IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Philip Tully, Emma Doherty, Geraldine Carr, Simon Shinkwin and Carlo Salizzo, Matheson LLP
ceuticals for human or animal use for up to five years. Irish law also provides for short-term patents, which have a ten-year duration. The test of inventiveness for a short-term patent is lower than for a full-term patent. Short-term patents may be converted to full-term patents where they meet the requirements for a full-term pat - ent. Registration Applications for Irish patents are filed at the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI). The specification forming part of the application must include the title of the invention, description of the invention and claim or claims and drawings, if any, referred to in the description. It is also possible to file a patent application at the European Patent Office (EPO) under the European Patent Convention (EPC) or at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and to designate Ireland for patent protection. The EPC and the PCT both facilitate the application for patents in a number of jurisdictions, but these are effectively a bundle of applications to a num - ber of states. There are plans to reform both registration and enforcement under the Unified Patent Court Agreement. This reform consists of two pillars: (i) the creation of a new European patent with unitary effect; and (ii) the establishment of the Unified Patent Court. The Agreement on a Unified Patent Court was signed in February 2013 by 25 EU member states, including Ireland. An amendment to Arti - cle 29 of the Irish Constitution is required before Ireland can ratify the agreement, as it entails a
transfer of jurisdiction in patent litigation from the Irish courts to an international court. As at the time of writing, there is no indication of when a referendum will be held since the Irish govern - ment’s decision to defer the referendum vote intended to be held on 7 June 2024. Enforcement and Remedies Patents in Ireland are enforced through civil claims against infringing parties. A patent owner can prevent direct or indirect use of their inven - tion by third parties in Ireland without consent. The courts have a wide range of civil remedies available to them to compensate aggrieved own - ers. These include a declaration of the validity of a patent and that it has been infringed, damages for infringement, injunctive relief and orders to account for profits, and to seize, destroy and/or hand over infringing goods to the patent holder. This will be subject to change upon ratification of the Unified Patent Court Agreement. 7.2 Trade Marks Definition A trade mark under Irish law is any sign capable of both: • being represented graphically; and • distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. A trade mark may consist of words (including personal names), designs, letters, numerals or the shape of goods or their packaging. Unregistered trade marks have a limited protec - tion in Ireland through the law of passing off, in a manner similar to that applying in other common law jurisdictions.
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