SRI LANKA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anomi Wanigasekera, Sabeera Shariff and Saambavi Siththananthan, Julius & Creasy
Julius & Creasy No 371, R. A. De Mel Mawatha Colombo 03 Sri Lanka Tel: +94 11 2422601 Fax: +94 11 2446663
Email: anomi@juliusandcreasy.lk Web: www.juliusandcreasy.com
1. Trade Mark and Copyright Law 1.1 Governing Law The Intellectual Property Act No 36 of 2003 as amend - ed (the “IP Act”) and regulations passed under the Act govern trade mark and copyright laws in Sri Lanka. Common law trade marks/copyrights are recognised in Sri Lanka. 1.2 Conventions and Treaties/Rights of Foreign IP Holders Sri Lanka is a party to the following international con - ventions: • the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literacy and Artistic Works; • the Marrakesh Treaty; • the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intel - lectual Property Rights (TRIPS); and • the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Sri Lanka is yet to accede to the Madrid Protocol. 2. Trade Mark Ownership, Protection and Rights 2.1 Types of Trade Marks The IP Act governs trade marks in Sri Lanka. In Sri Lanka, a trade mark/service mark will neces - sarily be any visible sign serving to distinguish the goods/services of one enterprise from those of anoth -
er. Therefore, non-visible signs such as sound marks and olfactory marks are not permitted for registration. According to Section 102 (3) of the IP Act, “a mark may consist in particular of arbitrary or fanciful desig - nations, names, pseudonyms, geographical names, slogans, devices, reliefs, letters, numbers, labels, envelopes, emblems, prints, stamps, seals, vignettes, selvedges, borders and edgings, combinations or arrangements of colours and shapes of goods or con - tainers”. Hence, marks consisting of a combination of arrangements of colours, shapes of goods or contain - ers (three-dimensional) and slogans will be permitted for registration. Section 103 (1) of the IP Act states that the following marks are inadmissible for registration: • a mark that consists of shapes or forms imposed by the inherent nature of the goods or services or by their industrial function; • a mark that consists exclusively of a sign or indi - cation which may serve, in the course of trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, place of origin, time of production or of supply, of the goods or services concerned; • a mark that consists exclusively of a sign or indica - tion which has become, in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of trade in Sri Lanka, a customary designation of the goods or services concerned; • a mark that is incapable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of another enterprise;
547 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook