WORLD TRADE IP/N/6/ISL/1
22October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4632)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
CHECKLIST OFISSUES ONENFORCEMENT1
Responses from Iceland
I. CIVIL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND REMEDIES
A. Civil judicial procedures andremedies
1. Specify thecourts which have jurisdiction overIPRinfringement cases.
Thedistrict courts andtheIcelandic Supreme Court handle bothcivilandcriminal cases and
havejurisdiction overIPRinfringement cases.
2. Which persons have standing toassert IPRs? How maytheyberepresented? Arethe
requirements formandatory personal appearances before thecourt bytheright holder?
Allpersons whohavealegalinterest inasserting IPRshavestanding todoso.They maybe
represented byindependent legalcounsel before thecourt.
Incivilproceedings, apartyisnotrequired toappear personally ifrepresented bylegalcounsel.
Incriminal proceedings, theinjured party isasageneral rulerequired toappear before acourt
togiveevidence.
3. What authority dothejudicial authorities have toorder, attherequest ofanopposing
party, aparty toaproceeding toproduce evidence which lieswithin itscontrol?
According toArticles 67to69oftheCivil Proceedings Actno.91/1991, judicial authorities
mayorder aparty toproduce written evidence which lieswithin thatparty’scontrol unless thatparty,
onthebasis oftheevidence inquestion, isexempted pursuant toprovisions exempting witnesses to
givetestimony forspecific reasons, seeArticles 51to59oftheCivil Proceedings Actno.91/1991.
4. What means exist toidentify andprotect confidential information brought forward as
evidence?
Thecourt maydecide tohearevidence incamera pursuant toArticles 8and9oftheCivil
Proceedings Actno.91/1991 andSections 8and9oftheCriminal Proceedings Actno.19/1991.
Thecourt mayinstruct remaining persons atthesession tokeepsecret anyfactsofwhich theylearn
intheproceedings.
1Document IP/C/5.IP/N/6/ISL/1
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5. Describetheremediesthatmaybeorderedbythejudicialauthoritiesandcriteria,legislative
orjurisprudential, fortheir use:
- injunctions;
- damages, including recovery ofprofits, andexpenses, including attorney 'sfees;
- destruction orother disposal ofinfringing goods andmaterials/implements for
their production ;
- anyother remedies
(a) Injunctions
Pursuant toArticle 23ofActno.31/1990, aright holder oranyone elsewithlegalinterest
therein mayrequest aninjunction from thejudicial authorities toprohibit aparty from committing
anactthatpresents animminent danger ofinfringement ofintellectual property rights. Ifaninjunction
isgranted theplaintiff must initiate court proceedings toconfirm theinjunction before thecourt.
Seealso: Article 41oftheTrademarks Act,Article 35oftheDesign Protection Act,Article 59of
thePatents Act.
(b) Damages, including recovery ofprofits, andexpenses, including attorney 'sfees
When anoffence hasresulted infinancial damage, compensation shallbemade according to
thegeneral lawsconcerning compensation pursuant toSection 56oftheCopyright Act,Article 43
oftheTrademarks Act,Article 37oftheDesign Protection Act,Article 58ofthePatents ActandArticle
6oftheSemiconductor Act.
Thegeneral ruleconcerning attorney 'sfeesisthataparty thatlosesacasebefore acourt shall
beordered tocompensate theother party'sexpenses infull.
(c) Destruction orotherdisposal ofinfringing goods andmaterials/implements fortheirproduction
Acourtmaydecide todestroy infringing goods orotherwise make themunserviceable pursuant
toSection 56oftheCopyright Act,Article 44oftheTrademarks Act,Article 38oftheDesign Protection
ActandArticle 59ofthePatents Act.
Acourt mayorder seizure without payment ofinfringing goods infavour oftheinjured party,
orthattheybesurrendered tohimagainst payment notexceeding production costs. SeealsoArticle
36.3oftheDesign Protection Act.
(d) Anyother remedies
Acourt canaward punitive damages toaperson whose rights havebeenillegally infringed,
seeArticle 56oftheCopyright Act. According toArticle 59.2ofthePatents Act,acourt maygrant
theowner oftheproducts, apparatus, tools andother articles referred toinparagraph 1permission
todispose ofthese freely during thetermofthepatent orpartofthatterminreturn forreasonable
compensation andonreasonable conditions inother respects.IP/N/6/ISL/1
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6. Inwhat circumstances, ifany,dojudicial authorities have theauthority toorder the
infringer toinform theright holder oftheidentity ofthird persons involved intheproduction
anddistribution ofthegoods orservices found tobeinfringing andoftheirchannels ofdistribution?
