ANDORRA Law and Practice Contributed by: Oriol Giró, Laia Bertran, Yaumara Toledo and José Luis Andrés, Emindset Law Firm
6.3 Cartels Law 13/2013 on effective competition and consumer protection prohibits agreements, concerted practic - es and decisions that restrict competition, including price-fixing, market-sharing and output limitations. It also prohibits abuse of a dominant position (see 6.4 Abuse of Dominant Position ), subject to limited statu - tory exemptions and de minimis rules. The regime applies to conduct carried out in Andorra and to conduct implemented abroad where it pro - duces or may produce anti-competitive effects in the Andorran market. Infringements may result in admin - istrative sanctions, invalidity of the relevant arrange - ments and civil liability. 6.4 Abuse of Dominant Position Law 13/2013 prohibits the abuse of an individual or collective dominant position where conduct harms consumers or unjustifiably forecloses the market. Prohibited practices include unfair pricing, limiting production or market access, discriminatory condi - tions and contractual tying. Andorran law does not establish a separate gen - eral prohibition of abuse of economic dependency, although such conduct may fall within dominance, unfair competition or general contractual rules. The regime applies whenever the conduct produces effects in Andorra, irrespective of where it occurred or the parties’ domicile. According to Andorran legislation, a patent protects an invention in any technological field that is new, involves an inventive step and is capable of indus - trial application. Protection lasts 20 years from the filing date, subject to payment of annual renewal fees. Applications are filed with the Andorran Trademarks and Patents Office and must include a description, claims, drawings where applicable and an abstract. Following formal examination, the application is nor - mally published after several months and, once the applicable requirements and fees are satisfied, the 7. Intellectual Property 7.1 Patents
patent is granted and registered. Patent holders may bring civil proceedings seeking cessation of infringe - ment, injunctions, damages, seizure or destruction of infringing goods and publication of the judgment; invalid patents may be challenged before the courts. 7.2 Trade Marks According to Andorran law, a trade mark is any sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from others. Registration with the Andorran Trademarks and Pat - ents Office (OMPA) grants protection for ten years, renewable indefinitely for successive ten-year periods. The application must identify the mark, owner and relevant Nice classes, after which OMPA conducts a formal examination and registers the mark if statutory requirements are met. Infringement may be challenged through civil pro - ceedings seeking injunctions, damages, seizure or destruction of infringing goods and publication of the judgment. As Andorran registration protects only within Andorra, internationally active businesses should also consider obtaining an EU trade mark or other foreign protection. 7.3 Industrial Designs Andorra currently has no specific national registration system granting standalone industrial design rights. A product’s appearance may nevertheless be protect - ed automatically by copyright where it qualifies as an original artistic work. Additional protection may arise through three-dimensional trademarks, patents for technical features and unfair competition rules. Rights holders may seek injunctions, damages, withdrawal or destruction of infringing products and, where applica - ble, criminal remedies. 7.4 Copyright Copyright protects original literary, artistic and scien - tific works, including software and audiovisual crea - tions, from the moment of creation. No registration is required, although evidence of authorship and crea - tion date is advisable.
15 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook