RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/335
25 January 2002
(02-0378)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Responses from Lithuania to the questions posed by Canada, the European Communities
and their member States, Japan, Switzerland and the United States
By means of a communication from the Permanent Mission of Lithuania dated
18 January 2002, the Secretariat has received the following responses to questions posed by Canada,
the European Communities and their member States, Japan and Switzerland and the United States, as
circulated in documents IP/C/W/314, 320, 322, 315 and 316, respectively.
_______________
CANADA
1. Please describe how the enforcement obligations (Articles 41-61 of the TRIPS Agreement)
have been implemented.
As already stated in Lithuania's responses to the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement of
23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1),  enforcement provisions foreseen in Articles 41-61 of the
TRIPS Agreement are available under various legislation.  The Civil Code, the Civil Procedure Code,
the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, the Patent Law, the Law on Industrial Designs and the Lawon Trademarks provide civil remedies which include injunctions, damages (including recovery of
profits), expenses (including attorney's fees), seizure or destruction or other disposal of infringing
goods and materials/implements for their production, reimbursement of losses and compensation and
other civil remedies.  The Code of Administrative Infringements establishes such remedies as fines
and seizure or confiscation of pirate production as well as means of such production. The criminalremedies under the Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure include substantial fines,
imprisonment, confiscation of property seizure or destruction of infringing goods and materials and
implements for their production.  The Civil Procedure Code and the Law on Copyright and Related
Rights provide corresponding to TRIPS Agreement provisional measures. Border measures are
applied according to the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Field of Import andExport of Goods (for more information see replies to questions 15 to 19 of the Checklist of Issues on
Enforcement of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1)).
2. What protection does your Copyright legi slation afford to "foreign works"?
Under Article 3(3) of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights, Lithuania provides
protection for authors, owners of related rights and makers of databases the rights of which shall beprotected in Lithuania in accordance with the international agreements ratified by Lithuania, and other
legal acts binding on Lithuania according to its inte rnational obligations. Furthermore, Article 3(3) of
the Law on Copyright and Related Rights specifies that if the international agreements ratified byIP/C/W/335
Page 2
Lithuania lay down other provisions than the provisi ons of this Law, the provisions of international
agreements shall apply.
Lithuania has ratified the Berne Convention, the Rome Convention, the Geneva Convention
and the TRIPS Agreement which, pursuant to Article 138 (3) of the Constitution, have become
component part of legal system of Lithuania.
These conventions were ratified without reservations concerning the principles of National
Treatment and Most-Favored-Nation Treatment, so that principles established therein are fully applied
within the country.
Furthermore, Article 3(2) of the Law on Copyri ght and Related Rights extends protection for
"authors regardless of their citizenship or domicile, to whom the rights in works for the first time
published in the Republic of Lithuania, including the works simultaneously published in the Republic
of Lithuania and abroad, belong. A work shall be considered as having been published simultaneouslyin several countries if it is has been published in Lithuania within thirty days of its first publication in
another country".
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR MEMBER STATES
A. C
OPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS – L AW ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS (1999:
VIII-1185)
1. Article 4.2.1. Please explain whether the protection given to computer programs includes
source and object code as required by Article 10.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.
"The definition of 'computer program' in Artic le 2(16) of the Law on Copyright and Related
Rights covers computer programs in both source and object code.  The Article provides:
" 'computer program' means a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any
other form capable, when incorporated in a computer-readable medium, of causing a
computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result; this notion also includes
preparatory design material of such instructions, provided that the nature of the preparatory
design material is such that the said set of instructions may be established from it."
2. Article 6 – Please explain on the legal definition of author – to what legal persons does it
extend?
The author can be only a natural person  or group of natural persons  who have created a
work. But according to the Law on Copyright and Related Rights author's exclusive economic rights
could be transferred to legal person (successor in title).
3. Article 15.6/7 – Please explain the scope of protection provided for rental rights under
Lithuanian copyright law. To what works does such protection apply and what does the protectionconsist of?
The Law on Copyright and Related Rights grants rental right to authors and holders of the
neighboring rights.
The above-mentioned Law gives the author of literary, scientific or artistic work
(Article 15(1)(5)) the right to authorize or prohibit distribution of the original or copies of the work toIP/C/W/335
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the public by sale, rental, lending, or by any othe r transfer of ownership or possession. This right also
applies to the exploitation of computer programs and audiovisual works.
4. Please explain the basis of and the extent to which an exception for reproduction on scientific
grounds may be granted
Article 19 of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights provides general provisions
concerning conditions of limitation on economic rights:
"Any limitations on economic rights shall be permitted exclusively to the cases provided for
in the Law on Copyright and Related Rights. They must not conflict with a normal exploitation of a
work and must not prejudice the legitimate interests of author or other owner of copyright."
Article 22 of the Law states more detail provisions related to exception for reproduction on
scientific grounds:
"1. The following shall be permitted without the authorization of the author of a work or
any other owner of copyright in this work, and without the payment of remuneration:
(i) the reproduction for teaching and scientific research purposes of short
published works or a short extract of a published work, by way of illustration,
in writings, sound or visual recordings, provided that such reproduction does
not exceed the extent justified by the purpose;
(ii) the reproduction for non-commercial purposes of lawfully published works in
raised characters or any other special method meant for the blind or sight-
impaired, with the exception of works specifically created for this purpose;
2. When a work is used for the purposes specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, the
name of the author and the source used shall be indicated."
5. Article 24 – Please clarify the scope of this provision in particular Article 24.1 restricting the
availability of this subsection.
It must be specified several compulsory conditions, which make use of a work for information
purposes lawful under Article 24(1) of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights:
(1) the only reproduction of economic, political or religious issues is permitted
(reproduction of other (cultural, technical) issues is restricted);
(2) the only reproduction of current (at the time of reproduction) issues is allowed
(reproduction of earlier (older) issues is restricted);
(3) the only reproduction of article, which was published in a newspaper or other
periodical is permitted (so, for example, reproduction of articles, which were
published in collections of scientific articles,  is restricted);
(4) there must be no prohibition of reproduction of article by the author or other owner of
copyright.
6. Please explain how the enforcement provisions in Articles 64 to 71 ensure the guarantees of
fair procedure set out in Articles 41.2 and 41.3 of TRIPS are respected.IP/C/W/335
Page 4
Appropriate measures which ensure the guarantees of fair procedure set out in Articles 41.2
and 41.3 of the TRIPS Agreement are provided by the Code of Criminal Procedure and Code of Civil
Procedure (for more information see Lithuania's replies to questions 3, 8 and 25 of the Checklist of
Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1)).
7. Please indicate whether your legislation provides for a de minimis  imports exception.
Yes. According to paragraph 2 of Article 4 of the Law on the Protection of Intellectual
Property in the Field of Import and Export of Good s action by the Customs authorities prescribed by
this law shall not be taken with respect to goods (articles) of non-commercial nature or those not
intended for production purposes, contained in the tr avellers' personal luggage, for which relief from
import duty is granted or permission to make an export declaration in a simplified manner (by word or
act) is given according to the procedure established by the Government.
8. Article 69 – Please explain whether this provision ensures that, following the adoption of
measure by the court inaudita altera parte, the defendant has the right to be heard within the
reasonable time after the provisional measures have been adopted.
According to Article 348 of Code of Civil Pro cedures the defendant has the right to make a
complaint within a period of 7 days after the court decision was pronounced. In case court decision
was made without informing of persons who take pa rt in the case, copy of that decision must be
delivered to persons no later then in 3 days. Complaint could be made within a period of 7 days from
that day when the copy of decision was delivered to defendant.
9. Please explain whether the droit de suite provided for in Article 14ter of the Berne
Convention is protected in your legislation.
Article 17 of Law on Copyright and Related Rights provides as follows:
"1. The author shall have an inalienable ri ght to a share in the returns from each sale
through public auction or any other public sale of an original work of art or an original
manuscript of a literary or musical work, when the sale takes place subsequent to the first
transfer of the right of ownership in the work by the author himself, and where the resale price
of the original work or manuscript is at least 1000 litas (USD 250).
2. The share in the returns provided for in paragraph 1 constituting 5 per cent of the sale
price of an original work or manuscript shall be paid to the author by the seller. The
organizers of auctions and other public sale events must provide information to the authors or
associations of collective administration of copyright representing them concerning the
original works or manuscripts sold, the seller and the sale price of the work or the manuscript.
3. An author's right to receive the share in the returns from the resale of the original
work of art or original manuscript, as provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, shall betransferred to other persons only upon the author's death by hereditary succession."
B. T
RADEMARKS – LAW ON TRADEMARKS (2000;VIII-1981)
10. Please confirm if elements such as sounds and tastes are protectable under your legislation.
Yes, if such sign is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those
of other persons and is represented graphically.IP/C/W/335
Page 5
Under paragraph 1 of the Article 2 of the Law on Trademarks, "Trade mark" means any sign
capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of other persons and capable
of being represented graphically. For the purposes of this Law, a service mark shall also be treated as
a trademark.
11. Please explain in more detail the provisions regarding right of priority, in particular; where
more than one application has been filed in another member country, which application will priority
date from?
Article 10 of the Law on Trademarks provides:
"1. The application may contain a request claiming the priority of one or more previous
applications duly filed for the registration of one and the same mark in the State party to the
Paris Convention or a member of the World Trade Organization if the applicant or his
successor in title files an application to the State Patent Bureau within a period of six monthsfrom the date of filing of the first application or applications.
2. The application may contain a request to grant priority of the date on which the goods
and/or services bearing the mark which is the subject of that application were first exhibited at
an official or officially recognized international exhibition, if the application is filed with the
State Patent Bureau within a period of six months from the date of the first display of thegoods and/or services under the mark at the exhibition.
3. An applicant who intends to benefit from the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
Article shall submit before the State Patent Bureau a certified copy of the first application
(applications) or a certificate issued by the administration of the international exhibition at
which the goods and/or services bearing the mark had first been exhibited. The documentsmay be submitted at the time of filing of the application or within three months from that
date.
4. If the State Patent Bureau finds that the requirements under paragraph 3 of this
Article have not been fulfilled, the request referred to in paragraphs 1 or 2 of this Article shall
be considered not to have been made."
The applicant has the obligation to prove which application is the first (see the paragraph 3 of
the above mentioned Article 10).
If the application is filed in bad faith (it is not the first application), the interested party may
ask the invalidation of the registration under the ground foreseen in the paragraph 3 of the Article 7 of
the Law on Trademarks ("Registration of the mark may be declared invalid where it becomes evident
that the application for the registration of a mark was made in bad faith by the applicant"). The power
to recognize the registration invalid has the Appeals Division of the State Patent Bureau, if theopposition is filed after the publication of the registration or Vilnius County Court after the
registration.
12. Please explain on what basis the "other grounds" set out in Article 7 will be available for the
invalidation of a registration.
The invalidation of registration on "other grounds" can be based on opposition before the
Appeals Division of the State Patent Bureau or on the claim before the court.
Paragraph 1 of the Article 18 of the Law on Trademarks foresees:IP/C/W/335
Page 6
"Within a period of three months following the publication of the registered mark in the
Official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau, the interested persons may give to the Appeals
Division a justified written opposition to registration of the mark on the grounds that it may
not be registered under Articles 6 and 7 of this Law."
Paragraph 1 of the Article 46 of the Law on Trademarks foresees:
"Upon request by any interested person, the registration of a mark may be invalidated by the
court on the ground that the said mark does not comply with Articles 6 and 7 of this Law."
13. Article 6.10 – Please explain the analysis that will be applied in determining whether a mark
is of high symbolic value or not.
The examiner making the examination of the marks with symbol, which should have the high
symbolic value, in particular a religious symbol, will look for information in vocabularies,
encyclopaedias, reference books and take into account the historical, political, religious, cultural,public and other values of the symbol.
14. Article 8.1 – Please explain further the scope of this provision, in particular, what are the
circumstances in which a trademark consisting of elements ineligible for registration separately will
be denied registration itself.
Paragraph 1 of the Article 8 of the Law on Trademarks is the general principle of the scope of
the protection of the mark. Paragraph 2 of the Article 8 explains - where the mark contains elements
ineligible for registration as separate (independent) marks and where there is special reason to assume
that the registration of the mark may cause doubts as to the scope of protection of the mark, the
elements may, at the applicant's request, on the decision of the State Patent Bureau or court decision,
be recognized as disclaimers.
Under the paragraph 2 of the Article 8 of the Law on Trademarks disclaimers do not extend
the proprietor of the mark exclusive rights thereto.
C. I
NDUSTRIAL DESIGNS – LAW ON INDUSTRIAL DESIGN (1995:I-1006)
15. Please explain whether or not your legislation extends to the protection of designs dictated
essentially by technical or functional consideration. Please explain how textile designs are protected.
The Law on Industrial Designs does not make any exemptions of the registrability of the
design if the design is new, has the individual characters and is not contradictory to the principles of
public morality.
Lithuania does not have relevant provision on the protection of designs dictated essentially by
technical or functional consideration.
The textile designs are protected as other types of the designs.
16. Please explain whether or not your legislation provides for the right to issue a compulsory
licence for industrial designs.
No, the compulsory licence for industrial designs is not foreseen and is not available.IP/C/W/335
Page 7
D. PATENTS – PATENT LAW 18 J ANUARY 1994
17. Please explain describe how animals, mi cro-organisms and non-essentially biological
processes are protected in your legislation. Please explain, in this respect, the relevant section of your
legislation.
The last amendments of the Article 2 of th e Patent Law made on October 30, 2001 provides:
"Patents shall not be granted for:
(1) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, and
diagnostic and prophylactic methods practised on the human or animal body. This
provision shall not apply if an object of invention is equipment or materials utilized
for such methods;
(2) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of
plants or animals. This provision shall not apply to microbiological processes for  the
production of plants or animals or the products thereof;
(3) inventions the commercial exploitation of which would be contrary to public
interests, principles of morality and humanity. Decisions to refuse granting patents
may not be adopted merely because the exploitation of such inventions is prohibited
by laws or other legal acts.
Where the object of invention is a method, patent protection shall also be granted with respect
to a product made by such method."
The exceptions mentioned in the paragraph 3 of the Article 2 of the Patent Law are in full
compliance with exceptions of the patentability mentioned in the paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Article 27
of the TRIPS Agreement.
18. Article 8 of the Patent Law – Service Inventi ons. Please confirm whether Article 9, regarding
the requirement for mention of an inventor, applies to Article 8.
Yes, the provisions of the Article 9 of the Patent Law applies to Article 8. In any case (service
invention or the other invention has been invented) the author of invention has to be mentioned in the
patent application and patent. Such provision is foreseen in subparagraph 7 of the Article 11 of thePatent Law.
19. Right of priority – Article 18 – Where the right of priority is based on an application in
another Member country, and subsequent applications are also made in other country; when, for the
purpose of your legislation, does the priority date from?
The Article 18 of the Patent Law provides:
"When filing a patent application the applicant may submit a declaration claiming the priority,
pursuant the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, on the basis of one orseveral national or international applications ea rlier filed in foreign countries, specifying the
filing date and the country of the said application or applications.
The State Patent Bureau may request from the applicant claiming priority within 3 months
from the filing date of the application to furnish a copy or copies of previously filed
applications and a translation thereof into the Lithuanian language."IP/C/W/335
Page 8
Upon establishing that the requirements of paragraph 2 of this Article are not observed, the
State Patent Bureau may request the applicant to fulfil the requirements. Upon failure to fulfil the
requirements, the declaration claiming the priority shall be regarded as not have been filed.
Thus, under the Article 18 of the Patent Law, the applicant has the obligation to prove which
application is the first.
20. Please confirm whether your legislation grants additional protection for innovations after the
twenty years period of patent protection has lapsed.
The last amendments of the Patent Law with the Article 271 made on 30 October 2001
foresees the granting of the supplementary protection certificates.
The Article provides:
"A supplementary protection certificate (hereinafter referred to as "certificate") may be
granted to a patent owner or his successor in title for a period not exceeding five years, if legalprotection is conferred to:
(1) active ingredients of a medicine;
(2) active substances of a plant protection product.
