Paragraph
five of Section 70).
[9 February 2023]
Section 102. Decision to Postpone
the Examination of a Case
(1) The decision to postpone the examination of a case shall
be taken in the form of a resolution or a separate procedural
document or it shall be recorded in the minutes of the session of
the Board of Appeal.
(2) In the decision to postpone the examination of a case, the
procedural actions which must be taken until the resumption of
the examination of the case, as well as the day when the
examination of the case shall be resumed in the written procedure
or the day of the next session of the Board of Appeal shall be
indicated.
(3) In a case that must be examined in the written procedure,
the Board of Appeal shall send the decision to postpone the
examination of the case to the participants to the case. In a
case that must be examined in the oral procedure, the Board of
Appeal shall, in a timely manner, notify the participants to the
case of the day and time of the next session in accordance with
the provisions of Section 75, Paragraphs one, two and three of
this Law.
(4) The decision to postpone the examination of a case shall
be taken and it shall enter into effect in accordance with the
procedures laid down in Section 97 of this Law.
Section 103. Suspension of
Proceedings
(1) The Board of Appeal shall suspend the proceedings in a
case if:
1) the natural person who is the submitter of the notice in a
case of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation has died
or a legal person who is the submitter of the notice in a case of
appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation has ceased to
exist;
2) the court has established trusteeship over a participant to
the case who is a natural person;
3) examination of a case is not possible before another case
has been decided in the court, an institution or in the Board of
Appeal, including in the event when a case has been initiated in
a court regarding the invalidation or revocation of the
registration of an object of industrial property involved in a
dispute to be examined by the Board of Appeal.
(2) The Board of Appeal may suspend the proceedings in a case
if:
1) the submitter of a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation or a third person due to a disease,
age, disability or other substantial reasons is unable to
participate in the examination of the matter;
2) a case has been initiated in the Constitutional Court
regarding conformity of the legal norms to be applied in the
examination of the case with the legal norms of a higher legal
force;
3) a case has been initiated in the Court of Justice of the
European Union or in other international or supranational court
on the results of which the decision of Board of Appeal may
depend.
(3) Proceedings in the Board of Appeal shall be suspended
until the reason which served as a basis for suspending the
proceedings has been eliminated.
[9 February 2023]
Section 104. Decision to Suspend
Proceedings
(1) The Board of Appeal shall take a motivated decision to
suspend the proceedings in the form of a separate procedural
document.
(2) The circumstances, until the occurrence or termination of
which the proceedings have been suspended, shall be indicated in
the decision.
(3) The decision to suspend proceedings shall be taken and it
shall enter into effect in accordance with the procedures laid
down in Section 97 of this Law.
Section 105. Resumption of the
Proceedings
The Board of Appeal shall resume the proceedings upon its own
initiative or upon a request of a participant to the case.
Section 106. Leaving of a Notice of
Appeal, Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation without
Examination
(1) The Board of Appeal shall leave a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation without examination if it
has been submitted on behalf of the submitter of the notice of
appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation by a person who
has not been authorised for it in accordance with specific
procedures and the deficiencies in the authorisation have not
been eliminated upon the invitation of the Board of Appeal.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall leave a notice of opposition
without examination if it has become aware of the fact that the
dispute in the case of claim between the same parties on the same
subject and on the same basis is under examination in the
court.
(3) The Board of Appeal may leave a notice of appeal,
opposition, invalidation, or revocation without examination if
the submitter of the notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation,
or revocation:
1) who has been notified of the time and place of the session
of the Board of Appeal, has repeatedly failed to attend the
session of the Board of Appeal without a justified reason, and
has not requested that the case is examined in his or her
absence;
2) in a case to be examined in the written procedure, has
repeatedly failed to provide answers to questions of the Board of
Appeal or invitations to submit the explanations or evidence
necessary for the examination of the case.
[9 February 2023]
Section 107. Decision to Leave a
Notice of Appeal, Opposition, Invalidation, or Revocation without
Examination
(1) The Board of Appeal shall take a motivated decision to
leave a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation
without examination in the form of a separate procedural
document.
(2) The decision to leave a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation without examination shall be taken in
accordance with the procedures laid down in Section 97 of this
Law.