There arenolegislative provisions aimed specifically atobliging aninfringer toinform the
rightholder oftheidentity ofpersons involved intheproduction anddistribution ofinfringing goods
orservices oroftheirchannels ofdistribution.
Ifthere isanongoing civilprocedure, therightholder asaparty tothecasecanonthebasis
ofArticles 67and68oftheCivilProcedure Actrequest assistance fromthejudge toforcetheopposing
party (infringer) tohandoveranyexisting written documents.
7. Describe provisions relating totheindemnification todefendants wrongfully enjoined.
Towhat extent arepublic authorities and/or officials liable insuchasituation andwhat "remedial
measures" areapplicable tothem?
Apartywhohasabusedenforcementproceduresbyrequestingmeasurestobetakentowrongfully
enjoin orrestrain another party maybeordered bythejudicial authorities toprovide compensation
fortheinjury suffered because ofsuchabuse. Compensation isnormally intended tocover allthe
losses thattheabuse hascaused theother party. Thecompensation maytherefore alsoinclude all
expenses incurred intheprocess ofexoneration, including appropriate attorney 'sfees.
Onthebasis ofjurisprudential law,public authorities arenotexempted from liability to
appropriate remedial measures where actions aretaken orintended inbadfaithinthecourse ofthe
administration ofanylawpertaining totheprotection orenforcement ofIPRs.
8. Describe provisions governing thelength andcostofproceedings. Provide anyavailable
dataontheactual duration ofproceedings andtheir cost.
There arenoparticular provisions inIcelandic lawgoverning thelength andcostofproceedings.
However, theunderlying principle forallcourtproceedings isthataconclusion shallbereached without
undue delay. Procedure before theSupreme Court normally takes 6-12months.
Itisnotpossible toprovide dataontheactual duration ofintellectual property cases, asthe
circumstances differ considerably, ortogiveanyindication oftheactual costs incurred.
B. Administrative procedures andremedies
9. Reply totheabove questions inrelation toanyadministrative procedures onthemerits
andremedies thatmayresult from these procedures.
Article 57oftheCopyright Actprovides that,should noagreement bereached regarding the
amount ofthereimbursement provided forinArticles 14,15a,16,17,20,21,23,23a,25and47,
either party mayinspecific cases submit thedispute forresolution toathree-person arbitration
committee. Otherwise, there arenoadministrative procedures applicable astoremedies inthecase
ofintellectual property infringements. They aredealtwithexclusively bythecourts oflaw.IP/N/6/ISL/1
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II. PROVISIONAL MEASURES
A. Judicial measures
10. Describe thetypes ofprovisional measures thatjudicial authorities mayorder, andthe
legal basis forsuchauthority.
Provisions onprovisional measures intheform ofinterlocutory injunctions existasregards
infringements in:
Article 41oftheTrademarks Act.
Article 35oftheDesign Protection Act.
Article 59ofthePatents Act.
Inaddition tothosespecial provisional measures mentioned directly intherespective intellectual
property lawsthere aregeneral provisions onprovisional measures inActNo.31from1990relating
toattachment ofproperties, restraining orders etc.According tothose provisions aperson whohas
aclaim against another person mayrequest amagistrate toorder aprovisional measure. Asaprovisional
measure amagistrate canorder thedefendant torefrain from, perform ortolerate anact.
Ifamagistrate orders aprovisional measure, theclaimant hastoinstitute, within oneweek
fromtheorder, aproceeding incourt. Thecourtshallexamine theclaim. Ifaproceeding isnotinstituted
themeasure shallimmediately cease toapply.
11. Inwhat circumstances maysuchmeasures beordered inaudita altera parte?
Aprovisional measure maybeissued iftheplaintiff deposits asecurity withthemagistrate
forthedamage which maybecaused tothedefendant. According toArticle 18ofActNo.31from
1990 theorder canbeissued without hearing thedefendant. Themagistrate mustinform theplaintiff
about theorder.
Theapplicant hastoinstitute aproceeding within oneweek from theorder. Theusual rules
concerning proceedings thenapply.
12. Describe themain procedures fortheinitiation, ordering andmaintenance inforce of
provisional measures, inparticular relevant time-limits andsafeguards toprotect thelegitimate
interests ofthedefendant.
Aprovisional measure mayasageneral rulenotbeordered unless theclaimant hasproven
thatitismorelikely thannotthathehasaclaim against thedefendant. Thecourtmaymake itacondition
forordering aprovisional measure thattheclaimant provides asecurity orequivalent assurance sufficient
toprotect theclaimant.