The certificate shall be granted, if the patent owner or his successor in title lodges an
application for a certificate with the State Patent Bureau. The application shall contain thefollowing documents:
(1) a request for a certificate;
(2) a copy of the first authorization to place a medicine or a plant protection product on
the market;
(3) a document confirming that the set fee has been paid.
An application for a certificate must be lodged with the State Patent Bureau before the patent
expires, but not later than within 6 months of the date on which the authorization to place the
medicine or the plant protection product on the market was granted, or within 6 months of the
date on which the patent was granted, if the patent was granted later than the authorization.
The State Patent Bureau shall establish requirements applied to the documents, the procedurefor examination of an application, granting and validity of the certificate. Information about
an application for a certificate, the grant and expiry of a certificate shall be published by the
State Patent Bureau in its Official Bulletin. Information regarding the grant and duration of a
certificate shall be recorded in the Register of Patents of Lithuania.
The granted certificate shall take effect at the end of the lawful term of the patent for a period
equal to the period which elapsed between the date on which the patent application was
lodged and the date of the authorization to place a medicine or a plant protection product on
the market, reduced by a period of five years, but not exceeding five years from the date on
which it takes effect. The duration of the certificate shall depend on the payment of a set
annual fee.
The certificate shall confer on its holder or his successor in title all the rights, duties and
restrictions established by this Law.IP/C/W/335
Page 9
Legal protection conferred by the certificate shall extend only to the medicine or plant
protection product covered by the authorization to place the corresponding medicine or plant
protection product on the market, and must not exceed the legal protection conferred by the
patent."
21. Article 39 – Please describe the individual merits taken into consideration by the authorities
in an application for exploitation of an invention with the authorization of the Government.
Under Article 39 of the Patent Law, the Government giving the authorization to use the
invention without patent owner consent takes into consideration the following conditions:
(1) an invention protected by a patent is related to public needs, national security and
public health protection, development of economically important sectors;
(2) the court determines that a method of the exploitation of an invention employed by
the owner of a patent or licensee is anti-competitive;
(3) the claimed in the second patent shall involve an important technical advance of
considerable economic significance in relation to the invention claimed in the first
patent;
(4) the owner of the first patent shall be entitled to a cross-licence (authorization to each
owner to use the patented inventions) to use the invention claimed in the secondpatent;
(5) evidences confirming that the person seeking authorization has requested, but has not
received authorization of the owner of a patent to use the patented invention. This
provision shall not apply in the case of a national emergency or other circumstances
of extreme urgency or in cases of public non-commercial use of a patented invention.
22. Please explain how your legislation provides for the reversal of the burden of proof in
relation to process patents as required by Article 34 of the TRIPS Agreement?
The last amendments of Article 41
 of the Patent Law made on October 30, 2001 foresee the
same grounds of the reversal of the burden of proof.
The Article provides:"If the subject-matter of a patent is a process for obtaining a product and the product obtained
by the defendant is identical to the product obtained by the patented process, or if there is a
reason to believe that the product is produced by infringing the patent, but the plaintiff is
unable through reasonable efforts to determine the process actually used, the defendant must
prove that the process to obtain the identical product is different from the patented process.
In the adduction of proof that the process to obtain an identical product is different from the
patented product, the protection of defendant's manufacturing and commercial secrets must beensured."
E. P
ROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
23. Please explain whether or not your legislation grants a defined period of time for the
protection of undisclosed information. If so, please give the time span.IP/C/W/335
Page 10
There is no specified defined period of time.
24. Please explain how your legislation defines "undisclosed information".
In Lithuanian legislation the term "undisclosed information" falls under the scope of the term
"commercial secret".
Paragraph 19 of the Article 3 of the Law on Competition gives such definition of the
commercial secret:
" 'Commercial secret' means technical, technological, commercial or organizational
information belonging to the undertaking and not disclosed publicly, the confidentiality of
which is protected by the undertaking, except for information that cannot be considered a
commercial secret under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania."
Article 1.116 of the Civil Code gives the following definition:
"Any information is considered to be a commercial secret if it has a tangible or potential
commercial value given it is not available to the third party due to reasonable efforts of the
owner of the information, or a person to whom the owner of the information has vested the
information, to protect the secrecy of the information."
25. Please explain how your legislation defines da ta submitted to governments or governmental
agencies.
For the disclosure of data governments or governmental agencies shall be held liable under
law. The corresponding provisions are foreseen in the Article 22 of the Competition Law and
Article 1.116 of the Civil Code.
JAPAN
A. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
1. Please explain exceptions or exemptions of the National Treatment and Most-Favoured-
Nation Treatment under the Copyright and Neighbou ring Rights Law, if any, as permitted in
Articles 3 and 4 of the TRIPS Agreement.
See the reply to question 2 posed by Canada.
B. TRADEMARKS
2. Regarding "well-known trademark", please explain how legislation of your country
implements Article 16.2 and 16.3 of the TRIPS Agreem ent, which Article 6bis of the Paris Convention
shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to. Please cite the relevant provisions of your country's law.
The Law on Trademarks, enforced since 1 January 2001 fully complies with Articles 16.2 and
16.3 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Article 9 of the Law provides:
"1. A mark may be recognised as well-known in the Republic of Lithuania if the results
of its use or promotion reveal that it is well-known in the relevant sector of the public.IP/C/W/335
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2. A mark recognised as well-known in the Republic of Lithuania shall be protected
even without registration thereof.
3. A mark shall be recognised as well-known in the Republic of Lithuania according to
judicial procedure.
4. In addition to the rights specified in Article 38 of this Law, the proprietor of the mark
recognised as well-known in the Republic of Lithuania shall also have the right to prohibit
other persons from using, without having his consent, in industrial or commercial activities a
sign which constitutes a reproduction, an imitation or a translation, liable to create confusion,
of a mark considered to be well-known and used for identical and/or similar goods.
5. In addition to the rights specified in Article 38 of this Law, the proprietor of a
registered mark recognised as well-known in the Republic of Lithuania shall also be entitled
to prevent third parties not having his consent from using, in the course of industrial orcommercial activities, a sign which may be taken for a reproduction, an imitation or a
translation, liable to create confusion, of a mark recognised as well-known, in relation to
goods and/or services which are not similar to those under the well-known mark, provided
that use of that mark in relation to those goods or services would indicate a connection
between those goods and/or services and goods and/or services under a well-known mark andprovided that the interests of the proprietor of the registered well-known mark are likely to be
damaged by such use."
Article 38 of the Law foresees:
"1. The proprietor of a registered mark shall have an exclusive right to prevent all third
persons not having his consent from using in the course of trade any sign:
(1) which is identical with the registered mark in relation to goods and/or services which
are identical with those for which the mark is registered;
(2) where, because of its identity with the registered mark covering identical or similar
goods and/or services, there exists a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public;
the likelihood of confusion includes the likelihood of association between the signand the mark;
(3) which is identical with or similar to the registered mark in relation to goods and/or
services which are not similar to those for which the mark is registered, where the
latter has a reputation in the Republic of Lithuania and where use of that sign without
due cause takes unfair advantage of or is detrimental to, the distinctive character or
the repute of the mark.
2. The proprietor of the mark may prohibit the following under paragraph 1 of this
Article:
(1) affixing the sign to goods or to the packaging thereof;
(2) offering the goods or putting them on the market or stocking, renting, lending or in
any other form disposing of them for these purposes under that sign, or offering or
supplying services thereunder;
(3) importing or exporting goods under that sign;IP/C/W/335
Page 12
(4) using the sign on business papers and in advertising;
(5) manufacturing the sign or keeping specimens thereof with the intention of performing
any of the actions specified in subparagraphs 1-4 of paragraph 2 of this Article.
3. The following cases shall be deemed to constitute an infringement of the distinctive
character of a sign, indicated in subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1of this Article:
(1) the sign is used as the name of a firm and this use is misleading the public due to the
similarity of the sign to a registered mark and of the goods and/or services for which
the mark is registered;
(2) the reproduction or presentation of the sign in advertisements or in the media gives
the impression that it constitutes the generic name of certain goods and /or services."
C. PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
3. Please explain how legislation of your country provides for the protection of the "undisclosed
information" as required by Articles 39.1 and 39.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. Please explain in detail
and please cite the relevant provisions of your country's law.
The protection of commercial secrets in general is regulated by the Civil Code (Article 1.116)
(see reply to question No. 24 posed by European Communities and their member States) and
Competition Law (Article 22):
Competition Law, Article 22:
"Protection of Commercial Secrets
1. Commercial secrets disclosed to the Competition Council and its administrative staff
during their exercise of control over compliance with this Law must be kept confidential and,
in the absence of the undertaking's consent, must be used only for the purpose the informationwas provided.
2. For the disclosure of commercial secrets of undertakings the Competition Council
and its administrative staff shall be held liable under law."
According to Article 16(1.3) of the Competition Law, using, transferring, disclosing
information representing a commercial secret of another undertaking without its consent, alsoobtaining such information from persons having no right to transfer it, in order to compete, seeking
benefit for oneself or inflicting damage on that undertaking, is an act of unfair competition.
Furthermore, Article 321 of the Criminal Code provides for penalties for the abuse of trust in
business activities.
The Lithuanian Law on Medicines in fact requires that medicines must be registered in the
State Medicine Register and for that purpose documentation necessary for expert examination of the
medicine must be submitted. However, under the Re gulations of the State Medicine Control Agency,
the Agency is obliged to ensure the confidentiality  of the presented information, if the applicant is
asking for confidentiality. It is prohibited for employees to use confidential information in private
conversation or in articles.IP/C/W/335
Page 13
4. If your legislation ensures that undisclosed test or other data submitted by an applicant to the
responsible State agency in the procedure fo r market authorization of a pharmaceutical or an
agricultural chemical product is protected against disclosure and against unfair commercial use by a
competitor, for example by prohibiting a second applicant for a similar product from relying on
original data of the first applicant, when applying subsequently for market authorization for a similarproduct, please explain it in detail. Does legislation of your country provide for exceptions to this?
Does legislation of your country set a specific term of protection by the responsible State
agency for undisclosed test or other data of the first applicant? If yes, please explain such specific
term in detail, citing the relevant provisions of law.
Protection of undisclosed information is also fore seen in Order of Minister of Agriculture and
Minister of Health and Minister of En vironment No. 196/134/225, dated 7 May 1999:
"Data protection and confidentiality
54. The State Commission on Registration of Plant Protection Measures may not use the
information it was provided for the benefit of  other applicants for the purpose of the
registration of a product whose active substan ce has already been registered in Lithuania,
unless the applicant who provided this information has given his consent.
55. The Commission shall ensure that the information regarding industrial and
commercial secrets is treated as confidential if the applicant so requires.
57. If the applicant subsequently discloses previously confidential information, he
informs the Commission thereof."
Talking specifically about pharmaceutical products, we would like to inform you that
Lithuania will adopt the relevant EU Directive EEC 65/65 this year, and national legislation will beamended accordingly. Those changes will enter into force in 2004.
D. E
NFORCEMENT
5. Please indicate the remedies which the judicial authorities order regarding each intellectual
property rights provided in the TRIPS Agreem ent, including injuctions, damages, expenses,
destruction or disposal of infringing goods, mate rials or implements for their production. Please
explain the criteria and the way of calculation to  decide the amount of the damages which judicial
authorities order to the infringer to pay the right holder.
As it was already indicated in Lithuania's replies to questions 5, 9, 21, 24 of the Checklist of
Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001 (documen t IP/N/6/LTU/1), all IP laws provide for the
following remedies:
(1) Civil Remedies
- injunctions:
According to the Civil Procedure Code (Artic les 155 and 156), the court or the judge upon the
request of the party or at his own discretion may order:
(a) property or cash equivalent of th e defendant can be taken into custody;
(b) defendant can be prohibited to carry out certain activities;IP/C/W/335
Page 14
(c) other persons may be prevented from passing property or fulfilling other
duties and obligations to the defendant;
(d) sale of property can be suspended, if a claim is submitted to cancel arrest of
that property.
- damages, including recovery of profits, and expenses, including attorney's fees:
Applying Articles 6.245 and 6.249 of the Civil Code the infringer shall compensate the
adequate damages caused to the right holder, including the recovery of profits.
According to the Civil Procedure Code (Art icles 112 and 113), the court has the power to
order an infringer to pay the right holder's expenses, including the attorney's fees.
- destruction or other disposal of infringing goods and materials/implements for their
production:
Appropriate measures are set by the Code of Administrative Infringements (Article 269), the
Code of Criminal Procedure (Article 93) and by specific provisions of appropriate laws.
- other civil remedies:
Article 41 of the Patent Law provides the following:
The owner of a patent or the applicant shall have the right to institute court proceedings
against a person who has infringed or is infringing the patent or published patent application, for
which provisional protection was granted, and to require the termination of infringing acts, as well as
compensation for the inflicted damage. Any of them  shall also have the right to institute court
proceedings against any person who is performing acts which make it likely that such infringement
will occur. Such proceedings may not be instituted la ter than three years from the establishment of the
fact of infringement.
Article 25 of the Law on Industrial Designs provides the following:
The court may adopt a decision, according to a claim by the industrial design owner, to
interrupt actions that violate or may violate the rights enumerated in Article 5 of this Law.
The court may adopt, in accordance with an indust rial design owner's claim, a decision concerning
compensation for the damages incurred by an industri al design owner, if another person performed the
actions enumerated in Article 5, without his consent.
Law on Trademarks provides the following:
Article 50. Enforcement of Rights.
1. With the aim of protecting his infringed rights, the proprietor of the mark shall be entitled to
apply to court in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, which may make a decision
relating to:
(1) recognition of rights;
(2) injunction to terminate all actions which infringe or may infringe the rights specified
in Article 38 of this Law;IP/C/W/335
Page 15
(3) reimbursement of losses or damage (including moral damage), caused to the
proprietor of the mark by actions which infringed the rights specified in Article 38,
including lost income and other expenses;
(4) payment of compensation;
(5) re-establishment of the situation that existed before the infringement;
(6) seizure and, where necessary, destruction of unlawfully used marks, devices or
equipment for the production thereof, also of goods when it is impossible to remove
the marks unlawfully affixed to them as well as of other devices and equipment used
for the infringement of the rights conferred by virtue of this Law.
2. The proprietor of the mark shall be entitled to bring an action for infringement. If he fails to
exercise the right, the action may be brought by the licensee, unless the license contract provides
otherwise.
3. The holder of an exclusive license may bring an action for infringement, even if the contract
provides otherwise, if the proprietor of the mark, after formal notice, does not himself bring an action
for infringement within an appropriate period.
Article 51. Reimbursement of Losses and Damage. Compensation.
1. The procedure for the reimbursement of losses and damage shall be regulated by the Civil
Code and the provisions of this Law.
2. When assessing the amount of losses, the court shall take into account the substance of
violation, the amount of the inflicted damage and the lost income, as well as other expenses incurred
by the proprietor of the mark. The unlawfully marked goods may be handed over by a court decision
to the proprietor of the mark, if requested.
3. Instead of the reimbursement of losses, th e proprietor may claim compensation. The amount
of the compensation shall be determined according to the price of legal sale of a relevant good or
service by increasing it up to 200% or up to 300% if the infringer has committed the infringement
deliberately.
Law on Copyright and Related Rights provid es such remedies for IPR infringement:
Article 65:
With the aim of protecting their rights, owners of copyright and related rights shall be entitled
to appeal to court in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, which may make a decision
relative to:
(1) recognition of rights;
(2) injunction to terminate unlawful acts;
(3) redress of the infringed moral rights (injunction to make appropriate amendments, to
announce the infringement in the press, or any other way);
(4) exaction of unpaid remuneration;IP/C/W/335
Page 16
(5) reimbursement of losses or damage (material and/or moral), including the lost income
and other expenses;
(6) payment of compensation;
(7) seizure or destruction of infringing copies of works, computer programs, fixations of
audiovisual works (films), phonograms and the devices or equipment used for theirmanufacture, as well as other devices and equipment used in connection with the
infringement of rights under this Law;
(8) other legislative measures for the protection of violated rights.