[9 February 2023]
Section 108. Basis for the
Termination of Proceedings
The Board of Appeal shall terminate the proceedings, if:
1) a case may not be examined according to the procedures
specified for the examination of cases in the Board of
Appeal;
2) a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or revocation
has been submitted by a person who is not entitled to do so;
3) a court judgement or a decision of the Board of Appeal
which has been taken in a matter between the same participants in
the case for the same subject and on the same basis or from which
it is apparent that the proceedings of the Board of Appeal must
be terminated, has entered into effect;
4) the submitter of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation has withdrawn from his or her notice;
5) in a case the assumption of procedural rights of the
submitter of a notice of appeal, opposition, invalidation, or
revocation is possible, but within 12 months after the day of the
death of the submitter of the notice or, in case of a legal
person, within six months from the day when it has ceased to
exist, none of the legal successors has shown any interest in
maintaining the respective claim;
6) the dispute which served as the basis for submitting a
notice of appeal has ended with the Patent Office revoking the
contested decision or recognising it as invalid or lost effect,
or due to other reasons;
7) the dispute which served as the basis for the submission of
a notice of opposition, invalidation, or revocation has ended by
removing the contested trade mark registration from the register
(surrendering the registration) upon the owner's request or not
maintaining it in effect after the end of the validity period or
due to other reasons;
8) the Board of Appeal has confirmed settlement between the
parties to a case of opposition, invalidation, or revocation;
9) the term for the submission of a notice of appeal has been
exceeded, and the Board of Appeal has not renewed it, or it has
been determined in an industrial property legal act as
non-renewable;
10) the term for the submission of a notice of opposition has
been exceeded.
[9 February 2023]
Section 109. Decision to Terminate
Proceedings and its Consequences
(1) The Board of Appeal shall take a motivated decision to
terminate the proceedings in the form of a separate procedural
document.
(2) The decision to terminate the proceedings shall be taken
and it shall enter into effect in accordance with the procedures
laid down in Section 97 of this Law.
(3) If the proceedings are terminated, repeated applying to
the Board of Appeal with a notice of appeal, opposition,
invalidation, or revocation regarding the same subject and on the
same basis shall not be permitted.
[9 February 2023]
Chapter
XVI
Procedure in Case of Contesting International Registration
Section 110. Additional Obligation
of the Board of Appeal if a Notice of Opposition to International
Registration has Deficiencies that Preclude the Initiation of a
Case
If a notice of opposition which has been submitted against the
entry into effect of an international registration of a trade
mark or design in Latvia is left without advancement, is not
accepted or is recognised as not submitted, the Board of Appeal
shall, by notifying the respective decision to the submitter of
the notice of opposition and determining a term for the
elimination of the deficiencies of the notice of opposition in
accordance with Section 65, Paragraph two of this Law, or
notifying the term and procedures for contesting the decision in
accordance with Section 97, Paragraph one of this Law,
concurrently inform the submitter of the notice of opposition on
the final deadline by which the refusal of the protection of the
respective international registration (provisional refusal) shall
be notified to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual
Property Organisation in accordance with the provisions of an
industrial legal act.
Section 111. Advancement of a Case
of Opposition against International Registration
(1) If a case of opposition has been initiated in relation to
a notice of opposition to the entry into effect of the
international registration of a trade mark or design in Latvia,
the Board of Appeal shall, without delay, inform the Patent
Office thereof.
(2) The Patent Office shall include the information laid down
in the industrial property legal acts on the notice of opposition
in its decision to refuse the protection of international
registration.
Section 112. Refusal of the
Protection of International Registration
(1) The decision of the Patent Office to refuse the protection
of international registration of a trade mark or design
(provisional refusal) in accordance with the provisions of the
industrial property legal acts regarding international
registration may be based on:
1) the grounds for the refusal put forward by the Patent
Office as a result of the examination of international
registration (expert-examination);
2) a notice of opposition to the entry into effect of an
international registration in Latvia.
(2) In the decision to refuse the protection of an
international registration, the Patent Office shall, in
accordance with the provisions of the industrial property legal
acts regarding international registration, indicate all legal
bases for the refusal, as well as the term and procedures by
which a notice of appeal against this decision or a notice of
appeal - a response to a notice of opposition - may be
submitted.
(3) The Patent Office shall notify its decision to refuse the
protection of an international registration in accordance with
the procedures laid down in the industrial property legal acts to
the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property
Organisation, and if the decision is based on a notice of
opposition, also to its submitter.
Section 113. Submission and
Advancement of a Notice of Appeal Against the Refusal of the
Protection of International Registration
(1) A notice of appeal against the decision of the Patent
Office to refuse the protection of international registration of
a trade mark or design shall be submitted within the term and in
accordance with the procedures laid down in Section 58, Paragraph
one of this Law, by motivating it according to the grounds for
the refusal indicated in the decision.
(2) If the decision of the Patent Office to refuse the
protection of international registration is justified (solely or
inter alia) with the grounds for refusal put forward as a result
of an examination (expert-examination) of the Patent Office, and
a notice of appeal or the notice of appeal - a response to a
notice of opposition has been submitted regarding it, the
advancement of the appeal case, after the initiation thereof,
shall conform to Section 66 of this Law.
(3) If the decision of the Patent Office to refuse the
protection of an international registration is justified solely
with a notice of opposition to the entry into effect of
international registration in Latvia, the notice of appeal
against such decision shall be considered as a response to a
notice of opposition (a notice of appeal - a response to a notice
of opposition), and, upon submitting it, no fee for submitting
the notice of appeal shall be paid.
Section 114. Examination of Cases of
Appeal or Opposition in Relation to the Contesting of
International Registration
(1) A notice of appeal or the notice of appeal - a response to
a notice of opposition, and a notice of opposition or notices of
opposition which have been submitted regarding the same
international registration shall be examined by the Board of
Appeal in joined proceedings if there are no good reasons to do
otherwise.