Ifthecourt decides toorder aprovisional measure itshallatthesame timedecide howthe
measure istobeeffectuated. Thecourt maydecide when themeasure istoenter intoforce andthe
duration ofit.Thecourt mayalsodecide thatthedefendant istobeabletoavoid theentering into
force andtheeffectuation ofaprovisional measure byproviding asecurity orequivalent assurance
sufficient toprotect theclaimant.
Thecourt mayinitsdecision toorder aprovisional measure orinalaterdecision made upon
therequest ofthedefendant, determine areasonable period inwhich theclaimant must initiate civil
proceedings leading toadecision onthemerits ofthecase.IP/N/6/ISL/1
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Thedefendant mayrequest anullification orlimitation ofthemeasure ifnewevidence isput
forward, orifthecircumstances which thedecision toorder theprovisional measure wasbased upon
insome other wayhavechanged.
Where theprovisional measures arerevoked orwhere theylapse duetoanyactoromission
bytheclaimant orwhere itissubsequently found thattherehadbeennoinfringement ofanintellectual
property rightwhen theprovisional measure wasordered, thejudicial authorities havetheauthority
toorder theclaimant toprovide thedefendant appropriate compensation foranyinjury caused bythe
measures.
13. Describe provisions governing thelength andcostofproceedings. Provide anyavailable
dataontheactual duration ofproceedings andtheir cost.
Seeanswer toquestion 8.
B. Administrative measures
14. Reply totheabove questions inrelation toanyadministrative provisional measures.
Provisional measures maynotbeordered administratively inIceland.
III. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS RELATED TOBORDER MEASURES
15. Indicate forwhich goods itispossible toapply forthesuspension bythecustoms authorities
oftherelease intofreecirculation, inparticular whether these procedures areavailable alsoin
respect ofgoods which involve infringements ofintellectual property rights other thancounterfeit
trademark orpirated copyright goods asdefined intheTRIPS Agreement (footnote toArticle 51).
Specify, together withrelevant criteria, anyimports excluded fortheapplication ofsuchprocedures
(such asgoods from another member ofacustoms union, goods intransit ordeminimis imports).
Dotheprocedures apply toimports ofgoods putonthemarket inanother country byorwith
theconsent oftheright holder andtogoods destined forexportation?
According tothefirstparagraph ofArticle 50AintheCustoms ActNo.55from 1987, the
suspension oftherelease, etc.,bythecustoms authorities applies onlytocounterfeit trademark orpirated
copyright goods. Theminister can,however, decide inaregulation thattheprovisions shallalsoapply
toinfringements ofother intellectual property rights according toparagraph 6ofArticle 50.
Goods which areimported insmall amounts bytourists andsmall shipments ofnon-merchandise
goods areexempted from theapplication ofthese procedures.
Theprocedures donotapply toimports ofgoods putonthemarket inanother country with
theconsent oftherightholder andtogoods destined forexportation (Seeparagraph 5ofArticle 50A).
16. Provide adescription ofthemain elements oftheprocedures relating tothesuspension
oftherelease ofgoods bycustoms authorities, inparticular thecompetent authorities (Article
51),therequirements foranapplication (Article 52)andvarious requirements related tothe
duration ofsuspension (Article 55).How have Articles 53(security orequivalent assurance), 56
(indemnification oftheimporter andoftheowner ofthegoods) and57(right ofinspection and
information) been implemented?
Arightholder mayapply inwriting tothecustoms authorities foranaction against theimport
ofcounterfeit orpirated goods. Theapplication shallcontain asufficiently detailed description oftheIP/N/6/ISL/1
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goods andevidence thattheapplicant isactually therightholder inrelation tothegoods. Following
anexamination oftheapplication, thecustoms authority maysuspend therelease ofthegoods orretain
them foraperiod ofuptotendays. Where therelevant customs authority hasnot,within tendays
fromtheapplication, beeninformed about thefactthatthematter hasbeenreferred tothecompetent
authority, thegoods shallbereleased; thisperiod mayhowever, where necessary, beextended byno
more thantendays. Thecustoms authorities mayrequest theapplicant toprovide asecurity inorder
toguarantee hisobligations towards thepersons affected bytheaction andthepayment ofthecosts
forthekeeping ofthegoods bythecustoms authorities. Theowner, importer orreceiver mayrequest
therelease ofthegoods, against providing asecurity inorder toprotect theinterests oftherightholder.