When assessing the amount of losses, the court shall take into account the substance of
violation, the amount of the inflicted damage and the lost income, as well as other expenses incurred
by the owner of copyright or related rights. Infringing  copies of works or objects of related rights may
be handed over to the respective owners of copyright or related rights, if requested.
Instead of the reimbursement of losses, the owner of copyright or related rights may claim
compensation, the amount of which shall be determined according to the price of legal sale of an
appropriate work or object of related rights, by increasing it up to 200 per cent, or up to 300 per cent if
the infringer has committed the infringement deliberately.
Article 68:
A person who has infringed moral rights of the author or performer must compensate for
moral damage inflicted, the amount of which expressed in money shall be determined by the court.
The amount of compensation for moral damage in each case may not be less than 5 thousand
litas and not more than 25 thousand litas. In assessing the amount of moral damage expressed in
money, the court must take into account the degree of the culpability of the infringer, his financial
position, the consequences of moral damage, as well as other circumstances that are of significance to
the case.
(2) Administrative remedies
Article 21410 of the Code of Administrative Infringements provides that violations of
copyright and/or related rights result in fine of LTL 1000 to LTL 3000 (USD 250 to USD 750) andconfiscation of pirate production as well as means of such production (for more information please
see the reply to the question 9 in Lithuania's Checklist of Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001
(IP/N/6/LTU/1)).
(3) Criminal remedies
In cases of the appropriation of authorship the Criminal Code (Article 142) provides for
imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years or a fine.
In cases of illegal reproduction of a literary, scientific or artistic work, audiovisual work or a
phonogram, importing, exporting, distribution, transp ortation or keeping for commercial purposes of
infringing copies the Criminal Code (Article 1421) provides for imprisonment for up to 2 years or a
fine.
In cases of destruction or alteration of copyright or related rights management information the
Criminal Code (Article 1422) provides for imprisonment for up to 1 year or a fine.IP/C/W/335
Page 17
In cases of unauthorized removal of technical protection measures of copyright or related
rights as well as the manufacture, import, export, keeping, transportation or distribution for
commercial purposes of appropriate devices (decodi ng devices, decoding cards, etc.), enabling to
remove such technical protection measures the Criminal Code (Article 1423) provides for
imprisonment for up to 2 years or a fine.
According to Article 32 of the Criminal Code co urt has the authority to make a decision what
fine to impose (it shall be from 1 to 50000 minimum living standards (MLS), 1 MLS = 125 Litas =
about 31 US dollars)
According to Article 35 of the Criminal Code  confiscation  of property is an additional penalty
mandatory imposed by court for the commission of the  illegal reproduction of a literary, scientific or
artistic work, audiovisual work or a phonogram, importing, exporting, distributing, carrying or
possessing infringing copies  (Article 1421 of the Criminal Code ) (for more information please see
Lithuania's replies to questions 21 and 24 Checklist of Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001
(document IP/N/6/LTU/1)).
6. Please explain the kind and amounts of crim inal penalties including implement and fines
regarding intellectual property rights, citing the relevant provisions of your country's law. In
particular, are the crimes persecuted only when the injured party has made a formal complaint?Please explain whether penalties are consistent with Article 61 of the TRIPS Agreement, which
requires provisions for a sufficient deterrent, consistently with the level of penalties applied for crimes
of a corresponding gravity.
See reply to question 5 posed by Japan.
Under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure a criminal action may be initiated by
a report of such crime by anyone to the responsible authorities (inquiry officers, investigators,
prosecutors, courts or judges), or on the own initiative of these authorities.
Within the context of Lithuanian legislation, the penalties are fully consistent with Article 61
of the TRIPS Agreement.
7. Please indicate titles of laws and regulations and their provisions in which the suspension of
the release of counterfeit trademark or pirated copyright goods is prescribed, as stipulated in
Article 51 of the TRIPS Agreement.
According to Article 5 of the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Field of
Import and Export of Goods:
"Goods which are to be considered as goods infringing an intellectual property right shall be
prohibited from being brought into the customs territory of the Republic of Lithuania
(including the carriage of such goods in transit), being released for free circulation, being anobject of outright export and re-export, being placed under other export and import
procedures, also from entry into a free zone and free warehouse. If in the course of customs
control by the customs authorities it appears evident that goods to be considered as goods
infringing an intellectual property right are intended to be placed under prohibited procedures
listed in this Article, action by the customs authorities prescribed by this Law shall be takenwith respect to those goods."IP/C/W/335
Page 18
SWITZERLAND
A. PATENTS
1. Does your legislation grant patent protection for the inventions relating to products and
processes in all fields of technology? Are there any exceptions? If so, please explain what these
exceptions are and how they comply with Art. 27 TRIPS Agreement?
The last amendments of the Article 2 of th e Patent Law made on 30 October 2001 provide:
Article 2. Patentable Inventions
Patents shall be available for any inventions in a ll fields of technology, provided that they are
new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application.
The following shall not be regarded as inventions:
(1) discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
(2) design of products;
(3) schemes, rules and methods of games, intellectual or economic activities, as well as
programmes for computers; and
(4) presentations of information.
Patents shall not be granted for:
(1) methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy, and
diagnostic and prophylactic methods practised on the human or animal body. This
provision shall not apply if an object of invention is equipment or materials utilised
for such methods;
(2) plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of
plants or animals. This provision shall not apply to microbiological processes for  the
production of plants or animals or the products thereof;
(3) inventions for the commercial exploitation of which would be contrary to public
interests, principles of morality and humanity. Decisions to refuse granting patents
may not be adopted merely because the exploitation of such inventions is prohibited
by laws or other legal acts.
Where the object of invention is a method, patent protection shall also be granted with respect
to a product made by such method."
The exceptions mentioned above, in our opinion, are in full compliance with exceptions of the
patentability provided in the paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement.
2. Does your legislation, in accordance with Article 27.1 in combination with Article 31of the
TRIPS Agreement, consider impor tation as "working" a patent (and therefore preclude compulsory
licensing, if a product is being imported)?IP/C/W/335
Page 19
The Patent Law has no exact provision concerning importation as "working" patent. However,
under the paragraph 3 of Article 60 of the Patent Law which provides "Foreign legal and natural
persons shall enjoy all rights provided for in this Law and other standard acts regulating the protectionof the rights of the patent owner" all patents granted in Lithuania give the same rights to the patent
owners.
The Article regulates the rights of the owner of a patent and provides:
"Where the subject-matter of a patent is a product, the owner of the patent shall have the
exclusive right to prevent third parties not having the owner's consent from the acts of
making, using, offering for sale, selling, importing or exporting that product.
Where the subject-matter of a patent is a process, the owner of the patent shall have the
exclusive right to prevent third parties not having the owner's consent from the act of using
the process, and from the acts of using, offering for sale, selling, importing or exporting aproduct obtained directly by that process.
The owner of the patent shall have no right to prevent third parties from performing acts
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, provided that:
(1) the act is done privately and for non-commercial purposes and it does not
significantly prejudice the economic interests of the owner of the patent;
(2) the act is done for experimental purposes or for scientific research, and this does not
conflict with a normal exploitation of the patent and does not unreasonably prejudice
the legitimate interests of the patent owner;
(3) the act consists of preparing medicines for individual cases in a pharmacy upon the
prescription of a physician or if it is indicated how to use the medicines so prepared.
The owner of the patent shall have the right to prevent all third parties from supplying or
offering to supply essential elements of the patented invention with the exception of those
which are widely known in the economic activities, if the supply and offering to supply them
is necessary for performing the acts provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
Rights to the patent application and the patent itself shall be inheritable. The state shall not
inherit these rights."
Article 39 of the Patent Law provides:
"The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may adopt a resolution to permit a central or
local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise which does not
have the rights of a legal person to market, without the agreement of the owner of a patent, a
patented invention in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, if:
- an invention protected by a patent is related to public needs, national security
and public health protection, development of economically important sectors;
- the court determines that a method of the exploitation of an invention
employed by the owner of a patent or licensee is anti-competitive.IP/C/W/335
Page 20
An invention may be exploited only for the purpose in respect of which the resolution has
been adopted. The owner of a patent must, for the exploitation of the invention, be
remunerated fairly, taking into consideration economic value of the invention.
If the owner of a patent or a person who has au thorization to use an invention, requests, the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania may, taking into consideration their reasons, changethe conditions of the use of a patented invention, and time limits of the validity of permission.
When authorization to use a patented inventi on is issued to the owner of a patent which
improves a previously patented invention (s econd invention) and that may infringe the
exclusive rights of the owner of the first patent, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
shall, before the adoption of this resolution, take into consideration the following additional
conditions:
- the claimed in the second patent shall involve an important technical advance
of considerable economic significance in relation to the invention claimed in
the first patent;
- the owner of the first patent shall be entitled to a cross-licence (authorization
to each owner to use the patented inventions) to use the invention claimed in
the second patent;
- the use authorised in respect of the first patent shall be non-assignable except
with the assignment of the second patent.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may declare the resolution null and void, if the
circumstances which led to the authorization to use a patented invention cease to exist, or if a
central or local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise whichdoes not have the rights of a legal person uses a patented invention for the purpose other than
that in respect of which the resolution has been adopted.
Authorization to exploit an invention must be non-exclusive, i.e. the owner of a patent shall
not lose the right to use a patented invention himself, and it shall not prohibit the owner of a
patent to conclude license agreements related to the use of a patented invention as well as tofurther exploit a patented invention or to implement his rights in other ways.
Authorization to use a patented invention may not be transferred, except when the enterprise
(or a part thereof) in which a patented invention is used, is transferred in a manner prescribed
by law.
Attached to a request to permit the exploitatio n of a patented invention must be evidences
confirming that the person seeking authorization has requested, but has not received
authorization of the owner of a patent to use the patented invention. This provision shall notapply in the case of a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency or in
cases of public non-commercial use of a patent ed invention. The owner of a patent must be
informed in writing about a resolution, which is being drawn up, concerning the authorization
to use a patented invention, and about an intention to use a patented invention for the purposes
provided for in subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning the authorization to
use a patented invention without the consent of the owner of a patent may be appealed against
in court in a manner prescribed by law.IP/C/W/335
Page 21
Upon the receipt of the resolution of the Govern ment of the Republic of Lithuania concerning
the authorization to exploit an invention, the State Patent Bureau shall publish information on
the authorization in the next issue of its Official Bulletin."
3. Does your legislation make the granting of the compulsory licence subject to all the
conditions enumerated in Article 31 of the TRIPS Ag reement? Please cite the relevant provisions of
the law.
Yes, the Patent Law makes the granting of the compulsory licence subject to all the
conditions enumerated in Article 31 of the TRI PS Agreement. Article 39 of the Law provides:
"The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may adopt a resolution to permit a central or
local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise which does not
have the rights of a legal person to market, without the agreement of the owner of a patent, a
patented invention in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, if:
- an invention protected by a patent is related to public needs, national security
and public health protection, development of economically important sectors;
- the court determines that a method of the exploitation of an invention
employed by the owner of a patent or licensee is anti-competitive.
An invention may be exploited only for the purpose in respect of which the resolution has
been adopted. The owner of a patent must, for the exploitation of the invention, be
remunerated fairly, taking into consideration economic value of the invention.
If the owner of a patent or a person who has au thorization to use an invention, requests, the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania may, taking into consideration their reasons, change
the conditions of the use of a patented invention, and time limits of the validity of permission.
When authorization to use a patented inventi on is issued to the owner of a patent which
improves a previously patented invention (s econd invention) and that may infringe the
exclusive rights of the owner of the first patent, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
shall, before the adoption of this resolution, take into consideration the following additional
conditions:
- the claimed in the second patent shall involve an important technical advance
of considerable economic significance in relation to the invention claimed in
the first patent;
- the owner of the first patent shall be entitled to a cross-licence (authorization
to each owner to use the patented inventions)to use the invention claimed in
the second patent;
- the use authorised in respect of the first patent shall be non-assignable except
with the assignment of the second patent.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may declare the resolution null and void, if the
circumstances which led to the authorization to use a patented invention cease to exist, or if a
central or local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise which
does not have the rights of a legal person uses a patented invention for the purpose other thanthat in respect of which the resolution has been adopted.IP/C/W/335
Page 22
Authorization to exploit an invention must be non-exclusive, i.e. the owner of a patent shall
not lose the right to use a patented invention himself, and it shall not prohibit the owner of a
patent to conclude license agreements related to the use of a patented invention as well as to
further exploit a patented invention or to implement his rights in other ways.
Authorization to use a patented invention may not be transferred, except when the enterprise
(or a part thereof) in which a patented invention is used, is transferred in a manner prescribed
by law.
Attached to a request to permit the exploitatio n of a patented invention must be evidences
confirming that the person seeking authorization has requested, but has not received
authorization of the owner of a patent to use the patented invention. This provision shall not
apply in the case of a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency or in
cases of public non-commercial use of a patent ed invention. The owner of a patent must be
informed in writing about a resolution, which is being drawn up, concerning the authorization
to use a patented invention, and about an intention to use a patented invention for the purposes
provided for in subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning the authorization to
use a patented invention without the consent of the owner of a patent may be appealed againstin court in a manner prescribed by law.
Upon the receipt of the resolution of the Govern ment of the Republic of Lithuania concerning
the authorization to exploit an invention, the State Patent Bureau shall publish information on
the authorization in the next issue of its Official Bulletin."
4. Does your legislation provide for the principle of the reversal of burden of proof in a process
patent litigation? Please cite the relevant provision of law.
Yes, it does.
The last amendments of the paragraph 5 and 6 of Article 41 of the Patent Law made on
30 October 2001 provide:
Article 41. Protection of Rights
"If the subject-matter of a patent is a process for obtaining a product and the product obtained
by the defendant is identical to the product obtained by the patented process, or if there is a
reason to believe that the product is produced by infringing the patent, but the plaintiff is
unable through reasonable efforts to determine the process actually used, the defendant must
prove that the process to obtain the identical product is different from the patented process.
In the adduction of proof that the process to obtain an identical product is different from the
patented product, the protection of defendant's manufacturing and commercial secrets must be
ensured."
Patent Law provides and possibility to start action declaring the non-infringement of the
patent:IP/C/W/335
Page 23
Article 42. Declaration of Non-Infringement
"Any person concerned shall have the right to institute court proceedings against the owner of
the patent requesting the court to declare that the performance of a specific act does not
constitute infringement of the patent.
If the person concerned proves that the acts performed by him do not constitute infringement
of the patent, the court shall pass the decision of non-infringement.
The owner of the patent shall notify any licensees of the proceedings. In the absence of any
provision to the contrary in the licence agreemen t the licensees shall have the right to join the
proceedings."
B. PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
5. Please explain in detail if your legislation ensures that undisclosed test or other data
submitted by an applicant to the responsible State agency in the procedure for market authorization ofa pharmaceutical or of an agriculture chemical pr oduct is protected against disclosure and against
unfair commercial use by a competitor, for example by prohibiting a second applicant from relying
on, or from referring to the original data of the first applicant, when applying subsequently for market
authorization for a similar product.
Does your legislation provide for exceptions to this? If yes, under what conditions would such
exceptions apply?
Does your legislation set a specific term of protection for undisclosed test or other data of the
first applicant?
See replies to questions 3 and 4 posed by Japan.
C. E
NFORCEMENT
6. Please indicate remedies provided by your legislation, which constitute effective deterrents to
infringements of intellectual property rights.
See the reply to question 5 posed by Japan and Lithuania's responses to the Checklist of
Issues on Enforcement (question 5) of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1).
7. Please describe any new initiatives that are planned to improve enforcement of intellectual
property rights in your country, particularly initiatives related to criminal enforcement.