(2) In the examination of a case, the Board of Appeal shall
apply the procedure specified for opposition cases, insofar as
the case to be examined concerns a notice of opposition and a
response to a notice of opposition.
(3) In the examination of a case, the Board of Appeal shall
apply the procedure specified for appeal cases, insofar as the
case to be examined concerns a notice of appeal against a
decision that has been justified with the grounds for refusal put
forward by the Patent Office.
Section 115. Specificity of
Notification and Entering into Effect of a Decision of the Board
of Appeal in Case of Contesting of International Registration
(1) The decision by which a dispute has been resolved in a
case related to the contesting of international registration
shall be notified by the Board of Appeal to the owner of the
contested registration, even if he or she has not entered the
case, and the case has been examined in his or her absence.
(2) The decision of the Board of Appeal by which a dispute has
been resolved in a case related to the contesting of
international registration shall enter into effect in conformity
with the provisions of Section 99 of this Law. The Patent Office
shall, in accordance with the prescribed procedures, notify the
International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property
Organisation of the entering into effect of a decision of the
Board of Appeal or a court ruling.
Division
C
Representation of Persons in Cases of Industrial Property
Chapter
XVII
General Provisions of Representation and Authorisation
Section 116. Representation of
Persons in the Patent Office and in the Board of Appeal
(1) A legal person whose legal address is in Latvia or who
owns an enterprise in Latvia may be represented in the Patent
Office and in the Board of Appeal by its officials who act within
the framework of authorisation granted by the law, articles of
association, or by-laws, or other representatives authorised by
the legal person.
(2) A natural person whose declared place of residence is in
Latvia or who owns an enterprise in Latvia may be represented in
the Patent Office and in the Board of Appeal by himself or
herself or may be represented through an authorised
representative.
(3) The following persons are entitled to participate in the
procedures in the Patent Office and the Board of Appeal only
through a professional patent attorney:
1) a natural person whose declared place of residence is not
in Latvia and who does not own an enterprise in Latvia;
2) a legal person whose legal address is in a foreign country
and who does not own an enterprise in Latvia.
Section 117. Authorisation of
Representation
(1) If an applicant, owner or another person interested
submits an application, settles the registration procedure or
performs other activities in the Patent Office or the Board of
Appeal through a representative, the application or other
document shall be accompanied by a written power of attorney,
confirming the rights of the representative to perform the
respective activities.
(2) The provisions of Paragraph one of this Section shall not
apply to representatives - professional patent attorneys, as well
as to natural persons (officials, members of the executive board,
employees) whose authorisation for representation of the legal
person results from a law or regulation, the articles of
association of the legal person or any other grounds. Officials,
members of the executive board, employees whose authorisation for
the representation of the legal person results from a law or
regulation, the articles of association of the legal person or
any other grounds, shall indicate the respective norm, articles
of association or other document to the Patent Office or the
Board of Appeal. A document or a derivative thereof certified in
accordance with the procedures laid down in laws and regulations
shall be submitted when it is not possible to verify the
representation rights of the abovementioned person in a
generally-accessible database or website.
(3) A special, clearly expressed authorisation to a
representative, except for a professional patent attorney, is
necessary in the following cases:
1) to completely or partially withdraw an application or
surrender a registration;
2) to completely or partially transfer the ownership rights of
application or registration to another person;
3) to conclude a license agreement, granting another person
the right to exercise the principal's right to industrial
property;
4) in order to submit a notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation to the registration of another person, a counternotice
in cases of opposition, invalidation, or revocation, to fully or
partially withdraw a notice of opposition, invalidation, or
revocation, to fully or partially recognise an opposition,
invalidation, or revocation claim or to conclude settlement in a
matter;
5) in order to issue an authorisation to another person
(substitution).
(4) If a power of attorney loses effect or the rights of
representation of a representative are otherwise terminated, the
represented person or the representative shall, without delay,
inform the Patent Office or respectively the Board of Appeal
thereof in writing.
(5) The representative has an obligation to inform, without
delay, the Patent Office or respectively the Board of Appeal in
all cases when the address of the representative (correspondence
address) or other necessary information for communication with
the representative changes.
[9 February 2023]
Section 118. Submission of a Power
of Attorney
(1) The power of attorney shall be submitted concurrently with
an application or another document by which the representative
commences activities in the Patent Office or the Board of Appeal
on behalf of the principal, or in another term laid down in an
industrial property legal act. If the Patent Office or the Board
of Appeal establishes that the representative indicated in the
document has not been authorised for the respective activity, the
submitter shall be notified thereof in writing by determining a
term for the submission of a power of attorney which shall not be
less than two months, and the application or other document shall
be left without advancement until receipt of the power of
attorney.
(2) If the necessary power of attorney is not submitted within
the specified term, the activities performed by the
representative, except for the submission of the initial
documents of the application, shall not have legal effect.
