ARMENIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sarkis Knyazyan, Svetlana Mkrtchyan, Anahit Aloyan and Rita Parzyan, Concern Dialog
10. Remedies 10.1 Injunctive Remedies
tition laws, laches, estoppel, and acquiescence as a defence. Such defences are not total bars to liability. 9.2 Defences to Copyright Infringement (Fair Use/Fair Dealing) The trade mark law provides a short list of fair use exceptions that could be summarised as fol - lows: The exclusive right to a trade mark does not allow the trade mark owner to exclude oth - ers from using descriptive or non-distinctive (dis - claimed or un-disclaimed) elements of a trade mark, provided that such use is not an act of bad faith and is not likely to create confusion among consumers. The copyright law provides a more extensive list of fair use exceptions, such as parody and satire (without defining these terms), criticism, commentary, news reporting, the use of works of authorship for scientific (including for research) and teaching purposes, etc. Armenian law is silent on exception to trade mark or copyright infringement based on the right to free speech or information. 9.3 Exhaustion The first sale of an item bearing a trade mark exhausts the owner’s rights to that specific item, provided that such item was imported to Armenia and/or put into circulation legally (by the owner of the mark, or with the knowledge or permission of the trade mark owner). Once a copyrighted work is sold with the copy - right owner’s authorisation, the copyright own - er’s control over that particular copy is “exhaust - ed”, except for lending.
Both trade mark and copyright owners have access to injunctive relief to protect their intellec - tual property rights in the event of infringement. Injunctive relief can be granted by the court to prevent ongoing or imminent infringement, to preserve evidence, or to ensure that damages are not caused during the legal proceedings. When seeking injunction (whether preliminary or interim) in trade mark or copyright infringement cases, the trade mark or copyright owner must establish that failure to take certain measures of security could lead to a variety of consequences. These consequences relate to the ability of the plaintiff to enforce a judicial act, preserve the status quo of the property involved, or avoid sig - nificant harm. 10.2 Monetary Remedies Monetary damages for IP infringements are allowed and the law provides for actual damag - es, accounting and loss of profit, but the amount greatly depends on the judge’s discretion. The field is not very well developed due to the lack of precedents. The judge has discretion in ordering remedies, based on various factors, including the amount of damage, wilfulness of the infring - er, etc. In the event of copyright infringement, the copyright owner is allowed to double the amount of compensation requested. 10.3 Attorneys’ Fees and Costs The allocation of costs in trade mark and copy - right litigation, including court fees, expenses, and attorneys’ fees, is governed by the Civil Pro - cedure Code and general principles of Armenian civil law. According to the Civil Code, the party against whom a final judicial decision has been rendered shall be responsible for reimbursing
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