Lithuania has criminal procedures and penalties, which are sufficient to act as a deterrent for
cases of criminal copyright infringements. Therefore, no new initiatives are planned in the sphere of
criminal enforcement in near future. But some ne w changes related to administrative measures are
foreseen. The Draft of Law on Amendments to the Code of Administrative Law Infringements has
been prepared taking into consideration the provisions of new Law on Protection of Intellectual
Property Rights in the Sphere of Import and Export of Goods. These amendments will allow
extending the application of the administrative liabi lity for copyright and related rights infringements
(including the administrative liability for unlawful importation, exportation and transportation of
infringing copies for commercial purposes). The Draft of Law has been submitted to the Parliament.IP/C/W/335
Page 24
UNITED STATES
A. GENERAL
1. Please describe, in relation to each form of intellectual property covered by the TRIPS
Agreement, including plant variety protection, the manner in which national treatment and most
favoured nation treatment are provided to nationals of other WTO Members.
See the reply to question 2 posed by Canada.
B. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
2. Please explain whether and how the copyright law of Lithuania complies with Article 9 of the
TRIPS Agreement requiring that Members comply with all Articles 1 through 21 of the Berne
Convention (1971), except Article 6 bis, since Members do not have rights or obligations relating to
the latter Article under the TRIPS Agreement.
Lithuania acceded to the Berne Convention (1971) on 29 July 1994. Nevertheless, the
Lithuanian Law on Copyright and Related Rights includes provisions, which fully reflect Articles 1
though 21 of the Berne Convention and thus wholly comply with the provision in Article 9 of the
TRIPS Agreement. Furthermore, Articles 14 and 43  of the Law include the scope of moral rights.
3. Please explain how the copyright law of Lithuan ia protects computer programs as literary
works and complications of data as required by Article 10 of the TRIPS Agreement.
The Law on Copyright and Related Rights protects computer programs  and complications of
data as required by Article 10 of the TRIPS Agreement.
Article 2(16) of the Law provides that "computer program" means a set of instructions
expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form capable, when incorporated in a computer-
readable medium, of causing a computer to perform a particular task or achieve a particular result; thisnotion also includes preparatory design material of such instructions, provided that the nature of the
preparatory design material is such that the said set of instructions may be established from it.
Article 4(2)(1) of the Law expressly states th at computer programs are protected on the same
terms as literary works. Computer programs are protected for the life of the author and for 70 years
after his death, irrespective of the date when the work is lawfully made available to the public.
Article 2(6) of the Law provides that "database" means a collection of independent works,
data or any other material arranged in a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible by
electronic or other means, except for computer programs used in the making or operation of such
databases.
Article 4(3)(2) of the Law includes collections of works or collections of data, databases
(expressed in a machine- readable form, or in any other form), which, by reason of the selection or
arrangement of their contents are the result of intellectual creation of an author as subjects ofprotection.
Article 4(4) of the Law provides that copyright in derivative works and collections shall apply
without prejudice to the copyright in the work or works on the basis of which a derivative work has
been created or a collection has been made, and shall not extend to the data or material, which is not
attributed to the subject-matter of copyright employed in the database.IP/C/W/335
Page 25
4. Article 11 of the TRIPS Agreement requires that rental rights for computer programs and
cinematographic works be available. Please cite to  the corresponding provisions of the copyright law
of Lithuania.
The Law on Copyright and Related Rights complies with Article 11 of the TRIPS Agreement
as it grants rental right to authors and holders of the neighboring rights.
Article 15(1)(5) of the Law gives the author of literary, scientific or artistic work the right to
authorize or prohibit distribution of the original or copies of the work to the public by sale, rental,
lending, or by any other transfer of ownership or possession. This right also applies to the exploitation
of computer programs and audiovisual works.
5. Please state the length and terms of protection the copyright law of Lithuania provides for a
work other than a photographic work or a work of applied art and cite to the relevant provision of
law.
Article 30 of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights states that author's economic rights
shall run for the life of the author and for 70 years after his death, irrespective of the date when the
work is lawfully made available to the public.
Article 31 of the Law provides special duration of the economic rights of authors:
(1) The duration of the authors' economic rights in a joint work shall run for the life of
co-authors and for 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.
(2) With regard to anonymous and pseudonymous works, the duration of the authors'
economic rights shall run for 70 years after the work is lawfully disclosed to the
public. However, when the pseudonym adopted by the author leaves no doubt as to
his identity, or if the author discloses his identity during the prescribed period, theduration of protection shall run for the life of the author and for 70 years after his
death.
(3) With regard to collective works, the duration of the authors' economic rights shall run
for 70 years after the lawful communication to the public of the work. In cases where
the natural persons who have created the work leave no doubt as to their identity,provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply.
(4) The duration of authors' economic rights in an audiovisual work shall extend over the
life of the principal director, author of the screenplay, author of the dialogue, artist,
cameraman and the composer of music specifically created for the audiovisual work,
and for 70 years after the death of the last of them to survive.
The duration provided for in Articles 30, 31 and 32 of the Law shall be calculated from the
first day of January of the year following the event which gives rise to the calculation of the duration.
Where a work is published in separate units (volumes, parts, issues, or episodes), the duration
of protection shall be calculated for each separate unit from the date of its lawful publication
(Article 33 of the Law).
6. Please describe the protection the copyright law of Lithuania provides for performers, and
the term of the protection.IP/C/W/335
Page 26
Pursuant to Article 44(1) of the Law on Copyri ght and Related Rights a performer shall have
the exclusive rights to perform or to authorize any of the following acts:
(1) broadcasting or retransmission of his performance or the fixation thereof;
(2) fixation of his unfixed (unrecorded) performance;
(3) direct or indirect reproduction of a fixation of his performance in any manner or
form;
(4) communication to the public of his performance;
(5) distribution of the original or copies of a fixation of his performance by sale, rental,
lending or any other form of transferring ownership or possession;
(6) import of copies of the fixation of his performance.
Under the Article 43 of the Law, performer, independently of his exclusive economic rights,
and even after the transfer of those rights to other persons, shall retain his moral rights in his liveperformance or the fixation of his performance. A performer shall have the right to claim to be
identified as the performer in connection with any use of his performance or the fixation thereof, and
to object to any distortion or other modification of his performance or the fixation thereof, as well as
other derogatory action in relation thereto which would be prejudicial to his honour or reputation. A
performer's moral rights shall not be subject to transfer to other persons.
Article 50(1) of the Law states that the rights of performers shall run for 50 years after the
date of the performance. If a fixation of the performance is lawfully published or lawfully
communicated to the public within this period, the rights of performers shall run for fifty years from
the date of the first such publication or the first such communication to the public, whichever is the
earlier.
The duration shall be calculated from the first day of January of the year following the event
which gives rise to the calculation of the duration.
The protection of the moral rights of performers shall be of unlimited duration.
7. Article 14.2 of the TRIPS Agreement provides th at producers of phonograms are to enjoy the
right to authorize or prohibit the direct or indirect reproduction of their phonograms. Article 14.2requires that producers of phonograms are to have the right to authorize or prohibit the commercial
rental to the public of originals or copies of their phonograms. Please describe how the copyright law
of Lithuania implements these obligations  and indicate the term of protection.
The producer of a phonogram shall have exclusive right to prohibit or to authorize direct or
indirect reproduction of a phonogram in any manner or form, which is provided under
Article 45(1)(1) of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights.
Pursuant to Article 50(2) of the Law, the rights of producers of phonograms shall run for 50
years after the fixation is made. If the phonogram is lawfully published or lawfully communicated to
the public during this period, the rights shall expire 50 years from the date of the first such publication
or the first such communication to the public, whichever is the earlier.
The duration shall be calculated from the first day of January of the year following the event,
which gives rise to the calculation of the duration.IP/C/W/335
Page 27
C. TRADEMARKS
8. Please describe the subject-matter that can comprise a trademark under the trademark law of
Lithuania.
Paragraph 1 of the Article 2 of the Law on Trademarks provides:
"Trademark" means any sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person
from those of other persons and capable of being represented graphically. For the purposes of
this Law, a service mark shall also be treated as a trademark".
Article 5 of the Law provides:
"Marks, with respect to which legal protection under this Law is applicable, may consist of
signs, in particular:
(1) words, personal surnames, names, artistic pseudonyms, names of firms, slogans;
(2) letters, numerals;
(3) drawings, emblems;
(4) three-dimensional form (the shape of goods, their packaging or containers);
(5) colours or combinations of colours, their compositions;
(6) any combination of signs specified in subparagraphs 1-5 of this Article."
9. Please describe the procedure that must be followed to register a trademark in Lithuania,
citing the relevant provisions of the law, and descri be the rights that the owner of a registered mark
can exercise.
Article 3 of the Law on Trademarks provides that the Law shall apply to every mark intended
to identify goods and/or services, for which registration is sought in the application filed at the State
Patent Bureau or which is registered in the manner prescribed by this Law, or which is subject tointernational registration, in effect in Lithuania. This Law shall also apply to the marks recognised as
well-known in Lithuania (for more information conc erning "well-known" marks please see to reply to
question 2 posed by Japan).
The registration procedure of the marks by national and international way is foreseen in
Chapter III-V of the Law and should be the follow:
Article 11. Filing of an Application
1. An applicant who wishes to register a mark must file an application to the State Patent
Bureau.
2. The representative may also file an application to the State Patent Bureau on behalf of the
applicant. Foreign nationals who are not permanent residents of the Republic of Lithuania and legal
persons of foreign states who do not have a subsidiary or representation registered in the Republic of
Lithuania shall file applications to the State Patent Bureau and perform all actions relating to theregistration of the mark with the State Patent Bureau, including also representation at the Appeals
Division, through the patent attorney  of the Republic of Lithuania.IP/C/W/335
Page 28
3. One application shall be filed for the registration of one mark.
4. An application for the registration of a mark shall consist of:
(1) a request for the registration of a mark and issuance of the trade mark certificate
signed by the applicant or his representative;
(2) a document certifying payment of the fixed fee;
(3) the power of attorney given to a person, where the application is filed by an
authorised person;
(4) a request to be granted priority (where appropriate);
(5) a permit issued by competent authorities under subparagraphs 8 and 9 of paragraph 1
of Article 6 of this Law (where appropriate);
(6) regulations governing the use of a collective mark (where appropriate);
(7) consent of the owner of the rights according to subparagraph 6 of paragraph 1 of
Article 7 of this Law (where appropriate).
5. A request for the registration of a mark and issuance of the trade mark certificate shall
contain:
(1) information identifying the applicant and his representative;
(2) a reproduction and description of the mark in respect of which registration is applied
for;
(3) the names of goods and/or services for which registration is requested, classified in
accordance with the Nice classification effective on the date of filing of the
application;
(4) a statement that the mark in respect of which registration is applied for is a three-
dimensional mark (where appropriate);
(5) a statement that colour or combination, composition of colours are considered a
distinctive feature of the mark (where appropriate);
(6) a statement as to which elements of the mark are considered a disclaimer (where
appropriate);
(7) a statement that the mark is registered and published in standard characters of the
State Patent Bureau (where appropriate);
(8) a transliteration of the mark or its verbal elements, also their translation into
Lithuanian (where appropriate);
(9) a statement that the mark for which an application for registration is filed is a
collective mark.IP/C/W/335
Page 29
6. An application may contain a request for registration of one or more classes of goods and/or
services. A fixed additional fee shall be payable for more than one class of goods and/or services
indicated in the application.
Article 12. Date of Filing of Application
1. The date of receipt by the State Patent Bureau of the documents listed in subparagraphs 1 and
2 of paragraph 4 of Article 11 of this Law shall be considered the date of filing of the application.
2. In case of failure to submit at least one of the documents listed in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of
paragraph 4 of Article 11 of this Law, a date of filing shall not be accorded to the application and the
application documents shall be returned to the applicant with the grounds for the inadmissibility of the
application indicated.
Article 13. Examination of Application
1. The State Patent Bureau shall conduct, within one month from the receipt of the application, a
formal examination of the application documents: check whether or not the documents specified in
subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 4 of Article 11 of this Law have been filed and whether they
comply with the formal requirements.
2. The State Patent Bureau shall recognise an application as having been filed and shall accord
to it a date of filing and a number, provided that the documents specified in subparagraphs 1 and 2 ofparagraph 4 of Article 11 of this Law have been filed and all the formal requirements have been
complied with.
3. Having performed the actions specified in paragraph 2 of this Article, the State Patent Bureau
shall supply the applicant or his representative with a notice of acceptance of the application wherein
the date of filing of the application and th e number accorded to it shall be indicated.
4. Having accorded the application a date of filing, the State Patent Bureau shall check whether
or not all the documents specified in paragraph 4 of Article 11 of this Law have been filed, whether
they comply with the requirements of this Law and the Regulations, and whether the goods and/or
services for which registration is requested are in compliance with the requirements of the Nice
classification.
5. Having ascertained that not all the documents specified in paragraph 4 of Article 11 of this
Law have been filed or that the documents do not comply with the requirements of this Law and the
Regulations, the State Patent Bureau shall notify the applicant or his representative thereof in writing,
indicating the deficiencies and the required remedying. If the deficiencies in the application are not
remedied within three months from the sending of the notification, the State Patent Bureau shall
recognise the application as having not been filed and shall notify the applicant or his representative
thereof in writing.
6. Having ascertained that the goods and/or services do not comply with the Nice classification,
the State Patent Bureau shall send a notification to the applicant or his representative, pointing out the
deficiencies and indicating which deficiencies must be remedied. If the deficiencies referred to above
are not remedied within three months from the date of sending of the notification or if the applicant or
his representative objects to the instructions of the State Patent Bureau, the State Patent Bureau shallreject the entire application or the part thereof which refers to the goods and/or services the
classification whereof was objected to by the applicant or his representative and shall notify the
applicant or his representative thereof in writing.IP/C/W/335
Page 30
Article 14. Examination of the Mark
1. Having conducted an examination to the application the State Patent Bureau shall carry out an
examination of the mark with a view to ascertaining whether or not it satisfies the requirements of
Article 6 of this Law.
2. Where, under Article 6 of this Law, a mark is not registrable, the State Patent Bureau shall
adopt a decision to refuse the registration of the mark in respect of all or some of the goods and/or
services. The decision which must indicate grounds and reasons for the refusal of the registration of
the mark shall be sent to the applicant or his re presentative within ten days from the adoption thereof.
3. The applicant or his representative shall have the right to submit to the State Patent Bureau
within three months from the day of sending of the decision to refuse registration a written request for
a re- examination.
4. Having received a request for a re-examination and upon examining the arguments submitted
by the applicant, the State Patent Bureau shall conduct a re-examination and adopt one of the
following decisions:
(1) to declare the previous decision invalid and to register the mark in respect of all or
only some of the goods and/or services;
(2) to leave valid the decision to refuse registration of the mark.
5. The State Patent Bureau shall send the adopted decision to the applicant or his representative
within ten days from the adoption thereof.
Article 15. Filing of Appeal
1. An applicant or his representative who objects to the decision adopted by the State Patent
Bureau after the re-examination shall have the right to file with the Appeals Division of the StatePatent Bureau (hereinafter - Appeals Division), within three months from the day of sending of the
decision, a written appeal with a substantiated request for a review of the findings of the examination
and a document certifying the payment of the fixed fee.
2. Following the examination of the appeal, the Appeals Division shall adopt one of the
following decisions:
(1) to grant the appeal and to adopt a decision to register the mark in respect of all or
some of the goods and/or services;
(2) to dismiss the appeal and to uphold the decision to refuse the registration of the mark.
3. Where the applicant or his representative objects to the decision of the Appeals Division, he
shall have the right to appeal against the decision of the Appeals Division to the Vilnius County Court
within six months from the date of adopti on of the decision by the Appeals Division.
Article 16. Registration of a Mark
1. Upon ascertaining that the mark meets the requirements of Article 6, the State Patent Bureau
shall adopt a decision to register the mark and shall within ten days from the date of adoption of the
decision send the decision and instruction to pay the fixed fee to the applicant or his representative.IP/C/W/335
Page 31
2. Having granted the appeal under Article 15 of this Law, the State Patent Bureau shall further
act in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. After the applicant or his representative presents a document certifying the payment of the
fee, the mark shall be registered in the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania.
Information of the registered mark shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the State PatentBureau.