(3) A representative shall submit to the Patent Office or
respectively to the Board of Appeal the original copy of the
power of attorney, its certified true copy or a copy. The
original copy of the power of attorney need not be notarised.
(4) Any power of attorney relating to more than one
application, registration or other type of submission, as well as
a general authorisation by which the principal has appointed a
representative for the performance of all activities or a
specific type of activities in the Patent Office or the Board of
Appeal in respect of all of its current and future applications
or registrations, or in respect of certain applications or
registrations, shall be entered by the Patent Office in the list
of power of attorneys, assigning it the number of a power of
attorney to which the representative shall refer in all
subsequent procedures.
(5) If the Patent Office or the Board of Appeal has reasonable
doubt as to the scope of authorisation or other circumstances
related to the representation, it is entitled, by stating the
justification, to request appropriate evidence.
Chapter
XVIII
Professional Patent Attorneys
Section 119. Professional Patent
Attorney
(1) A professional patent attorney is a person who, in
accordance with the procedures laid down in this Law, has been
included in the List of Professional Patent Attorneys of the
Patent Office and provides services in the field of protection of
industrial property.
(2) Only persons to whom Paragraph one of this Section applies
may offer his or her services as services of professional patent
attorneys.
(3) A professional patent attorney may be specialised in one
or several of the following fields:
1) the field of patents;
2) the field of trade marks;
3) the field of designs.
(4) A professional patent attorney who specialises in the
field of patents shall also specialise in work with supplementary
protection certificates for medicinal products and plant
protection products and for work with the topographies of
semiconductor products, while a professional patent attorney who
specialises in the field of trade marks - work with collective
and certification marks and indications of geographical
origin.
[9 February 2023]
Section 120. Professional
Organisation of Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) Functions of the professional organisation of Latvian
professional patent attorneys shall be implemented by the
Association of Patent Attorneys of Latvia (hereinafter - the
Association of Patent Attorneys).
(2) The Association of Patent Attorneys unites natural persons
according to the principle of profession to take care of the
prestige of their profession, to promote qualification,
professional development, acquisition of experience, conformity
with professional standards and ethical standards of professional
patent attorneys, and to carry out the tasks laid down in this
Law and other legal acts, as well as in its own articles of
association.
(3) The Association of Patent Attorneys shall perform the
following tasks in accordance with the procedures specified by
law:
1) delegate their representatives to the commission for the
qualification examination of professional patent attorneys;
2) develop rules of professional ethics binding to
professional patent attorneys, and assess conformity
therewith;
3) ensure initiation of a disciplinary matter against a
professional patent attorney and its examination, as well as
taking of the decision to impose a disciplinary sanction;
4) organise activities for raising of qualification of
professional patent attorneys;
5) represent the interests of professional patent attorneys in
relationship with State and local government authorities, other
institutions, and officials;
6) express a point of view of professional patent attorneys
and provide opinions on the issues related to the industrial
property legal acts and professional patent attorney
practice;
7) supervise the settlement of the cases which are in the
record-keeping of the deceased professional patent attorneys in
accordance with the procedures laid down in the articles of
association of the Association of Patent Attorneys;
8) perform other tasks laid down in this Law and other legal
acts, as well as in its articles of association.
(4) While performing the tasks laid down in this Law, the
Association of Patent Attorneys has the right to request and
receive from a professional patent attorney the necessary
information and relevant documents.
[9 February 2023]
Section 121. List of Professional
Patent Attorneys
(1) The Patent Office shall arrange the List of Professional
Patent Attorneys.
(2) The List of Professional Patent Attorneys shall include
data on natural persons if the respective person meets the
following requirements:
1) he or she is a citizen of Latvia or another European Union
Member State;
2) he or she is fluent in the official language at the highest
level and is proficient in at least two foreign languages that is
sufficient for professional cooperation with Latvian and foreign
persons and authorities;
3) he or she has academic or second-level higher vocational
education (diplomas issued by foreign higher education
institutions in the respective specialities must be recognised in
Latvia);
4) he or she has at least four-year work experience in the
field of protection of industrial property in which respective
work in international, regional or national industrial property
institutions shall be included. Work in the field of protection
of industrial property must be systematic, and it shall not
include long-term leaves and activity breaks;
5) he or she has passed the qualification examination of
professional patent attorneys;
6) he or she has entered into a patent attorney professional
civil insurance contract in accordance with the provisions of
Section 130, Paragraphs two and three of this Law;
7) he or she indicates the address of place of practice in
Latvia for correspondence with the Patent Office and clients.
(3) A professional patent attorney shall, without delay,
notify in writing the Patent Office of the deficiencies
identified, and any amendments to information entered in the List
of Professional Patent Attorneys on him or her, inter alia of the
change of his or her address or correspondence address.
(4) The List of Professional Patent Attorneys shall be
available to any person interested. The List of Professional
Patent Attorneys, as well as any amendments thereto, shall be
published by the Patent Office on its website.
