SRI LANKA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Anomi Wanigasekera, Charuni Hewage and Sabeera Shariff, Julius & Creasy
of only the Protocol). The WIPO’s international bureau handles the majority of international registration pro - cessing. The application needs to be submitted via the office of origin to the international bureau. The Madrid System, officially known as the Madrid Protocol, is an international treaty administered by the WIPO. It provides a streamlined and cost-effective way for businesses to register their trade marks in multiple countries. The significant decrease in costs for trade mark registration is one of the main benefits of the Madrid System. Businesses can choose numer - ous countries for trade mark protection by filing a sin - gle application with a single fee, as opposed to reg - istering trade marks separately in each nation. Legal and administrative costs are significantly decreased by said consolidation. The Intellectual Property Advisory Commission, which is responsible for advising the Minister of Industry and Commerce on IP, is concerned with reviewing the pos - sibility of joining the Madrid System. The initial Cabi - net clearance was provided nearly five years ago on 12 February 2020, to proceed with the measures for accessing the Madrid Protocol. At present, the Min - ister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co- Operative Development has requested approval from the Cabinet of Ministers to direct the legal draftsman to complete drafting of the bill, in order to amend the IP Act as soon as possible and to gain access to the Madrid Protocol. The TRIPS Agreement Sri Lanka is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and, as such, is bound by the TRIPS Agree - ment. The TRIPS Agreement is based on “national treatment”, and a member country must accord the same treatment to the nationals of all member coun - tries as it does to its own nationals in relation to IP rights. The TRIPS Agreement sets minimum standards for the protection of IP, including trade marks, copyright, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents (including the protection method for plant varieties and farmers’ traditional knowledge by patents or effective sui generis system), undisclosed information
and control of anti-competitive practices in contrac - tual licences. Under the TRIPS Agreement, Sri Lanka must provide protection to well-known marks, even if they are not registered. This ensures that famous trade marks, like those of large international brands, are protected from unauthorised use or imitation. It could be said that most of the law relating to trade marks in Sri Lanka is TRIPS-compatible. Sri Lankan trade mark law and international influence The IP Act Sri Lanka’s national trade mark law aligns with interna - tional agreements such as the TRIPS Agreement and the Paris Convention. It provides a comprehensive framework for the registration, protection and enforce - ment of trade marks within Sri Lanka. National treatment principle Under the principle of national treatment, foreign trade mark owners receive the same protection as Sri Lan - kan owners, as required by the TRIPS Agreement and the Paris Convention. The Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works The Berne Convention is the first international instru - ment on copyright. With Sri Lanka being a signatory to the Berne Convention, Sri Lankan authors and Sri Lankan-produced works are protected by the national copyright laws of other Berne Convention member countries. The protection is granted to any original literary, scientific and artistic production irrespective of the mode or form of its expression. Several excep - tions are also recognised, including official texts of administrative, legislative or legal nature and news. The Universal Copyright Convention Sri Lanka is a member to the Universal Copyright Con - vention (UCC), which offers copyright protection to all signatory nations. This international instrument was drafted in 1952 under the supervision of UNESCO, and contains a variety of provisions with regard to copyright protection in the contracting states.
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