Article 17. Withdrawal of the Application
1. If the applicant or his representative fails to pay the fee within three months from the day of
sending of the decision to register the mark, the application shall be deemed withdrawn on the
decision of the State Patent Bureau.
2. Within ten days from the adoption of the decision that the application shall be deemed
withdrawn the State Patent Bureau shall send the decision to the applicant or his representative.
3. The applicant or his representative shall have the right to withdraw his application or restrict
the list of goods and/or services contained therein at any stage of examination of the application or the
mark.
Article 18. Opposition
1. Within a period of three months following the publication of the registered mark in the
Official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau, the interested persons may give to the Appeals Division a
justified written opposition to registration of the mark on the grounds that it may not be registered
under Articles 6 and 7 of this Law.
2. The filing of opposition shall be subject to the payment of the fixed fee.
3. The Appeals Division shall verify within fourteen days from the day of receipt of the
opposition whether the opposition complies with the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
Article. Where the opposition is filed according to the procedure laid down in this Law and the
Regulations and complies with the above requirements, the Appeals Division shall accept the
opposition as admissible and shall communicate one copy of the opposition to the proprietor of the
mark against which the opposition is filed or his representative.
4. The proprietor of the mark against which opposition is filed or his representative must within
three months from the date of sending of the opposition file a justified reply to the opposition. Failure
to file a justified reply to the opposition shall be  considered as a refusal to participate in the
examination of the opposition and shall not prev ent the Appeals Division from examining the
opposition in the absence of the proprietor of the mark against which the opposition has been filed or
his representative.
5. Following the examination of the opposition, the Appeals Division shall adopt one of the
following decisions:
(1) to decide that the opposition is allowable and declare registration of the mark invalid
in respect of all or some of the goods and/or services;
(2) to reject the opposition and leave the registration of the mark valid.IP/C/W/335
Page 32
6. The proprietor of the mark against which opposition is filed or his representative, or the
person who filed the opposition or his representative, who did not attend the opposition examination
proceedings, shall be within one month from th e day of making of the decision communicated the
decision in writing with a copy of decision attached to the communication.
7. The decision made by the Appeals Division may be appealed against to the Vilnius County
Court within six months from the day of adoption thereof.
8. Decisions made by the Appeals Division shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the
State Patent Bureau.
Article 19. Appeal and Opposition Exam ination at the State Patent Bureau
1. Appeal or opposition proceedings conducted by the Appeals Division shall be public.
2. The applicant, the interested person, the proprietor of the mark against which opposition has
been filed or the representatives of the above persons shall have the right to take part in the appeal oropposition proceedings at the Appeals Division.
3. Appeal and opposition examination procedure shall be set forth in the Regulations for Appeal
and Opposition Examination approved by the Director of the State Patent Bureau.
Article 20. Certificate of Registration of a Mark
1. The State Patent Bureau shall issue a registration certificate to the proprietor of a registered
mark or his representative, unless opposition has been filed in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 18 of this Law or if opposition has been rejected or satisfied in respect of some of the
goods and/or services pursuant to paragraph 5 of Article 18 of this Law. Where the proprietor of the
mark or his representative fails to collect the certificate within one month from the day of issue of the
certificate of registration of the mark, he shall be sent the certificate by post.
2. The form of the certificate of registration of a mark and the data recorded therein shall be
established by the State Patent Bureau.
3. Certificate of the registration of a mark is a legal document certifying the entry of the mark in
the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania and the exclusive rights of the proprietor of
the mark to the registered mark.
4. If the proprietor of the mark loses the certificate of registration of the mark, he shall be issued
a duplicate of the certificate.
Article 21. Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania
1. The Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania is a state register. The Register
shall be administered by the State Patent Bureau.
2. The procedure for accumulating, keeping, storing and using the documents and data relating
to trade marks shall be established by the Statute of the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic ofLithuania approved by the Government.IP/C/W/335
Page 33
Article 22. Data of the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania
1. The following data shall be recorded and stored in the Register of Trade Marks of the
Republic of Lithuania:
(1) reproduction of the mark;
(2) names of goods and/or services for which registration of the mark is applied for,
classified according to the Nice classification effective on the day of filing of the
application;
(3) date of filing of the application and its file number;
(4) date of registration of the mark and its file number;
(5) the applicant's name or personal name, surname and address (headquarters);
(6) name or personal name, surname and address (headquarters) of the proprietor of the
mark;
(7) date of expiry of registration;
(8) priority date, first application file number, code of the state, provided that priority has
been given under paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law;
(9) name of the exhibition, date of display of goods and/or services, provided that priority
has been given under paragraph 2 of Article 10 of this Law;
(10) personal name, surname, address (headquarters) of the representative, where he has
been appointed;
(11) a statement that the mark is collective, three-dimensional or that colour constitutes
distinctive character of the mark;
(12) other data relating to the registration, use and protection of the mark;
(13) grounds for and date of amendment of the data.
2. All natural and legal persons shall have the right to use the data of the Register of Trade
Marks of the Republic of Lithuania according to the procedure laid down by the Regulations of the
Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania.
3. The State Patent Bureau shall issue extracts from the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic
of Lithuania at the request of any person who has paid the fixed fee.
Article 23. Recording of Changes in the Applicati on and in the Register of Trade Marks of the
Republic of Lithuania
1. The applicant, the proprietor of the mark or his representative must notify the State Patent
Bureau of:
(1) changes in the name or personal name, surname or address (headquarters) of the
applicant or the proprietor of the mark;IP/C/W/335
Page 34
(2) changes of the representative of the applicant or proprietor of the mark or his address
(headquarters);
(3) changes in the representation of the mark applied for registration or of the registered
mark where, in the opinion of the State Patent Bureau, the change is not related to the
distinctive character of the mark;
(4) limitation of the list of goods and/or services;
(5) the full or partial change of the applicant or the proprietor of the mark;
(6) the need to correct technical errors.
2. Requesting for change to be recorded in the application or in the Register of Trade Marks of
the Republic of Lithuania, the applicant, the proprietor of the mark or their representative shall submit
the following documents:
(1) request for recording changes in the application or in the Register of Trade Marks of
the Republic of Lithuania;
(2) documents substantiating the request where the recording of amendments specified in
subparagraphs 5 and 6 of paragraph 1 of this Article is requested;
(3) a document certifying the payment of the fixed fee.
3. Following the receipt of the documents specified in paragraph 2 of this Article, the State
Patent Bureau shall verify them within one month from the date of receipt and record the change in
the application or in the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania, provided that they
meet the requirements laid down by this Law and the Regulations.
4. The change shall become valid from the day of  its recording. A notice of the change in the
Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania shall be published in the Official Bulletin of theState Patent Bureau.
5. Technical error made by the State Patent Bureau shall be corrected free of charge.
Article 24. Removal of a Mark from the Register
1. A mark shall be removed from the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania if:
(1) the Appeals Division declares the registration of the mark invalid according to the
procedure laid down in Article 18 of this Law;
(2) the registration of the mark is declared invalid or revoked by a court decision;
(3) the registration of the mark has not be renewed according to the procedure laid down
in Article 36 of this Law;
(4) the proprietor of the mark requests for the mark to be removed from the Register.
2. The State Patent Bureau shall remove the mark from the Register of Trade Marks of the
Republic of Lithuania following the receipt of one of the following documents:IP/C/W/335
Page 35
(1) effective court decision to declare the registration of the mark invalid or to revoke the
registration of the mark;
(2) a written request of the proprietor of the mark.
3. After the Appeals Division takes a decision to declare the registration of a mark invalid, or in
case of failure to renew the registration of the mark according to the procedure laid down in Article 36of this Law, the mark shall be removed from the Register on the initiative of the State Patent Bureau.
4. A notice of removal of the mark from the Register shall be published in the Official Bulletin
of the State Patent Bureau.
Article 25. Requirements for the Documents Filed to the State Patent Bureau
1. Documents shall be filed to the State Patent Bureau in the state language. If the documents,
except for the application for the registration of a mark and for the issuance of a trade mark certificate,
are filed in a language which is not the state language, the applicant, the proprietor of the mark or hisrepresentative must within three months from the day of filing of the documents submit the
documents translated into the state language.
2. The power of attorney to represent the applicant or the proprietor of the mark shall be issued
in writing and shall not be subject to notarial verification. Where the application for registration of a
mark and for issuance of the trade mark certificate is filed by a representative who, however, fails tosubmit the power of attorney together with the documents listed in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of
paragraph 4 of Article 11 of this Law, the power of attorney must be submitted within three months
from the date of filing of the application.
3. Documents filed to the State Patent Bureau shall be exempt from all legalisation.
4. Specific requirements of the application and other documents shall be established by the
Regulations.
5. A document shall be deemed not to have been filed and the act shall be deemed not to have
been performed if the applicant, the proprietor of the mark or his representative fails to submit the
documents within the time limit set in this La w or the documents have been executed not in
accordance with the requirements.
Article 26. Time Limit
1. Following the filing of a written request and payment of the fixed fee by the applicant or his
representative, the time limits provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 13, paragraph 3 of Article
14, paragraph 1 of Article 15, paragraph 1 of Article 17, paragraph 4 of Article 18, paragraph 1 of
Article 25 may be extended once but for not longer than two months from the day of expiry of the
initial time limit.
2. An application for the extension of time limit must be filed and the fixed fee must be paid
prior to the expiry of the initial time period. The time period shall be extended on the decision of the
State Patent Bureau.
3. The applicant who was unable to observe the time limit set in paragraph 1 of Article 17 may
be reinstated upon filing the following documents:
(1) a substantiated request to reinstate the unobserved time limit;IP/C/W/335
Page 36
(2) a document stating the grounds of non-observance of the time limit;
(3) a document certifying the payment of the fixed fee.
4. Reinstatement specified in paragraph 3 of this Article shall be granted on the decision of the
Director of the State Patent Bureau.
5. Refusal to extend the time limit or to grant reinstatement may be appealed to court in the
manner prescribed by law.
Article 27. Fees
1. The filing of an application and other acts provided for in this Law shall be subject to the
payment of the fixed fee.
2. The amount of fees, specific actions for which fees are payable, the procedure for paying the
fees shall be established by this Law and other tax laws of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 28. Right to a Collective Mark
1. A union (association, union, consortium, etc.) of persons shall have the right to file an
application for the registration of a collective mark.
2. All provisions of this Law, except for the provisions of Articles 43 and 44, shall apply to a
collective mark.
Article 29. Registration and Use of a Collective Mark
1. A collective mark shall be registered in the name of the union of persons and only when the
regulations for the use thereof, approved by the union, are filed together with the application. The
regulations shall contain the following data:
(1) the name and the headquarters of the union of persons in the name whereof an
application for the registration of a collective mark has been filed;
(2) the purpose of the union of persons and representation procedure;
(3) membership conditions;
(4) information relating to the union members who have authority to use a collective
mark;
(5) terms and conditions of the use of a collective mark;
(6) rights and obligations of the union members in case of non-fulfillment of the
conditions of use of a collective mark and infringement of rights to it.
2. A collective mark may be transferred only with the consent of all persons who are members
of a union which has registered the collective mark.
3. A collective mark may be constituted of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to
designate the geographical origin of the goods and/or services, the mark, however, shall not entitle the
proprietor to prohibit a third party from using the signs or indications, provided such use is inaccordance with the accepted principles of morality in industrial and commercial matters: inIP/C/W/335
Page 37
particular, such a mark may not be invoked against a third party who is entitled to use a geographical
name in trade.
4. A collective mark shall be deemed used when used by at least one member of the union.
5. Unless otherwise provided in the regulations governing the use of a collective mark, a person
who has authority to use the collective mark may bring an action in infringement of a collective markonly with the consent of the proprietor of the mark.
6. The proprietor of a collective mark must submit to the State Patent Bureau any changes or
supplement of the regulations governing the use of the collective mark.
7. The State Patent Bureau shall refuse the application for a collective mark if the regulations
governing use of the mark do not satisfy the requirements of paragraph 1 of this Article or if they are
contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality. After the applicant amends the
regulations in such a way that the ground for refusal ceases to exist, the collective mark may beregistered according to the procedure established by this Law.
8. Upon submitting a request and subject to the payment of a fixed fee, the interested parties
may inspect the regulations governing the use of the collective mark at the State Patent Bureau.
Article 30. Validity of the International Registration of a Mark
1. From the date of the international registration of the mark extended to the Republic of
Lithuania, or the date of territorial extension made subsequently to the international registration
(hereinafter - subsequent territorial extension) the protection of the mark resulting from international
registration shall be the same as if the mark had been registered in accordance with the provisions of
this Law.
2. Data relating to the international registration of the mark is published in the Gazette of
International Marks of the International Bureau.
3. The State Patent Bureau shall record the data relating to the international registration of the
mark, extended to Lithuania, in the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania.
Article 31. Invalidity of International Registration
1. Where a mark which has been the subject of an international registration does not meet the
requirements of Article 6 of this Law or if an opposition is filed in the manner prescribed by this Law
in respect of the registration of the mark, the Stat e Patent Bureau shall notify the International Bureau
within the time limit set by the Madrid Protocol that the protection of the mark is fully or partially
refused in the Republic of Lithuania.
2. International registration of a mark shall be invalid in the Republic of Lithuania from the day
of the effect of invalidation in the Republic of Lithuania.
3. Where international registration of a mark is canceled at the request of the office of the
country of origin or following the denunciation of the Madrid Protocol by a party to the Madrid
Protocol, the proprietor of the mark may file an application according to the procedure laid down in
this Law requesting registration of the mark in the Republic of Lithuania.
4. An application under paragraph 3 of this Article shall be deemed to have been filed on the day
of international registration of the mark or of the subsequent territorial extension, with due regardIP/C/W/335
Page 38
being had, where appropriate, to the date of granting of priority, provided the following conditions are
observed:
(1) the application is filed within a three month period following the cancellation of
international registration of the mark on the grounds provided for in paragraph 3 of
this Article;
(2) the application comprises no other goods and/or services than those comprised by the
international registration.
(3) the application complies with all the requirements of this Law and the applicant has
paid the fixed fee.
Article 32. Filing of an International Application or  of a Request for Subsequent Territorial Extension
on the Basis of an Application or Registration in the Republic of Lithuania
1. An applicant or a proprietor of the mark who meets the requirements of subparagraph (i) of
paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Madrid Protocol must file an international application or a request for
subsequent territorial extension through the State Patent Bureau.
2. The granting of priority under the provisions of the Paris Convention may be requested while
filing an international application or request for subsequent territorial extension.
3. An international application and request for subsequent territorial extension must be presented
in the form and in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the Madrid Protocol and Common
Regulations under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the
Protocol Relating to that Agreement (hereinafter - Common Regulations of the Madrid Protocol).
4. The procedure for filing and examining the international application and a request for
subsequent territorial extension at the State Patent Bureau shall be established in the Procedure forImplementing the Madrid Protocol, approved by  the Director of the State Patent Bureau.
5. The applicant shall pay a fixed fee for the examination of an international application at the
State Patent Bureau. In case of failure by the applicant to present a document certifying payment of
the fixed fee, the State Patent Bureau shall return the international application.
6. The applicant must pay the fees provided for in the Common Regulations of the Madrid
Protocol directly to the International Bureau.
Article 33. Replacement of a National Registration by an International Registration
1. Where a mark that is the subject of a national registration in the Republic of Lithuania is also
the subject of an international registration, on the initiative of the proprietor the international
registration is deemed to replace the national registration valid in the Republic of Lithuania, if:
(1) the international registration is extended to the Republic of Lithuania ;
(2) all goods and/or services listed in the national registration are also listed in the
international registration;
(3) the international registration has been extended to the Republic of Lithuania after the
filing of an application, based on Article 11 of this Law, to the State Patent Bureau.IP/C/W/335
Page 39
2. Upon request of the proprietor of the mark who has paid the fixed fee, the State Patent Bureau
shall record the data on the replacement of national registration by international registration into the
Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania and shall publish the data in the Official
Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau.