[9 February 2023]
Section 122. Additional Requirements
in Specialisations of Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) At least one of the foreign languages referred to in
Section 121, Paragraph two, Clause 2 of this Law must be the
official working language of the European Patent Office, if the
person is applying to become a professional patent attorney
specialising in the field of patents, or the official working
language of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market
(Trade Marks and Designs), if the person is applying to become a
professional patent attorney specialising in the field of trade
marks or designs.
(2) The education referred to in Section 121, Paragraph two,
Clause 3 of this Law of a person who is applying to become a
professional patent attorney specialising in the field of patents
shall be in the field of engineering or natural sciences.
(3) A person who has acquired education in fields other than
those referred to in Paragraph two of this Section, is entitled
to become a professional patent attorney in the field of patents,
provided that in addition to the academic or second-level higher
vocational education in another sector he or she has acquired
first-level higher vocational education in the field of
engineering or natural sciences, or other comparable professional
qualification.
(4) The work experience referred to in Section 121, Paragraph
two, Clause 4 of this Law of a person who is applying to become a
professional patent attorney in the field of patents must be
acquired in practical work related to invention patent
applications (their compilation, correction, examination), patent
searches, study or consultations on issues of patent protection
or in other comparable professional activities.
Section 123. Qualification
Examination of Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) Examination of knowledge of professional patent attorney
applicants shall be carried out by the commission for the
qualification examination of professional patent attorneys, and
it shall include representatives of the Patent Office and the
Association of Patent Attorneys.
(2) The qualification examination of professional patent
attorneys may be taken by persons who meet the requirements of
Section 121, Paragraph two, Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 and Section
122 of this Law, and have paid the fee for taking the
qualification examination of professional patent attorneys.
Section 124. Content, Keeping of the
List of Professional Patent Attorneys and the Procedures for the
Qualification Examination of Professional Patent Attorneys
The Cabinet shall issue regulations which lay down the content
and the procedures for the keeping of the List of Professional
Patent Attorneys, the procedures for the qualification
examination of professional patent attorneys; the procedures by
which the professional qualification and professional activity of
an applicant shall be considered equivalent to the requirements
of Section 122, Paragraphs three and four of this Law; the
procedures by which an applicant shall certify the facts referred
to in Section 121, Paragraph two, Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this
Law; the procedures by which the qualification of a patent
attorney of a European Union Member State shall be evaluated for
his or her inclusion in the List of Professional Patent
Attorneys; the fee for taking the qualification examination of
professional patent attorneys, and fee for making amendments to
the List of Professional Patent Attorneys, as well as the
procedures for payment.
Section 125. Rights and Obligations
of Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) A professional patent attorney, within the framework of
his or her professional competence and in the procedures laid
down in laws and regulations, is entitled:
1) to provide services in the field of industrial property in
the area of specialisation, according to which he or she has been
included in the List of Professional Patent Attorneys;
2) to represent persons and to provide them assistance related
to the protection of industrial property, if they have applied to
the Patent Office or the Board of Appeal, other State and local
government authorities, courts, or cooperate with other private
persons;
3) to collect evidence, including to request the necessary
documents from State and local government authorities and private
persons;
4) to become acquainted with the rulings of State and local
government authorities and courts, laws and regulations,
administrative acts, and other information necessary for the
provision of assistance, and also to receive derivatives of these
documents;
5) to settle payments on behalf of the persons to be
represented related to the protection of industrial property and
provided for in the industrial property legal acts at the Patent
Office and the Board of Appeal, in the court, and in
international organisations;
6) to translate documents related to the protection of
industrial property and, in accordance with the procedures laid
down in laws and regulations, certify such translations,
derivatives of documents that must be submitted to the Patent
Office, the Board of Appeal, courts, international organisations,
or other persons;
7) to provide other services that conform to his or her
professional qualification;
8) when providing services and representing persons, to freely
choose the legal means and methods.
(2) When providing services and representing persons, a
professional patent attorney has the obligation to:
1) choose legal means and methods that will best ensure
protection of the rights and legal interests of clients;
2) exercise the rights and fulfil the responsibilities,
maintaining professional honour and dignity;
3) provide information to clients on all the activities
carried out on their behalf and their results;
4) after completion of a case, expiration of authorisation or
upon a request of the client to transfer to the client or - upon
a request of the client - to another person, documents, evidence
held by the professional patent attorney for conducting the case,
as well as payments received from the client in relation to
protection of industrial property and not yet paid to the Patent
Office, the Board of Appeal, court or international
organisations;
5) comply with the rules of professional ethics adopted by the
Association of Patent Attorneys.
(3) A professional patent attorney shall, throughout his or
her professional activity, continuously improve his or her
professional knowledge and skills.
(4) A professional patent attorney is not entitled to obtain
for himself or herself (also indirectly) or for any third person
the right which, insofar as it is known to him or her, belongs to
the person whom he or she is representing or to whom he or she is
providing services.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 117, Paragraphs
two and three of this Law, a professional patent attorney has the
obligation to submit the authorisation for the representation of
his or her client if the Patent Office or the Board of Appeal has
reasonable doubts as to the scope of authorisation or other
circumstances related to the representation. In such case, the
Patent Office or the Board of Appeal may request the evidence
provided for in Section 118, Paragraph five of this Law also from
a professional patent attorney.
