ARMENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sarkis Knyazyan, Svetlana Mkrtchyan, Anahit Aloyan and Rita Parzyan, Concern Dialog
5.7 Combining Revocation/Cancellation and Infringement As a rule, revocation/cancellation and infringe - ment actions are heard separately. In the event a decision in one court may affect the decision in another court, the latter may postpone or sus - pend its proceedings until the decision of the other court enters into force. 5.8 Measures to Address Fraud There are no special procedures to revoke or cancel trade marks that there filed fraudulently. However, the Trade Mark Law provides legal grounds for invalidation of such registrations. 6. Assignments and Licensing 6.1 Assignment Requirements and Restrictions Trade mark and copyright assignment should be made in writing. A trade mark assignment appli - cation may be filed by either assignee or assign - or. The official/state fee for registration of a trade mark assignment is AMD60,000 per trade mark. Registration of a trade mark assignment may be refused, if the use of assigned trade mark may cause confusion among consumers. The rights to a trade mark or copyright may be transferred in full or partially and are transmis - sible upon the owner’s death. 6.2 Licensing Requirements or Restrictions Trade mark and copyright licences should be made in writing. In addition to the parties’ infor - mation, the trade mark licence should contain the trade mark registration number, the list of goods/services being licensed, the licence term and territory and the type of licence.
Armenian law allows granting exclusive, non- exclusive and sole licences with no term limita - tion, provided that the trade mark registration is in force and the term of copyright protection has not expired. Archival rights may be regulated in the licence by the parties. The copyright to software and mobile applica - tions may be licensed. 6.3 Registration or Recording of an Assignment or Licence Trade mark licence and assignment is subject to state registration with the Armenian IP Office and the application may be filed either by licensee or by licensor. An unregistered trade mark licence or assignment would be considered as a valid contract between the parties, but only registra - tion of the licence or assignment will have legal affect on third parties. Copyright licence and assignment is not subject to state registration. 7. Initiating Trade Mark and Copyright Lawsuits 7.1 Timeframes for Filing Infringement Lawsuits The Armenian Civil Code provides for a general statute of limitations of three years. The courts may make exceptions, if plaintiffs can demon - strate “excusable neglect” – ie, provide reason - able explanation for missing the deadline due to extraordinary circumstances beyond their control. 7.2 Legal Claims for Infringement Lawsuits and Their Standards Generally speaking, owners of registered trade marks have the right to exclude others from using identical or confusingly similar trade marks, if such use is likely to confuse, mislead or deceive
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