Article 34. Special Provisions Applicable to International Registration of a Mark
1. If the proprietor of a mark of international registration opposes the decision of the State Patent
Bureau to refuse to grant protection on the grounds that the mark does not satisfy the requirements of
Article 6 of this Law, he shall be entitled to request re-examination within five months from the day
of making of the decision. If he fails to file the request within the set time limit, the decision of the
State Patent Bureau shall be deemed final.
2. If the proprietor of a mark of international registration objects to the decision made by the
State Patent Bureau in the course of re-examination, he shall be entitled to file, within a five monthsfrom the day of making of the decision, an appeal to the Appeals Division according to the procedure
set forth in Article 15 of this Law.
3. The interested persons or their representatives must file an opposition to international
registration of a mark within a three months peri od from the day of publishing of information on the
international registration of the mark in the Gazette of International Marks of the InternationalBureau. The opposition must meet the requirements of  paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 18 of this Law.
4. The proprietor of a mark of international registration against which an opposition has been
filed must within a five months period from the date of filing of the opposition appoint his
representative in the manner laid down in paragraph 2 of Article 11 of this Law and present a justified
reply to opposition. Failure to present a justified reply to the opposition shall be considered as arefusal to take part in the examination of the opposition and shall not prevent the Appeals Division
from examining the opposition in the absence of the proprietor of the mark of international
registration or his representative. If the proprietor of the mark of international registration to which
the opposition is filed fails to appoint his representative, the decision made by the Appeals Division
shall not be communicated to the proprietor of the mark of international registration.
5. A license issued by the proprietor of the mark of international registration shall not be valid in
the Republic of Lithuania for third parties if the data of the license contract has not been recorded
according to the procedure established by Article 44 of this Law.
6. Renewal of the international registration of a mark and other issues related to international
registration, which have not been discussed in this Law, shall be regulated by the Madrid Protocol,
Common Regulations of the Madrid Protocol and the Procedure for Implementing the Madrid
Protocol.
10. Please provide the length and terms of protection that the trademark law of Lithuania
provides for a trademark.
The Chapter VI of the Law on Trademarks provides the duration of registration of a mark:
Article 35. Duration of Registration of a Mark
A mark shall be registered for a period of ten years from the date of filing of the application.IP/C/W/335
Page 40
Article 36. Renewal
1. Following the expiry of the period specified in Article 35 of this Law, registration of a mark
may be renewed in respect of all or only a part of goods and/or services each time for not longer than
ten years.
2. Registration of a mark shall be renewed on the decision of the State Patent Bureau provided
that the following documents have been submitted to the State Patent Bureau:
(1) the request for renewal of registration of a mark in respect of all or part of the goods
and/or services;
(2) document certifying the payment of the fixed fee.
3. Documents specified in paragraph 2 of this Article must be filed by the proprietor of the mark
or his representative not later than in the last year before the expiry of registration of the mark.
4. Having paid a 50% additional fee for the renewal of registration of a mark, the proprietor of a
mark or his representative may submit a request for renewal within a period of six months following
the day of expiry of registration of the mark.
5  Information relating to the renewal of registra tion of a mark shall be recorded in the Register
of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania and published in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent
Bureau.
6. If the proprietor of the mark or his representative fails to pay the fixed fee within the period
specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, the registration of the mark shall not be renewed and
the mark shall be removed from the Register of Trade Marks of the Republic of Lithuania according
to the procedure laid down in Article 24 of this Law.
D. GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
11. Please describe in detail how the laws of Lithuania provide the recognition and protection of
geographical indications required by Article 22.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, citing to the relevant
provisions of law or regulation, and provide examples of geographical indications so protected.
The subparagraph 11 of the Article 6 of the Law on Trademarks provides that:
" A sign shall not be recognised as a mark and shall be refused registration or the
registration of a registered mark shall be declared invalid if:
(11) it contains or consists of a geographical indication with respect to goods not
originating in the territory indicated, if use of the indication in the mark for such goods in the
Republic of Lithuania is of such a nature as to mislead the public as to the true place of origin
of the goods. The above provision shall also be applicable against a geographical indication
which, although literally true as to the place of origin of the goods, falsely represent to thepublic that the goods originate in another territory."
On this ground, for example, the PILS, PILSNER geographical indications for beer were not
registered.IP/C/W/335
Page 41
12. Please describe in detail the manner in which the higher level of protection required for
wines and spirits under Article 23.2 of the TRIPS Ag reement is implemented, citing to the relevant
provisions of law or regulation, and provide examples of geographical indications for such products.
The subparagraph 12 of the Article 6 of the Law on Trademarks provides, that:
"A sign shall not be recognised as a mark and shall be refused registration or the registration
of a registered mark shall be declared invalid if:
(12) it contains or consists of a geographical indication identifying wines for wines or
spirits for spirits not originating in the place indicated by the geographical indication in
question, even where the true origin of the goods is indicated or the geographical indication is
used in translation or accompanied by expressions such as 'kind', 'type', 'style', 'imitation' or
the like."
On this ground, for example, the KAGOR, CHAMPAGNE, COGNAC, PORTO, TEQUILA
geographical indications for wines and spirits were not registered.
E. INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
13. Please describe the procedure that must be followed to obtain protection for industrial
designs, citing to the provisions of the law of Lithuania, and describe the nature of the protection
provided.
Under the Law on Industrial Design an industrial design shall acquire legal protection upon
the registration with the State Patent Bureau of Lithuania.
Chapter III of the Law regulates in details registration of industrial designs:
"Article 11. Filing of an Application
A person, wishing to register an industrial design, shall file an application with the State
Patent Bureau.
A representative of the applicant may file the application on his behalf. Foreign legal and
natural persons shall file applications with the State Patent Bureau, through a patent attorney
of the Republic of Lithuania.
An application may be filed for one or several industrial design examples, belonging to the
same international class of the classification for industrial design, under the Locarno Treaty
On International Industrial Design Classification. One application may include up to 10
examples of the design applied for.
On filing an application, the applicant must pay the fee for the application and every
additional example of industrial design.
An application shall be filed in the Lithuanian language.
Article 12. Industrial Design Application Documents
An industrial design application shall comprise:
(1) a request to grand an industrial design certificate;IP/C/W/335
Page 42
(2) photos and graphic representations of the industrial design;
(3) description of the industrial design;
(4) document confirming the payment of the fee;
(5) document certifying powers of the representative, if the application is filed by the
representative; and
(6) document confirming to the transfer of author's rights.
Article 13. Granting the Filing Date
Filing date for application of an industrial design shall be considered the day when the State
Patent Bureau has received the following documents:
(1) a request to grant industrial design certificate;
(2) photos or graphic representation of industrial design; and
(3) document confirming payment of the fee.
In the event the applicant has failed to file one  of the documents listed in part one of this
article, the filing date shall not be granted.
Article 14. Priority Right
The application may contain a request to grant priority to one or more earlier applications to
register the same industrial design within the state, which is a party to the Paris Convention
for the Protection of Industrial Property, if the ap plicant or his successor in title shall file an
application to the State Patent Bureau within 6 months from the first application or
application filing date.
The application may contain a request to recognise the priority date, when the industrial
design was displayed in an official or officially recognised international exhibition, if theapplication shall be filed with the State Patent Bureau within 6 months of the day of opening
of the exhibition.
The applicant desiring to make use of the provisions of Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article,
must produce to the State Patent Bureau copies of  the first application or applications certified
as correct by a patent office of that state, or a certificate issued by the administration of theexhibition, in which the industrial design was displayed for the first time. Such documents
may be furnished at the time of filing of an application in the Republic of Lithuania or within
3 months from the filing date.
Upon determining that the requirements of Paragraph 3 of this Article are not complied with,
the State Patent Bureau shall regard the applications specified in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this
Article as not have been filed.IP/C/W/335
Page 43
Article 15. Examination of Industrial Design Application
The State Patent Bureau shall perform examination of an industrial design application. The
State Patent Bureau examiner shall verify the industrial design application documents, named
in Articles 12 and 14 of this Law.
The examiner of the State Patent Bureau, having established that the documents named in
Articles 12 and 14 of this Law, are not included in the application, or these documents are not
prepared according to the requirements, shall inform the applicant or his representative of this.
If, in the course of 3 months from the day of dispatching of this information, the application
documents shall not be prepared in accordance with requirements, the expert of the State
Patent Bureau shall adopt the decision not to register the industrial design.
If an applicant disagrees with the decision of the State Patent Bureau, he shall have the right
to appeal to the Section of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau, within 3 months from the daythe examiner's decision had been dispatched. The applicant shall have the right to participate
at meetings of the Section of Appeals, when his appeal is being settled. The applicant shall be
informed of the decision adopted by the Section of Appeals.
Article 16. Withdrawal or Correction of Application
Prior to the date of registration of an industrial design an applicant shall have the right to
withdraw his/her application or to reduce the number of design examples contained in it.
Article 17. Registration of an Industrial Design
Following his decision to register an industrial design, the examiner of the State Patent
Bureau shall notify the applicant of this. The applicant must within 3 months from the day of
being informed pay the fee for registration, publication and granting certificate. In the eventthe applicant fails to pay the fee in due time, the industrial design shall not be registered.
The State Patent Bureau shall enter the industrial design into the Industrial Design Register of
the Republic of Lithuania.
A representation of the industrial design shall be produced in the Industrial Design Register of
the Republic of Lithuania and the data concerning the issuance of the industrial designcertificate, its use and protection shall be included in it.
The State Patent Bureau shall issue an extract from the Industrial Design Register of the
Republic of Lithuania to every person who had paid the fee. The confirmed extract from the
Register shall be regarded as an official document.
Article 18. Publication of Registration of an Industrial Design and the Procedure for
Opposition
Inclusion of an industrial design into the Industrial Design Register of the Republic of
Lithuania shall be published in the official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau.
Interested persons, who have paid the fee, and are basing themselves on Articles 2-4 of this
Law, may file an opposition against the registration of an industrial design within a period of
3 months from the date of publication. The opposition must be motivated and presented in
writing, to the Section of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau. The author of the registeredIP/C/W/335
Page 44
industrial design shall be acquainted with the content of opposition and shall be granted the
right of a just cause reply, within a 3-month period from the day of the receipt of opposition.
If the opposition shall be rejected, the Section of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau shall
inform both the person who had submitted the opposition and the owner of the industrial
design.
If the opposition shall be acknowledged as justifiable, registration shall be totally or partially
abolished. The decision adopted by the Section of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau shall be
published in the official bulletin.
Article 19. Granting of Industrial Design Certificate
If the opposition was not submitted in accordance with the conditions established in
Paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 18, or was rejected, the State Patent Bureau shall grant the
registered industrial design certificate to the design owner.
Based upon Paragraph 3 of Article 17 of this Law, data from the Industrial Design Register of
the Republic of Lithuania, shall be inscribed on the industrial design certificate."
14. Please describe the procedure that must be followed to obtain protection for textile designs
and cite to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
The Law on Industrial Designs does not make any exemptions of the registrability of the
design if the design is new, has the individual characters and is not contradictory to the principles of
public morality.
The textile designs are protected as other types of the designs.
F. PATENTS
15. Please describe in detail the way in which the Patent Law of Lithuania implements Article 27
of the TRIPS Agreement, indicating any exceptions pr ovided for, and including details regarding the
protection of the micro-organisms and non-biological and microbiological processes and plant
varieties. Please cite to the relevant provisions of the law.
See reply to question 1 posed by Switzerland.
16. Please describe in detail the rights provided patent holders under the patent law of Lithuania
and cite to the relevant provisions of the law.
The Article 26 of the Patent Law regulates the rights of the owner of a patent and provides:
"Where the subject-matter of a patent is a product, the owner of the patent shall have the
exclusive right to prevent third parties not having the owner's consent from the acts of
making, using, offering for sale, selling, importing or exporting that product.
Where the subject-matter of a patent is a process, the owner of the patent shall have the
exclusive right to prevent third parties not having the owner's consent from the act of usingthe process, and from the acts of using, offering for sale, selling, importing or exporting a
product obtained directly by that process.IP/C/W/335
Page 45
The owner of the patent shall have no right to prevent third parties from performing acts
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, provided that:
(1) the act is done privately and for non-commercial purposes and it does not
significantly prejudice the economic interests of the owner of the patent;
(2) the act is done for experimental purposes or for scientific research, and this does not
conflict with a normal exploitation of the patent and does not unreasonably prejudice
the legitimate interests of the patent owner;
(3) the act consists of preparing medicines for individual cases in a pharmacy upon the
prescription of a physician or if it is indicated how to use the medicines so prepared.
The owner of the patent shall have the right to prevent all third parties from supplying or
offering to supply essential elements of the patented invention with the exception of those
which are widely known in the economic activities, if the supply and offering to supply themis necessary for performing the acts provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
Rights to the patent application and the patent itself shall be inheritable. The state shall not
inherit these rights."
17. Please describe in detail any provision in the laws of Lithuania permitting unauthorised use
of a patent, citing to the relevant provisions of the law, and describe in detail the conditions underwhich such use can occur.
The paragraph 3 of the Article 26 of the Patent Law provides:
"The owner of the patent shall have no right to prevent third parties from performing acts
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, provided that:
(1) the act is done privately and for non-commercial purposes and it does not
significantly prejudice the economic interests of the owner of the patent;
(2) the act is done for experimental purposes or for scientific research, and this does not
conflict with a normal exploitation of the patent and does not unreasonably prejudice
the legitimate interests of the patent owner;
(3) the act consists of preparing medicines for individual cases in a pharmacy upon the
prescription of a physician or if it is indicated how to use the medicines so prepared."
Article 39 of the Patent Law provides:
"The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may adopt a resolution to permit a central or
local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise which does not
have the rights of a legal person to market, without the agreement of the owner of a patent, a
patented invention in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, if:
- an invention protected by a patent is related to public needs, national security
and public health protection, development of economically important sectors;
- the court determines that a method of the exploitation of an invention
employed by the owner of a patent or licensee is anti-competitive.IP/C/W/335
Page 46
An invention may be exploited only for the purpose in respect of which the resolution has
been adopted. The owner of a patent must, for the exploitation of the invention, be
remunerated fairly, taking into consideration economic value of the invention.
If the owner of a patent or a person who has au thorization to use an invention, requests, the
Government of the Republic of Lithuania may, taking into consideration their reasons, changethe conditions of the use of a patented invention, and time limits of the validity of permission.
When authorization to use a patented invention is issued to the  owner of a patent which
improves a previously patented invention (s econd invention) and that may infringe the
exclusive rights of the owner of the first patent, the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
shall, before the adoption of this resolution, take into consideration the following additional
conditions:
- the claimed in the second patent shall involve an important technical advance
of considerable economic significance in relation to the invention claimed in
the first patent;
- the owner of the first patent shall be entitled to a cross-licence (authorization
to each owner to use the patented inventions)to use the invention claimed in
the second patent;
- the use authorised in respect of the first patent shall be non-assignable except
with the assignment of the second patent.
The Government of the Republic of Lithuania may declare the resolution null and void, if the
circumstances which led to the authorization to use a patented invention cease to exist, or if a
central or local government institution, natural or legal persons as well as an enterprise whichdoes not have the rights of a legal person uses a patented invention for the purpose other than
that in respect of which the resolution has been adopted.
Authorization to exploit an invention must be non-exclusive, i.e. the owner of a patent shall
not lose the right to use a patented invention himself, and it shall not prohibit the owner of a
patent to conclude license agreements related to the use of a patented invention as well as tofurther exploit a patented invention or to implement his rights in other ways.
Authorization to use a patented invention may not be transferred, except when the enterprise
(or a part thereof) in which a patented invention is used, is transferred in a manner prescribed
by law.
Attached to a request to permit the exploitatio n of a patented invention must be evidences
confirming that the person seeking authorization has requested, but has not received
authorization of the owner of a patent to use the patented invention. This provision shall notapply in the case of a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency or in
cases of public non-commercial use of a patent ed invention. The owner of a patent must be
informed in writing about a resolution, which is being drawn up, concerning the authorization
to use a patented invention, and about an intention to use a patented invention for the purposes
provided for in subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of this Article.
Resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania concerning the authorization to
use a patented invention without the consent of the owner of a patent may be appealed against
in court in a manner prescribed by law.IP/C/W/335
Page 47
Upon the receipt of the resolution of the Govern ment of the Republic of Lithuania concerning
the authorization to exploit an invention, the State Patent Bureau shall publish information on
the authorization in the next issue of its Official Bulletin."
Such regulation of the unauthorised use is in full compliance with Articles 30 and 31 of the
TRIPS Agreement.
18. What term of protection does the patent law of Lithuania provide for patents? Please describe
any provisions for extension of the term of protection and cite to the relevant provisions of the law.
The term of patent is 20 years as from the date  of filing the application and is subject to the
payment of an annual fee.
If legal protection is conferred to active ingredients of a medicine or active substances of a
plant protection product, such protection can be ex tended title for a period not exceeding five years
with granting of the supplementary protection certificate.
Please see the following provisions of the Patent Law:
"Article 27. Term of Patents and Maintenance Fees
The term of a patent shall be 20 years as from the date of filing the application.The maintenance of a patent shall be subject to the payment of an annual fee.
The first annual fee shall be due in respect of the third year of the validity of a patent.The annual fee shall be paid within two last m onths of the current year of the validity of a
patent.
The annual fee increased by 50% may still be validly paid within 6 months from the due date
prescribed in paragraph 4 of this Article.
Article 27
1. Supplementary Protection Certificate
A supplementary protection certificate (hereinafter referred to as "certificate") may be granted
to a patent owner or his successor in title for a period not exceeding five years, if legal
protection is conferred to:
(1) active ingredients of a medicine;
(2) active substances of a plant protection product.
The certificate shall be granted, if the patent owner or his successor in title lodges an
application for a certificate with the State Patent Bureau. The application shall contain the
following documents:
(1) a request for a certificate;
(2) a copy of the first authorization to place a medicine or a plant protection product on
the market;
(3) a document confirming that the set fee has been paid.IP/C/W/335
Page 48
An application for a certificate must be lodged with the State Patent Bureau before the patent
expires, but not later than within 6 months of the date on which the authorization to place the
medicine or the plant protection product on the market was granted, or within 6 months of the
date on which the patent was granted, if the patent was granted later than the authorization.
The State Patent Bureau shall establish requirements applied to the documents, the procedurefor examination of an application, granting and validity of the certificate. Information about
an application for a certificate, the grant and expiry of a certificate shall be published by the
State Patent Bureau in its Official Bulletin. Information regarding the grant and duration of a
certificate shall be recorded in the Register of Patents of the Republic of Lithuania.
The granted certificate shall take effect at the end of the lawful term of the patent for a period
equal to the period which elapsed between the date on which the patent application was
lodged and the date of the authorization to place a medicine or a plant protection product on
the market, reduced by a period of five years, but not exceeding five years from the date on
which it takes effect. The duration of the certificate shall depend on the payment of a set
annual fee.
The certificate shall confer on its holder or his successor in title all the rights, duties and
restrictions established by this Law.
Legal protection conferred by the certificate shall extend only to the medicine or plant
protection product covered by the authorization to place the corresponding medicine or plant
protection product on the market, and must not exceed the legal protection conferred by the
patent."
G. L
AYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
19. Please describe in detail the protection for layout-designs of integrated circuits provided
under the laws of Lithuania, including the term of protection, and cite to the relevant provisions of
law.
Chapter III of the Law on the Legal Protectio n of Topographies of Semiconductor Products
regulates in detail registration of the topography:
"Article 10. Filing of the Application
1. A person wishing to register a topography shall file an application with the State
Patent Bureau.
2. An application may be filed on behalf of the applicant by his representative. Foreign
natural or legal persons shall file applications for registration with the State Patent Bureau and
shall perform all the necessary formalities only through patent attorneys of the Republic of
Lithuania.
3. The application must be filed within two years of the first commercial exploitation of
the topography anywhere in the world.
4. The application shall contain:
(1) the request for registration with the date of first commercial exploitation of the
topography where it precedes the date of the application for registration.
(2) the description of the topography and all the material identifying or exemplifying it;IP/C/W/335
Page 49
(3) a statement as to the date of first commercial exploitation of the topography where it
precedes the date of the application for registration;
(4) a receipt certifying payment of a fee;
(5) an authorization if the application is filed by a representative of the applicant;
(6) an application for authorship or a document proving transfer of the author's rights;
5. The request for registration shall be in Lithuanian. If the other submitted documents
are not in Lithuanian their translation into Lithuanian must be submitted to the State Patent
Bureau within three months from the date of filing the application.
6. The date on which the State Patent Bureau receives the documents listed above in
subparagraphs 1-4 of paragraph 4 of this Article shall be considered the date of filing the
application.
7. Before making the application public, the applicant or his representative may
supplement, particularise or alter the data in the submitted documents except the topography.
8. The State Patent Bureau shall ensure that that the materials submitted for the
registration of the topography shall not be made public if the applicant states that it is a
commercial secret. This provision does not prevent from submitting the material if this is an
express request of judicial or any other competent authority.
9. Regulations for the application documents shall be specified by the State Patent
Bureau.
Article 11. Examination
1. The State Patent Bureau shall examine whether the application meets the
requirements of paragraph 3, Article 3 and of Article 10 of this Law.
2. Upon finding that the application is not in  conformity with the requirements specified
in paragraph 3, Article 3 of this Law the State Patent Bureau shall adopt a decision to refuse
to register the topography.
3. Upon finding that the application does not conform to the requirements specified in
Article 10 of this Law the State Patent Bureau shall notify the applicant or his representative.If the requirements are not met within 3 months from the day of mailing such a notification
the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.
4. Upon adopting a decision to register the topography the State Patent Bureau shall,
within 1 month, duly inform the applicant or his representative.
Article 12. Appeal
1. The applicant who contests the decision of the State Patent Bureau to deem the
application to be withdrawn may, within 3 months from the day of mailing the notification,appeal to the Appeals Division of the State Patent Bureau.
2. The appeal shall be filed in writing.IP/C/W/335
Page 50
3. The procedure for stating the appeal and its examination shall be specified by the
State Patent Bureau.
Article 13. Registration and Publication of the Topography
1. The topography shall be entered in the Topographies Register of the Republic of
Lithuania.
2. The registration entry shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent
Bureau.
3. Upon request, the State Patent Bureau shall issue an extract from the Topographies
Register of the Republic of Lithuania to every person. The certified extract from the Register
shall be an official document.
Article 14. Opposition
1. Interested persons, in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of this Law, may
file an opposition against the registration of the topography within 3 months from the
registration of the topography. The procedure for filing an opposition and its examination
shall be prescribed by the State Patent Bureau.
2. The opposition shall be filed in writing. The owner of the topography shall be entitled
to submit a reasoned reply within 3 months from the date of mailing the notes about theopposition.
3. If the Appeals Division dismisses the opposition, the State Patent Bureau shall duly
notify the person who filed the opposition and the owner of the contested topography.
4. If the Appeals Division finds the opposition valid, the registration shall be cancelled.
The decision of the State Patent Bureau shall be published in the Official Bulletin.
Article 15. Issuance of the Certificate
If, under the conditions specified in Article 14, no opposition is filed or if the opposition is
dismissed the State Patent Bureau shall issue to the owner a certificate of registration of the
topography."
The term of the protection is foreseen is Article 7 of the Law:
"Article 7. Duration of Exclusive Rights
1. The exclusive rights shall come into existence on the earlier of the following dates:
(1) the date when the topography is first commercially exploited anywhere in the world;
(2) the date when an application for registration of the topography has been filed with the
State Patent Bureau;
2. The exclusive rights to the topography shall come to an end 10 years from the earlier
of the following dates:IP/C/W/335
Page 51
(1) the end of the calendar year in which the topography or a semiconductor product
manufactured using the topography is first commercially exploited anywhere in the
world;
(2) the end of the calendar year in which the application for registration of the
topography has been filed with the State Patent Bureau.
3. Where a topography has not been commercially exploited anywhere in the world
within a period of fifteen years from its first fixation protection of the rights to the topography
shall come to an end unless an application for re gistration has been filed. The right to file an
application for registration of the topography with the State Patent Bureau shall come to an
end after the termination of the time limit specified in Article 10 paragraph 3."
H. PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION
20. Please describe in detail how the laws of Lithuania provide for the protection of undisclosed
information as required by Article 39.2 of the TR IPS Agreement and provide citations to the relevant
provisions of law.
See reply to question 3 posed by Japan.
21. Please describe in detail the manner in which the protection is provided test data regarding
pharmaceutical and agriculture chemical products s ubmitted to the government in order to obtain
marketing approval in Lithuania and cite to the relevant provisions of law.
See replies to questions 3 and 4 posed by Japan.
22. Are other applicants for a marketing approval for their own versions of a previously
approved pharmaceutical and agriculture chemical products permitted to rely on data submitted by
the earlier applicant. If so, how long a period of exclusivity is given the earlier applicant before suchreliance becomes possible.
See replies to questions 3 and 4 posed by Japan.
I. E
NFORCEMENT
23. Please describe in detail the manner in which the laws of Lithuania provide for effective
action against infringement of intellectual property rights as required by Article 41.1 of the TRIPSAgreement.
Article 64 of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights precisely describe what acts are
deemed as the infringement of copyright and related rights:
(1) use of a work or a object of related rights (including the publication, reproduction,
public performance, broadcasting and retransmission or communication to the
public), distribution and import thereof without the licence of the author or owner of
copyright and related rights (without the conclusion of an agreement, or uponviolation of its terms and conditions);
(2) import, export, distribution, transportation or keeping for commercial advantage of
infringing copies of works and objects of related rights;
(3) refusal to pay remuneration provided for by this Law or copyright agreements;IP/C/W/335
Page 52
(4) removal of any technological measures that are used by owners of copyright and
related rights in connection with the exercise or protection of the rights provided for
in this Law, as well as the offering to do so, and the manufacture, import,
transportation, keeping for the purpose of distribution and distribution of appropriate
devices specifically designed or adapted to circumvent those technological protectivemeasures;
(5) removal or alteration of the information regarding the management of copyright or
related rights without authorization of authors or owners of related rights, as well as
distribution, import, broadcasting, communication to the public or making available
to the public of works, fixations of performances,  phonograms or copies thereof,
where this is done without authorization after the removal or alteration of the rights
management information;
(6) infringement of the moral rights of an author or a performer;
(7) infringement of other provisions of this Law.
As it was explained above in reply to question 5 posed by Japan and in Lithuania's reply to
question 5 of the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1),
Law on Copyright and Related Rights, Patent La w, Law on Industrial Design, Law on Trademarks
establish relevant remedies for IPR infringement; ci vil, administrative and criminal liability for the
infringements of copyright and related rights shall be applied in accordance with the Civil Code, Code
of Administrative Infringements and Criminal Code.
Also customs procedures according to the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in
the Field of Import and Export of Goods are applied to infringing copies of works, computerprograms, fixations of audiovisual works (films) and phonograms imported into Lithuania (for more
information see Lithuania's replies to questions 15 and 19 of the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement
of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1)).
24. Article 43.1 of the TRIPS Agreement requires that judges be authorized to order production
of evidence necessary to substantiate a party's claims where that party has been unable to obtain suchevidence from the opposing party. Please describe how the laws or regulations of Lithuania provide
this authorization, citing to the relevant provisions of laws or regulation.
Each party may request the opposing party or a third party, not a party in the procedure, to
submit evidences which are in its possession. According to Code of Civil Procedure (Articles 75, 76,
82, 83) court has right to demand material, written evidences, which lies in the control of the party.
The court is entitle impose the fine if party doesn't exercise this demand within a reasonable period.
25. Please describe in detail the all of the civil remedies that are available to right holders under
the laws of Lithuania, citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
See reply to question 5 posed by Japan and Lithuania's reply to question 5 of the Checklist of
Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1).
26. Please describe in detail the provisional procedures and remedies available to right holders
under the law of Lithuania, citing to the relevant provisions of law and regulation, and indicate anyconditions under which a right holder may avail itself of those procedures and remedies.
According to the Civil Procedure Code (Artic les 155 and 156), the court or the judge upon the
request of the party or at his own discre tion may order such provisional measures:IP/C/W/335
Page 53
(a) property or cash equivalent of the  defendant can be taken into custody;
(b) defendant can be prohibited to carry out certain activities;
(c) other persons may be prevented from passing property or fulfilling other duties and
obligations to the defendant;
(d) sale of property can be suspended, if a claim is submitted to cancel arrest of that
property.
Court may use several provisional measures simultaneously.
Besides, Article 69 of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights provides such provisional
measures:
(1) to order persons to terminate the unlawful exploitation of works or objects of related
rights;
(2) to prohibit the release into circulation of infringing copies of works, fixations of
audiovisual works (films) and phonograms;
(3) seize infringing copies of works, fixations of audiovisual works or phonograms, as
well as technical devices and equipment used for reproduction thereof, and
appropriate documents;
(4) to apply other similar measures.
Article 155(2) of the Civil Procedure Code states that in case provided by the Civil Code and
other laws in accordance with motivated written request by the concerned party, temporal measures
can be enforced both without submitting a claim and in any stage of the civil procedure. If the court
enforces provisional measures by the date of submission of the claim to the court then the court has to
set the term during which the claim has to be submitted. This term may not exceed 14 days. Prior thedate of submission of the claim a person applying for the enforcement of provisional measures has to
indicate to the court due to what reasons the claim has not been submitted immediately and provide
evidence proving certain threat to the proprietary interests of the applicant.
Furthermore, according to Article 69 of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights where
essential irreparable damage may be caused to the owner of copyright or related rights, or where theevidence may be destroyed, the court or the judge may, at his own discretion, apply provisional
measures without informing the other party and without calling it to the court hearing.
For civil remedies see reply to question 5 posed by Japan and Lithuania's reply to question 5
of the Checklist of Issues on Enforcemen t of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1).
J. S
PECIAL REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO BORDER MEASURES
27. Please describe in detail the procedures under the laws of Lithuania that provide for border
enforcement at least for trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, identifying the competentauthority and citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
According to Article 6 of the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Field of
Import and Export of Goods in order to apply the border measures for the protection of intellectual
property rights the holder of the rights shall lo dge a corresponding application in writing with theIP/C/W/335
Page 54
Customs Department under the Ministry of Finance (the central administration of Lithuanian
Customs).
The form of application for action to be taken by the customs authorities is established by the
Customs Department. According to Article 7 of the Law this application shall contain/be
accompanied by:
- a detailed description of the goods (including the HS code, elements of packaging and
costs, if known to the applicant), samples,  photographs, drawings of the goods and/or
any other pertinent information relating to the features of goods which would help the
customs authorities to distinguish the goods infringing an intellectual property right
from the lawfully produced goods;
- proof that the applicant is the holder of intellectual property rights for the goods in
question or a representative of the holder;
- information about the applicant (name of the legal person or name and surname of the
natural person, the official address, phone and fax numbers) and about other persons
of the Republic of Lithuania entitled to import or export the goods in question (if such
persons are known to the applicant).
The application shall be lodged with the follo wing proof that the applicant is the holder of
intellectual rights  for the goods in question or his representative attached thereto:
- certificate of registration of a trade mark or an extract from the Register of Trade
Marks of the Republic of Lithuania if the person is the rights holder of a registered
trade mark;
- an effective court decision to recognise the mark as well-known in the Republic of
Lithuania  if the person is the rights holder of a well-known mark;
- a patent for invention or an extract from the Register of Patents of the Republic of
Lithuania  if the person is the owner of a patent;
- certificate of industrial design or an extract from the Register of Industrial Design of
the Republic of Lithuania if the person is the owner of a registered industrial design;
- any available proof of the authors' rights or related rights if the person is the holder of
copyright or related rights;
- a license contract and appropriate evidence if the person possesses a licence for the
use of a trade mark, well-known mark, patented invention or industrial design, a work
or an object of related rights;
- the proof referred to above and the document of authorization and/or any other
documents evidencing the person's powers granted to him, if the person is arepresentative of the holder of intellectual rights.