[9 February 2023]
Section 126. Avoiding Conflict of
Interest
(1) A professional patent attorney shall not provide services
to a person or represent a person who is involved in a dispute
(in a procedure in the Board of Appeal, in court or otherwise)
with any other person to whom he or she provides services or
represents in the same dispute.
(2) If a professional patent attorney receives a task to
provide services or represent a person in the circumstances
provided for in Paragraph one of this Section, he or she has the
obligation to inform, without delay, the person of the respective
circumstances and take appropriate action to avoid any potential
conflict of interest.
[9 February 2023]
Section 127. Refusal to Provide
Services and Withdrawal of Authorisation
A professional patent attorney may, in conformity with the
conditions of Section 2315 of the Civil Law, refuse to provide
services and withdraw the authorisation, if a client:
1) requires performance of such activities in the course of
which the professional patent attorney would have to violate laws
and regulations or rules of professional ethics;
2) delays payments for the services provided by the
professional patent attorney;
3) requires services the performance of which does not conform
to the professional competence of the professional patent
attorney;
4) affects the honour and dignity of a professional patent
attorney.
Section 128. Independence,
Professional Secrecy and Performance Guarantees of a Professional
Patent Attorney
(1) In his or her professional activity, a professional patent
attorney shall be independent and subjected only to laws and
regulations.
(2) A professional patent attorney may not disclose secrets of
a client, also trade secrets. This requirement must be conformed
to not only during the period of conducting a case, but also
after its completion and termination of the authorisation, as
well as after termination of the professional activity of the
professional patent attorney. The professional patent attorney
shall ensure that these requirements are also complied with by
the employees working under his or her management who, in
carrying out their work tasks, have become aware of the secrets
of a client of the professional patent attorney.
(3) Only a client or a legal successor of the client may
exempt, in writing, the professional patent attorney from the
obligations referred to in Paragraph two of this Section.
(4) The Patent Office, the Board of Appeal, other State and
local government authorities, courts, prosecutors, and pre-trial
investigation authorities shall guarantee independence of the
professional activity of professional patent attorneys, in
conformity with the prohibition:
1) to intervene with the professional activity of a
professional patent attorney, influence or affect him or her,
request information and explanations from him or her, as well as
to interrogate him or her as a witness on the circumstances which
have become known to him or her in providing services of a
professional patent attorney to his or her clients;
2) to control correspondence and documents of a professional
patent attorney which he or she has received or compiled in
providing services of a professional patent attorney, carry out
their inspection and removal, as well as to carry out a search to
find and remove such correspondence and documents;
3) to control, also by using the procedural means referred to
in Clause 2 of this Paragraph, the information systems and means
of communication, including electronic, used for the provision of
services of a professional patent attorney, to obtain information
from them and intervene in their work;
4) to request information from clients on the content of the
services provided by the professional patent attorney;
5) to subject a professional patent attorney to any sanctions
or threats in connection with the provision of services of a
professional patent attorney to clients in accordance with laws
and regulations.
(5) The restrictions referred to in Paragraph four of this
Section shall also protect the employees working under management
of a professional patent attorney insofar as their obligations
and activities are directly related to the services provided by
the professional patent attorney.
(6) The services of a professional patent attorney shall not
constitute unlawful acts in the interests of a client, as well as
activity for the promotion of an unlawful offence of a
client.
(7) The obligation to maintain professional secrecy shall not
apply to a compensation received by a professional patent
attorney for his or her services.
Section 129. Economic Activity of
Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) A professional patent attorney shall, while carrying out
his or her economic activity, provide information on it and offer
his or her services so as not to mislead on the nature and
substance of activities and services of the professional patent
attorney. These requirements shall also apply to the selection of
a firm name of the merchant, if a professional patent attorney
conducts commercial activity.
(2) A professional patent attorney shall agree with the client
on provision of services, undertaking of representation, and the
amount of compensation.
(3) A professional patent attorney shall conduct all the cases
of his or her clients and the record keeping at his or her place
of practice.
Section 130. Civil Liability of
Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) A professional patent attorney shall be responsible for
the violation of the rights, harm and damage that has been caused
due to his or her fault to a person whom he or she represents or
to whom he or she has provided a service, as well as in cases
when violation of the rights, harm or damage has been caused due
to the fault of an employee working under management of the
professional patent attorney who has performed the assigned work
obligations.
(2) A professional patent attorney or a merchant who employs
him or her shall insure civil liability of the professional
patent attorney (risk of possible loss as a result of
professional activity) before the professional patent attorney
commences his or her professional activity in this field, and
shall maintain the insurance contract constantly throughout the
time of his or her professional activity.
(3) The minimum amount of insurance of civil liability of a
professional patent attorney in case of an individual insurance
contract shall be 100 minimum monthly wages specified in Latvia
in the respective period. If the insurance contract is entered
into by a merchant who employs two or more professional patent
attorneys (group insurance contract), the minimum amount of
insurance shall be 200 minimum monthly wages specified in Latvia
in the respective period.
