MACAU SAR Law and Practice Contributed by: João Nuno Riquito, Bruno Almeida, Bernice Kwok and Kimberley Cheong, Riquito Advogados
2.2 Third-Party Remedies to Remove the Effects of Intellectual Property Under the general provisions of the Macau Code of Civil Procedure, any individual or legal entity with the necessary capacity may file a lawsuit to protect a violated right, or one that is at risk of being violated by an opposing intellectual prop- erty right, provided they are a legitimate party holding a legitimate interest in the proceedings. This includes the right to request the grant of interim injunctions against the enforcement of intellectual property rights. 2.3 Courts With Jurisdiction Lawsuits concerning intellectual property mat- ters are generally filed with the Judicial Base Court, but may go up to the jurisdiction of the Court of Second Instance and of the Court of Final Appeal, depending on a variety of legal and procedural requirements expressly provided for in the law. 2.4 Specialised Bodies/Organisations for the Resolution of Disputes Currently, there are no specialised bodies for the resolution of intellectual property disputes. They are handled by the civil courts. 2.5 Prerequisites to Filing a Lawsuit Prior registration of the patent with the DSEDT is necessary to be considered a legitimate plaintiff in a lawsuit for enforcement of industrial property rights. For the purpose of awarding damages, the mere act of requesting an intellectual prop- erty certificate will temporarily grant the holder the same legal protection as the definitive intel- lectual property certificate after due publication in the official gazette, provided it is ultimately issued by the authorities.
2.6 Legal Representation Legal representation in court is required for most cases. Lawsuits with a value exceeding MOP100,000, enforcement proceedings with a value exceeding MOP1 million, and appeals processes always require legal representation. Only lawyers admitted to the Macau Lawyers Association are allowed to represent the parties in a court of law. Where legal representation is not mandatory, the parties may choose to represent themselves or be represented by a trainee lawyer. 2.7 Interim Injunctions It is possible for any of the parties to obtain inter- im injunctions (including ex parte) prior to or dur- ing the proceedings. There are several protective or preventive measures to secure rights at risk and, although none of those specifically pro- vided for in the Macau Code of Civil Procedure explicitly apply to intellectual property rights, a so-called “common measure” may be requested from the court on the conditions that: • the right (ostensibly) exists (fumus boni juris); • there is a well-founded fear that another per- son may cause serious and irreparable dam- age to that right (periculum in mora); and • the protective or preventive measure is suit- able to protect it. 2.8 Protection for Potential Opponents As is the case with interim injunctions, there are no specific means of protection explicitly avail- able to the opponent in a lawsuit concerning intellectual property matters, although a com- mon protective or preventive measure may be requested from the court, provided that the same conditions listed in 2.7 Interim Injunctions are met.
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