SRI LANKA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ayanthi Abeyawickrama, Varners
Enforcement of design rights can be undertaken through civil proceedings, such as for injunctive relief, damages or account of profits. In cases of wilful infringement, criminal sanctions may also be pursued. Legal action for infringement must be instituted within three years of the offence or two years from its discovery by the prosecutor, whichever occurs first. Sri Lanka Customs can assist by seizing infring - ing or counterfeit goods at the border upon request by the rights-holder. 7.4 Copyright Copyright is the exclusive legal right granted to the authors and creators of original literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works, as well as software, films, broadcasts and sound record - ings. It protects both economic rights (such as reproduction, distribution and public commu - nication) and moral rights (such as the right of attribution and integrity). In Sri Lanka, copyright is governed by the Intel - lectual Property Act, No 36 of 2003. Copyright arises automatically upon the creation and fixa - tion of a work in a tangible form without the need for registration. The duration of protection depends on the type of work: • for all copyrightable works (ie, literary, artistic and musical works) – protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years after death; • for cinematographic films and sound record - ings – 70 years from the date of publication; • for applied art – 25 years from the year of creation or publication, whichever is earlier; and • for anonymous or pseudonymous works, the duration is 70 years from the date the work
was first made available to the public, unless the identity of the author is revealed earlier. Enforcement of copyright may be pursued through civil or criminal proceedings. Civil rem - edies include injunctions, damages and orders for delivery or destruction of infringing copies. In criminal matters, wilful infringement can attract fines or imprisonment. Legal action for infringe - ment must be instituted within three years of the offence or two years from its discovery by the prosecutor, whichever occurs first. Cus - toms authorities may seize pirated or counter - feit goods at the border upon the request of the The Intellectual Property Act, No 36 of 2003 extends protection to additional categories of intellectual property beyond traditional patents, trade marks and designs. Geographical Indications (GIs) are protected in Sri Lanka under the Intellectual Property Act. A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, repu - tation or characteristics essentially attributable to that location, such as “Ceylon Tea” or ”Ceylon Cinnamon”. Protection arises either through reg - istration with NIPO or under the unfair competi - tion provisions of the Act, even without registra - tion, where misuse is likely to mislead the public. In addition, software and databases, when they meet the threshold of originality, are protected as literary works under copyright law. This pro - tection arises automatically upon creation and fixation and endures for the lifetime of the author plus 70 years. This includes both source code and object code in the case of software, and original compilations of data in the case of data - bases. rights-holder. 7.5 Others
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