(4) In case of setting in of the circumstances referred to in
Paragraph one of this Section, the liability of the professional
patent attorney shall be limited to the amount of insurance of
civil liability determined in the insurance contract, and it
shall not be less than that laid down in Paragraph three of this
Section.
Section 131. Ethics of Professional
Patent Attorneys
(1) The Association of Patent Attorneys shall develop rules of
professional ethics binding to all professional patent
attorneys.
(2) The Association of Patent Attorneys shall assess the
conformity with the rules of professional ethics in the activity
of professional patent attorneys in the following cases:
1) upon a proposal of the director of the Patent Office;
2) due to a complaint received;
3) upon its own initiative.
(3) The Association of Patent Attorneys shall communicate its
assessment to the submitter of the complaint and it may initiate
a disciplinary matter against the professional patent
attorney.
Section 132. Disciplinary Matters of
Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) The Association of Patent Attorneys may initiate a
disciplinary matter against a professional patent attorney upon
its own initiative or upon a proposal of the director of the
Patent Office if the following has been violated:
1) laws and regulations;
2) articles of association of the Association of Patent
Attorneys;
3) rules of professional ethics.
(2) Disciplinary matters of professional patent attorneys
shall be examined by the commission of disciplinary matters which
is set up for the adjudication of the particular violation.
(3) Disciplinary matters of professional patent attorneys
shall be examined, disciplinary violations shall be established
and disciplinary sanctions shall be imposed in accordance with
the procedures laid down in the articles of association of the
Association of Patent Attorneys.
(4) After examination of a disciplinary matter, the commission
of disciplinary matters shall take the decision to terminate the
disciplinary matter or to impose a disciplinary sanction on the
professional patent attorney.
Section 133. Disciplinary
Sanctions
(1) The commission of disciplinary matters is entitled to
impose the following disciplinary sanctions:
1) issue a reproof;
2) issue a reprimand;
3) remove from the List of Professional Patent Attorneys.
(2) Based on the decision referred to in Paragraph one, Clause
3 of this Section, a person shall be removed from the List of
Professional Patent Attorneys by the director of the Patent
Office.
(3) A disciplinary sanction - removal from the List of
Professional Patent Attorneys - may be imposed:
1) for intentional violation of legal acts or for gross
violation of the rules of professional ethics if a significant
harm has been caused to the rights or interests of a client or to
dignity or honour of the patent attorney;
2) if the disciplinary sanction is imposed repeatedly.
Section 134. Suspension of the
Professional Activity and Suspension from the Fulfilment of the
Obligations of a Professional Patent Attorney
(1) The director of the Patent Office is entitled, with a
respective order, to suspend the professional activity of a
professional patent attorney for the period while the patent
attorney fulfils the obligations of a public official, is elected
to a State or local government authority, political party,
alliance of political parties, or in any other situation where a
conflict of interest is possible, or upon request of the
professional patent attorney during a training period, long-term
disease, and in other cases.
(11) If the term of the civil liability insurance
contract of the professional patent attorney has expired and the
Patent Office has not received a copy of the civil liability
insurance contract and a written submission for the entry of the
details in the list within one month from the expiry of the term
of the contract, the director of the Patent Office is entitled to
suspend the professional activity of the professional patent
attorney until receipt of the submission and the copy of the
insurance contract.
(2) The director of the Patent Office is entitled to suspend a
professional patent attorney from the fulfilment of the
obligation for the duration of the examination of a disciplinary
matter, if during this period the fulfilment of the obligations
of the patent attorney may harm the interests of clients or
dignity and honour of the professional patent attorney.
(3) After receipt of the written information of the person
directing the proceedings, the director of the Patent Office may,
for the duration of pre-trial criminal proceedings and
proceedings in a criminal case, suspend from the fulfilment of
obligations such professional patent attorney who is suspected or
accused of committing an intentional criminal offence or on whom
prohibition from a specific employment has been imposed as a
security measure in accordance with the procedures laid down in
the Criminal Procedure Law.
[9 February 2023]
Section 135. Removal from the List
of Professional Patent Attorneys
(1) A professional patent attorney with an order of the
director of the Patent Office shall be removed from the List of
Professional Patent Attorneys:
1) if he or she has submitted a respective written
request;
2) if he or she no longer is a citizen of Latvia or another
European Union Member State;
3) if the court has established trusteeship over him or
her;
4) if his or her address of correspondence no longer conforms
to the requirements of Section 121, Paragraph two, Clause 7 of
this Law;
5) if he or she has been deprived of the rights to act as a
professional patent attorney under a court judgment or other
restrictions have been imposed that prevent the fulfilment of
professional duties;
6) according to a decision of the commission of disciplinary
matters;
7) if he or she has falsely stated the information referred to
in Section 121, Paragraph two, Clause 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6 or in
Section 122 of this Law;
8) if he or she is dead or declared missing.
