In the mid-1990s, Azerbaijan began implementing a national system for registering and protecting intellectual property rights with the assistance of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), of which it is a member. Azerbaijan enacted modern copyright legislation (Law on Copyright and Related Rights) in 1996, patent legislation (Law on Patents) in 1997, and trademark protection legislation (Law on Trademarks and Geographic Names) in 1998. Azerbaijan is a party to the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property, and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. 　　

Trademark

　　The new Azerbaijan Trademark Law entered into force on June 12, 1998. The most important aspects of the Law are, first of all, the definition of a trademark, the opposition procedure and the possibility of enforcement. 　　Words and geographical names that having been used for a long time in Azerbaijan cannot be protected. An interesting fact is that pursuant to the new Law, non-registrable trademarks that are already registered can be cancelled ex officio. Firm names can be used by third parties prior to the filing of the respective. Trademark Application can be registered neither for identical nor for similar goods or services. 　　Oppositions can be filed at the Board of Appeal within 3 months from the publication date of a trademark. The trademark owner then has to submit his counter statement within a one-month's term. A particularity with respect to collective trademarks is the fact that 3 years after the expiration of a collective mark, the respective mark cannot be re-filed by a third party. 　　The new law provides sanctions, not only for the discontinuation of the act of infringement, but also for the payment of damages, the confiscation and liquidation of the mark and of the means for their production, as well as for seizure and liquidation, i.e. the destruction of the goods if the illegally placed trademark cannot be removed. This means that the infringer bears full responsibility. 　　Unfortunately, it is not possible to stop piracy products in the course of transit. Upon order of the public prosecutor, the Court or other executive bodies, imported articles may be seized, that is, the customs authorities are given the possibility of interfering, even in case of mere suspicion, if they discover wrong indications of origin, as well as wrong indications with regard to place and manufacturers. 　　In the case of transit, the trademark owner or his licensee has the right to apply to the customs and to obtain information as to the amount of goods and their addressee. 　　The customs authorities may detain the goods for a period of 15 days; thereupon the trademark owner has to present a document evidencing that he has instituted proceedings before a Court and that he will bear the expenses for the seizure and storage of the goods. If the confiscation is unfounded, the claimant is liable to pay damages. 　　If the quality of the seized goods is different from that of the original, the infringer bears responsibility in conformity with the other legal regulations in force in Azerbaijan. 　　

Copyright

　　Azerbaijan is the member of WIPO Copyright Treaty and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. 　　Azerbaijan's copyright law does not explicitly provide protection for pre-existing works or sound recordings, but provide criminal penalties against IPR violations. 　　The State Copyright Agency has formed an anti-piracy commission, with representatives from various ministries. While the Agency has initiated civil court proceedings for violation of copyrights, in practice, there is limited enforcement of intellectual property rights. 　　In 2013, Azerbaijan amended 3 of its main Copyright Laws (Law on Copyright and Related Rights, Law on Legal Protection of Azerbaijani Folklore Expressions, Law on Legal Protection of Compilations of Data) aiming at strengthening the legal protection over the copyright.

Source:

International IP Law Firms reserves the full copyright of this article. Any transfer must be under our permission and with the mark of International IP Law Firms