The following shall be submitted with the application as well (if the information is available
for the applicant):
- all information relevant to the lodged a pplication and pertinent to the examination
thereof, in order to enable the Customs Department to take a decision in fullIP/C/W/335
Page 55
knowledge of the facts related to the application as well as evidence of infringement
of the applicant's rights available to him, submitted in support of the application;
- information on the place of storage of the goods or the presumed place of carrying of
the goods across the state border of the Republic of Lithuania and/or the intended
destination, particulars identifying the consignment or packages, the scheduled time(date) of arrival or dispatch of the goods, the means of transport which are or could be
used for carrying the goods, also the identity of the producer, importer, exporter or
holder of the goods.
The applicant must also specify in the application the length of the period during which action
by the customs authorities should be taken with respect to the goods suspected of infringing his rights
and to pledge to provide an appropriate security after his application is granted and after the customs
detains the goods suspected of infringing his rights, and to give the customs assistance needed inidentifying the goods.
According to Article 9 of the Law where a decision is taken by the Customs Department to
grant the application, the maximum 1-year time limit of action by the customs authorities with respect
to the carried goods suspected of infringing the app licant's rights shall be indicated in the decision.
The time limit may be extended upon the applicant's request, however, for not longer than 1 year.
Moreover, the set or extended time limit of action taken by the customs authorities may not be longer
than the period of validity of the rights of the holder of intellectual property rights or his
representative.
Article 14 of the Law stipulates that where the customs office detains the goods suspected as
being infringing intellectual property rights it shall promptly inform the applicant, the Customs
Department, the declarant or, in certain cases, the person who brought the goods into the customs
territory of Lithuania and the Tax Police Department , which is designated by the Government as the
authority responsible for the protection of intellectual property rights in Lithuania.
The period of detention of goods and measures to be applied in connection with detained
goods are established in Article 16 of the Law. If, within a period of 10 working days after theapplicant has been notified of the detention, the document evidencing the application to court by the
holder of intellectual property rights or his representative has not been submitted with the customs
authorities and if no request for extension of the time limit has been received from the holder of
intellectual property rights or his representative, the formalities of placement of goods under a
customs procedure or assigning the goods any other customs-approved treatment or use for which the
detained goods have been presented to customs shall be carried out.
If the holder of intellectual property rights or his representative has been unable for valid
reasons to apply to the court within the above period of detention of goods the customs authorities,
having received a written request from the holder of intellectual property rights or his representative,
may extend the time limit by a maximum of 10 working days.
If the customs authorities is submitted, within the time period of detention of goods, a
document evidencing the institution of legal proceedings by the holder of intellectual property rightsor his representative, the period of detention of the goods shall be extended pending the issuing of the
court order on the imposition of interim measures or the taking of a substantive decision.
According to Article 10 of the Law after detention of the goods the customs office, which
have taken this action, may require the applicant, after his application has been granted by the
Customs Department, to provide, within a 3-day period after his notification of the action having beentaken, a security:IP/C/W/335
Page 56
- to cover any liability on his part vis-à-vis  the customs authorities if claims are lodged
against it by persons involved in the action by the customs authorities, where the
procedure initiated by detention of the goods is discontinued owing to an act or
omission by the applicant or where it appears evident that action by the customs
authorities has been taken with respect to goods which are subsequently found not tobe goods infringing an intellectual property right;
- to ensure payment of the costs incurred in delivering the goods detained by the
customs authorities to the place under customs control and in keeping the goods in
question under customs control.
The procedure of assessment of the amount of above security is established by the Customs
Department, which is authorised to establish this procedure by the Government.
The provision of security may be considered not mandatory if:
- the applicant undertakes in writing to pay the amount requested by the customs
authorities after he has received its first written request for the covering of his
liability or for the payment of the costs, and
- the value of the goods with respect to which action is taken by the customs authorities
does not exceed the amount fixed by the Customs Department, which is authorised tofix this amount by the Government.
According to Article 16 of the Law on suspicion that the detained goods are products or
components thereof infringing the rights of the owne r of a patent for invention or owner of registered
industrial design or the successor in title of any of the above persons, the formalities of placement of
goods under a customs procedure or assigning the goods any other customs-approved treatment or usefor which the detained goods have been presented to customs may be carried out at the request of the
owner, consignee or importer of the goods not only in  cases when the period of detention of the goods
is expired, but also when the following conditions are met:
- the customs authorities has been submitted, within the time period of detention of
goods, a document evidencing that the holder of intellectual property rights or hisrepresentative has applied to the court with a statement of claim;
- the customs authorities has not been submitted, within the time period of detention of
goods, the court order on the imposition of interim measures;
- all the requirements laid down by legislation for the placement under a customs
procedure or assigning any other customs-approved treatment or use have been
fulfilled;
- the owner, consignee or importer of the goods has provided a security to cover any
liability for possible claims lodged by the above-mentioned holder of intellectual
property rights or his representative.
The amount of the above security, which shall be assessed in the manner prescribed by the
Customs Department, which is authorised by the Go vernment, must be sufficient to cover the claims
of the holder of intellectual property rights, which might be lodged against the customs authorities ifnot satisfied by other remedies open under law to the holder in protection of intellectual property
rights.IP/C/W/335
Page 57
According to Article 14 of the Law having detained the goods the customs authorities shall
notify the applicant, at his request, of the name and address of the declarant and, if known, of those of
the consignee and shall also furnish information on the detained goods and their quantity. The
customs authorities shall provide the above information in compliance with the laws and other legal
acts regulating the protection of personal data , state, official and commercial secrets.
Having regard to the conditions of customs control of the goods, the customs office which
detained the goods shall afford the applicant and the persons having the right to dispose of the goods
the opportunity to inspect the goods and take samples thereof.
According to Article 18 of the Law if the goods detained by the customs authorities are
recognised by the court decision to be infringing an  intellectual property rights the customs authorities
shall provide the applicant, upon his written request, the information which has not been given earlier
on the goods in question and their quantity, the names and addresses of the consignor, of the importeror exporter and of the manufacturer of the goods as well as information on similar goods earlier
imported by the same importer (received by the consignee) or exported by the exporter (dispatched by
the consignor).
28. Please indicate if border enforcement is available to owners of other forms of intellectual
property and, if so, please describe the procedures and remedies available in relation to each form ofintellectual property, citing the relevant provisions of law.
According to the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Field of Import and
Export of Goods it is possible to apply for the suspension by the Customs authorities not only when
infringements of trademarks and copyrights are suspected but also in the cases when infringements of
the rights of owner of the industrial design or patent are suspected. The procedures applied in all casesare as described in reply to question 27 provided above.
According to Article 17 of the Law the court, having recognised the goods detained by the
customs authorities as infringing an intellectual property right and taking into consideration the
requests of the holder of intellectual property rights or his representative (if filed), shall adopt a
decision:
- to dispose of the goods outside commercial channels (recycle or utilise the goods and
apply other similar measures) in such a way as to preclude injury to the holder of
intellectual property rights, without compensation of any sort and at no cost to the
State;
- to take, in respect of such goods, any other measures (at the request of the holder of
intellectual property rights or his representative, transfer the goods to them or any
persons indicated in their request and apply similar measures), which effectivelydeprive the persons concerned with unlawful delivery of detained goods of the
economic benefits of the transaction. If the goods are transferred not to the holder of
intellectual property rights or his representative, but to other persons indicated in their
request, the court may obligate the persons to remove the trade marks, which have
been affixed to the goods without authorization;
- to destroy the goods at the defendant's expense.
29. Article 58 of the TRIPS Agreement specifies procedures to be followed where the competent
authorities can act ex officio. Please explain whether the competent authorities in Lithuania are
empowered to act ex officio and, if so, please id entify the intellectual property areas subject to
ex officio action.IP/C/W/335
Page 58
According to Article 12 of the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Field of
Import and Export of Goods where, in the course of controls carried out, it appears evident to the
customs authorities that goods are infringing intellectual property rights, whereas the application for
action to be taken by the customs authorities has not yet been lodged or the Customs Department has
not yet made a decision to grant the application, the holder of intellectual property rights or hisrepresentative, if known, shall be promptly informed  of the possible infringement of his rights to
enable the person to lodge, within 3 working days from his notification, an application with the
Customs Department.
In the cases of detention of goods by the customs authorities acting ex officio , goods shall be
detained for a period of up to 3 working days from the date of notification of the holder of intellectual
property rights or his representative. Within the said 3-day period the person may lodge an application
with the Customs Department. In this case the time period established for the detention of goods shallrun from the date of receipt by the Customs Department of the application by the holder of intellectual
property rights or his representative. The declarant and the Tax Police Department shall also be
notified of detention of the goods by the customs authorities acting ex officio .
All intellectual property areas, which are within the scope of the Law on the Protection of
Intellectual Property in the Field of Import and Export of Goods (see reply to question 28 providedabove), are subject to ex officio  action.
K. C
RIMINAL PROCEDURES
30. Please describe in detail how the laws of Lithuania implement Article 61 of the TRIPS
Agreement that requires Members to have criminal  procedures and penalties, including imprisonment
and/or monetary fines sufficient to act as a de terrent, at least for cases of willful trademark
counterfeiting and copyright infringements on a commercial scale. Please cite to the relevant
provisions of law and regulation.
See reply to question 5 posed by Japan and Lithuania's reply to question 24 of the Checklist
of Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001 (document IP/N/6/LTU/1).
31. Article 61 also requires that remedies in appropriate cases include the seizure, forfeiture and
destruction of infringing goods and any materials and implements the predominant use of which has
been the commission of the offense. Please describe the provisions in the laws of Lithuania that
provide for such remedies, and describe the circumstances in which those remedies would be
imposed, citing to the relevant provisions of law or regulation.
According to Article 65 (7) of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights with the aim of
protecting their rights, owners of copyright and related rights shall be entitled to appeal to court in
accordance with the procedure prescribed by law, which may make a decision relative to seizure ordestruction of infringing copies of works, com puter programmes, fixations of audiovisual works
(films), phonograms and the devices or equipment used for their manufacture, as well as other devices
and equipment used in connection with the infringement of rights under this Law.
The seizure infringing copies of works, fixati ons of audiovisual works or phonograms, as well
as technical devices and equipment used for reproduction thereof, and appropriate documents isprovided in Article 69(3) of the Law on Copyrigh t and Related Rights as a provisional measure.
According to Article 214
10  of the Code of Administrative Infringements seizure infringing
copies of works and equipment used for reproduction thereof is an additional administrative sanctions
for copyright violations. Appropriate procedures are set by the (Articles 26 and 269) of the Code of
Administrative Infringements.IP/C/W/335
Page 59
According to Article 35 of the Criminal Code  confiscation  of property is an additional penalty
mandatory imposed by court for the commission of the  illegal reproduction of a literary, scientific or
artistic work, audiovisual work or a phonogram, importing, exporting, distributing, carrying or
possessing infringing copies  (Article 1421 of the Criminal Code ). Appropriate procedure are set by
the (Article 93) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
32. Article 61 also indicates that Members may provide for criminal procedures and penalties in
cases of willful infringement of other forms of intellectual property. Please describe any provisions of
the laws of Lithuania that provide for such procedures and remedies, citing to the relevant provisions
of law or regulation.
The criminal procedures and penalties are fully explained in reply to question 5 posed by
Japan and reply to question 24 of Lithuania's Checklist of Issues on Enforcement of 23 October 2001
(IP/N/6/LTU/1), and in criminal matters the principle of "nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege" (nooffence no penalty without a law regulating them).
L. S
TATISTICAL QUESTIONS
33. Please provide statistical information related to civil copyrights, trademark, geographical
indications, industrial design, patent, integrated-circuit layout design, and trade secret enforcement
for 2000, including the number of cased filed: injunctions issued; infringing products seized,infringing equipment seized; cases resolved (i ncluding settlements); and the amount of damages
awarded.
39 proceedings with regard to industrial property were instituted in year 2000 (including 10
cases with judgements passed upon hearing, 6 claims partially or fully satisfied, 12 bills ignored). The
majority (30) of the cases were related to trademarks.
The analysis of the statistics related to cases with regard to industrial property heard by the
Supreme Court shows that the number of such civil cases also increases every year. For example,
while in 1997-1999 the Supreme Court heard 6 cases (two cases per year), 10 cases like that were
heard in 2000 alone. In summary, only 3-4 % of judgements of courts of the first instance and 10 % of
judgements of district courts acting as courts of the first instance were appealed in the appealprocedure while judgements made in cases with regard to industrial property were appealed to the
extent of 90 %.
It should be mentioned, however, that only a sm all percentage of disputes with regard to
registration of trademarks are taken to courts. There is no specialised court for settlement of disputes
with regard to industrial property in Lithuania, therefore settlement of disputes by the pre-trial
institution of dispute settlement, i.e. the Division of Appeals of the State Patent Bureau, serves this
purpose. The statistics of appeals and oppositions filed with the Division of Appeals also evidence the
increase in the number of disputes with regard to rights to industrial property objects: 261 oppositions
and appeals were filed in 1999, while in 2000 even 343 oppositions and appeals were filed. Since
1994 the Division of Appeals has made 244 decisions.
Now that the Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property in the Field of Import and Export
of Goods, which is considered to serve as legal basis for most customs activities in the area of
intellectual property protection, is adopted, owners of intellectual property have all necessary legal
means to protect their interests. For example, acco rding to the Law, owner of a trademark can request
Customs Department to apply custom supervision m eans to certain trademark. In that case Customs
Department will detain all the goods related to specified trademark, which are being imported by a
company, not specified by intellectual property ow ner as a company, having rights to import such
goods. Customs Department can also detain goods without request of industrial property owner, ifIP/C/W/335
Page 60
those goods seem to be suspicious. As of 1 January 2001, there were 10 requests to apply custom
supervision means. Customs officers seized the shipments 24 times. 2 times the goods were destroyed
by the request of importer. 14 cases were proceeded to courts. For example, the owner of NIKE
trademark has won 9 cases on counterfeited goods (there were 3 decisions to export goods back, 3
decisions to destroy goods and 3 decisions to eliminate the trademark from the goods).
However, the attention should be paid to the fact that very often owners of trademarks
themselves ignore laws designed to protect their interests, and do not submit requests to the Customs
Department, which would enable Customs officers to monitor goods related to certain trademark.
Under Article 58(4) of the Lithuanian Law on Copyright and Related Rights, Collective
Administration Associations (the Agency of Li thuanian Copyright Protection Association (LATGA-
A), International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), Agency of Related
Rights Association (AGATA), InfoBalt Copyright Agency) are entitled to defend the rights of ownersof copyright and related rights and represent without any special authorization in court and other
institutions.
In order to illustrate that Lithuanian legislation on the protection of intellectual property rights
really works, allow us to provide you with some more numbers: 175 physical and legal entities were
punished under Article 214
10 (infringements of copyright and related rights) of Administrative Law
Infringements Code in a year of 2000, and up to date the statistical record of this year yields a number
of 91 physical and legal entities punished under the same article. 13 crimes were disclosed under
different articles of Criminal Code over the year 2000, and in 2001 there are 10 crimes disclosed up to
date. About 20 000 of infringing goods (computer programs, sound and video recordings) were seized
in 2000, about 40 000 in 2001, and about 35 000 infringing goods were destroyed in 2001.
34. Please provide statistical information related to criminal enforcement in the area of copyright
piracy and trademarks infringement for 2000, includ ing the number raids, prosecutions, convictions,
and the amount of fines and/or jail terms (including whether the fines were paid and whether the jail
term was actually served or was suspended) and an y other information establishing that the criminal
system operates effectively to deter copyright and trademark counterfeiting.
In the criminal sector  territorial public prosecutor's offices initiated 20 criminal cases
concerning copyright and related rights infringements in 2000.
Tax Police Department initiated 16 criminal cases under Article 1421 of Criminal Code
(Illegal Reproduction of a Literary, Scientific or Artistic Work, Audiovisual Work or a Phonogram,
Importing, Exporting, Distribution, Transportation or Keeping of Infringing Copies) in 2001.
__________