(2) A person who has been removed from the List of
Professional Patent Attorneys in accordance with the provisions
of Paragraph one, Clause 1, 2, 3 or 4 of this Section, may
request to renew him or her in the list if the reasons for the
removal of the person have been eliminated. Such person must take
the qualification examination of professional patent attorneys if
interruption in his or her professional activity has been four
years or more.
(3) A person who has been removed from the List of
Professional Patent Attorneys in accordance with the provisions
of Paragraph one, Clause 5, 6, or 7 of this Section may request
to renew him or her in the list not earlier than four years after
day of removal, if the reasons for the removal of the person have
been eliminated and if his or her non-conformity to the
requirements of Section 121, Paragraph two, Clause 1, 2, 3, 4, or
6 or Section 122 of this Law has been eliminated (if necessary),
as well as the qualification examination of professional patent
attorneys has been passed. If the person has been repeatedly
removed from the List of Professional Patent Attorneys due to the
abovementioned reasons, he or she shall not be renewed in the
List of Professional Patent Attorneys.
Section 136. Activities of
Professional Patent Attorneys of the European Union Member States
and Countries of the European Economic Area in Latvia
(1) If a patent attorney of a European Union Member State or a
country of the European Economic Area submits a respective
request and documents confirming his or her rights to act as a
professional patent attorney in another European Union Member
State or country of the European Economic Area in accordance with
the laws and regulations of this country, the Director of the
Patent Office shall include this person in a separate section of
the List of Professional Patent Attorneys, granting him or her
the rights to temporary professional activity in Latvia. The
rights to temporary professional activity in Latvia shall be
granted for six months, provided that the person undertakes to
ensure professional cooperation with the Patent Office, the Board
of Appeal, courts, and other authorities in the official
language, has insured civil liability of the patent attorney, and
indicates an address for correspondence in Latvia.
(2) The director of the Patent Office may extend the rights of
a professional patent attorney of a European Union Member State
or a country of the European Economic Area for temporary
professional activity in Latvia every time for six months if the
person submits a respective request and documents confirming that
he or she has insured civil liability of the patent attorney and
is carrying out professional activity in the field of the
protection of industrial property in Latvia. The Patent Office
shall take a decision in this issue by hearing the point of view
of the commission of qualification examination of professional
patent attorneys. This commission is entitled to request oral or
written explanations from the patent attorney regarding his or
her activity for the preparation of its opinion.
(3) If the commission of qualification examination of
professional patent attorneys recognises that a patent attorney
of a European Union Member State or a country of the European
Economic Area has sufficient proficiency in the official language
and knowledge of the Latvian legal acts needed for professional
activity and that his or her professional qualification
corresponds to permanent activity in Latvia in the respective
specialisation (Section 124), and that he or she has presented
the civil liability insurance contract of the patent attorney,
the patent attorney shall be included in the List of Professional
Patent Attorneys and shall have the same rights and obligations
as a Latvian professional patent attorney.
[9 February 2023]
Transitional
Provisions
1. If a particular activity in the registration or
post-registration procedure in the Patent Office has been
commenced before coming into force of this Law, the provisions
that were in force on the day when this activity was initiated
shall be applied.
2. The composition of the Board of Appeal of the Patent Office
which has been approved in accordance with the provisions which
were in force prior to the coming into force of this Law shall
continue to fulfil its obligations until the day when according
to the order of the Cabinet the Industrial Property Board of
Appeal commences its work.
3. Notices of appeal and opposition submitted before the day
when the Industrial Property Board of Appeal commences its work
according to the order of the Cabinet shall be examined, by
applying the norms of the Patent Law, the law On Trade Marks and
Indications of Geographical Origin, the Law On Designs, and the
Law on the Protection of the Topographies of Semiconductor
Products, which were in force until 31 December 2015. Upon a
request of the parties, the Industrial Property Board of Appeal
may examine a notice of appeal or notice of opposition submitted
before commencing its work in accordance with the procedures laid
down in this Law.
4. The fee for submitting a notice of appeal or notice of
opposition which has been submitted after 1 January 2016 shall be
paid according to the price list of the paid services of the
Board of Appeal.
5. A participant to a case of appeal or opposition shall apply
to the court against a decision of the Board of Appeal of the
Patent Office which has been taken after 1 January 2016 in
accordance with the procedures laid down in this Law and the
Civil Procedure Law.
6. Persons whose data have been included in the Register of
Professional Patent Attorneys of the Patent Office before coming
into force of this Law and who have not been removed from this
Register shall be included in the List of Professional Patent
Attorneys under the same specialisation, if they submit a
respective written request and documents proving that the person
conforms to the provisions of Section 121, Paragraph two, Clauses
1, 6, and 7 of this Law to the director of the Patent Office
within six months after coming into force of this Law.
This Law shall come into force on 1 January 2016.
This Law has been adopted by the Saeima on 18 June
2015.
President A. Bērziņš
Rīga, 2 July 2015
1The Parliament of the Republic of
Latvia
Translation © 2024 Valsts valodas centrs (State
Language Centre)
