CABO VERDE Law and Practice Contributed by: Nelson Raposo Bernardo, Joana Andrade Correia, Manuel Esteves de Albuquerque and Júlio Martins Júnior, Raposo Bernardo & Associados
6.2 Merger Control Procedure Mergers that meet the criteria set out in the Cabo Verde Competition Act are subject to prior notifica - tion to the AdC. 6.3 Cartels
• Consumption Tax ( Imposto sobre Consumos Espe- ciais – ICE) is applied to items such as alcohol, tobacco and luxury items; and • VAT (IVA) at an overall rate of 15% is applied to imports, unless exempt. Cabo Verde also provides tariff relief or exemptions under specific conditions, such as for: • basic necessity foodstuffs and medicines; • equipment and materials for development projects or investment under tax incentive laws; and • products of countries with which Cabo Verde has preferential trade arrangements, specifically the European Union under the EU–Cape Verde Special Partnership, and selected African nations under AGOA and ACP-EU. Tariffs are at a maximum on goods that are aimed at sustaining local industry or non-essential or luxury goods, including: • vehicles (second-hand ones in particular), with heavy taxes and green charges; • alcoholic beverages and tobacco products, with ICE and other import duties; • textiles and apparel, at times to sustain local capacity; and • plastic goods and electronics, notably second- hand, to protect the environment. The Competition Authority ( Autoridade da Concor- rência , or AdC) in Cabo Verde regulates or controls mergers between companies or entities. Certain sectors also have specific entities that may regulate certain operations, as follows: • the Central Bank of Cabo Verde for the finance and insurance sectors; • the Civil Aviation Authority for the aviation sector; and • the Multisectoral Regulatory Agency for the Econo - my for the telecoms sector. 6. Competition Law 6.1 Merger Control Notification
See 6.2 Merger Control Procedure . 6.4 Abuse of Dominant Position See 6.2 Merger Control Procedure .
7. Intellectual Property 7.1 Patents
A patent is an exclusive right that can be granted to any type of invention in any field of technology, wheth - er it is a product or a process, or to new processes for obtaining products, substances or compounds that already exist. There are three patentability require - ments in the Industrial Property Code: • novelty; • inventive step; and • industrial application. A patent shall confer the exclusive right to use the invention anywhere in the national territory, and shall also confer on its owner the right to prevent third par - ties from manufacturing, offering, stocking, trading or using the product that is the subject of the patent without their consent, and from importing or holding it for any of these purposes. The registration of a patent is filed with the Institute of Quality Management and Intellectual Property (IGQPI). Generally, patent rights will be enforced and validat - ed before the First Instance Courts. Whoever illegally violates the industrial property rights of another per - son, with criminal intent or by mere blame, must pay compensation to the injured party for the damages resulting from the violation. For this purpose, the IP right-holder must prove the causality of the infringe - ment for the damages calculation. The injured parties can also resort to criminal courts for criminal cases. The length of protection is 20 years.
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