Thecustoms authority shall, attherequest oftherightholder, inform himabout theperson whohas
submitted thecustoms declaration andabout thereceiver, ifheisknown. Also, theauthority shall
givetherightholder andother persons whoareaffected bytheactions taken anopportunity toinspect
thegoods.
17. Describe provisions governing thelength andcostofproceedings. Provide anyavailable
dataontheactual duration ofproceedings andtheir cost. How longisthevalidity ofdecisions
bythecompetent authorities forthesuspension oftherelease ofgoods intofreecirculation?
Theprovisions onthelength oftheproceedings, inparticular thetime-limit forsuspension
oftherelease ortheretention (10dayswithapossibility foranadditional 10days) havebeenindicated
above. There isnodataavailable asregards thecostsofsuchproceedings. TheMinister mayprescribe
afeeforthese proceedings.
18. Arecompetent authorities required toactupon their owninitiative and,ifso,inwhat
circumstances? Arethere anyspecial provisions applicable toexofficio action?
Thecustoms authority can,uponitsowninitiative, retain goods ifithasproof thatgoods are
actually counterfeited orpirated. Thecustoms authority shallinform therightholder assoonaspossible
andgivehimthree daystofileanapplication asmentioned above.
19. Describe theremedies thatthecompetent authorities havetheauthority toorder andany
criteria regulating their use.
When acourt hasdecided upon aninfringement ofintellectual property rights andthecourt
hasnotordered anyspecial measures, thecustoms authority hasauthority todestroy thegoods or
undertake other measures.
IV. CRIMINAL PROCEDURES
20. Specify thecourts which have jurisdiction overcriminal actsofinfringements ofIPRs.
Thedistrict courts andtheIcelandic Supreme Court havejurisdiction overcriminal actsof
infringement ofIPRs.
21. Inrespect ofwhich infringements ofwhich intellectual property rights arecriminal
procedures andpenalties available?
Criminal procedures andpenalties areavailable inrespect of:
a) aviolation which comprises anactofpremeditation orgross negligence, seeArticle 54
intheCopyright Act;IP/N/6/ISL/1
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b) anywilful infringement ofatrademark right, seeArticle 42oftheTrademarks Act;
c) anywilful infringement oftheexclusive rights conveyed bytheprotection ofadesign,
seeArticle 36oftheDesign Protection Act;
d) anyintentional infringement oftheexclusive rightconferred byapatent, seeArticle 57
ofthePatents Act;and
e) anyinfringement, seeArticle 7oftheSemiconductor Act.
22. Which public authorities areresponsible forinitiating criminal proceedings? Arethey
required todothisontheir owninitiative and/or inresponse tocomplaints?
Thepublicprosecutorisresponsibleforinitiatingcriminalproceedingsinrespectofinfringement
ofIPRs.
23. Doprivate persons have standing toinitiate criminal proceedings and,ifso,who?
According toArticle 59oftheCopyright Actaninjured party may,asarule,alsoinitiate legal
proceedings ("civil criminal proceedings").
According toArticle 39oftheDesign Protection Act,anyone whoconsiders hisinterests to
havebeenprejudiced hastherighttoinitiate legalproceedings inaccordance withtheprovisions of
Section VII.Legal proceedings under Article 36shallbeprosecuted according totherulesoncriminal
proceedings andclaims under Article 37maybesubmitted ascriminal suits.
According toArticle 45oftheTrademarks Act,anyone whoconsiders hisinterests tohave
beeninfringed against mayinitiate legalproceedings under Articles 43and44.These proceedings
shallbeprosecuted ascivilcases, butclaims under Article 43mayalsobepresented inacriminal suit.
According toparagraph 3ofArticle 57ofthePatents Act,proceedings shallbebrought by
theinjured party. There arenolimitations astocriminal proceedings.
24. Specify, bycategory ofIPRandtypeofinfringement where necessary, thepenalties and
other remedies thatmaybeimposed:
- imprisonment;
- monetary fines;
- seizure,forfeitureanddestructionofinfringinggoodsandmaterialsandimplements
fortheir production;
- other.
(a) Imprisonment
Thecriminal remedies available arebasically thesame inrespect ofallintellectual property
rights andinclude finesorimprisonment foruptothree months (uptotwoyears incaseofcopyright
infringement) foractscommitted withpremeditation orwithgross negligence.
Article 54oftheCopyright Act.
Article 42oftheTrademarks Act.
Article 36oftheDesign Protection Act.
Article 57ofthePatents Act.IP/N/6/ISL/1
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(b) Monetary fines
Seeabove andArticle 7oftheSemiconductor Act.
(c) Seizure, forfeiture anddestruction ofinfringing goods andmaterials andimplements fortheir
production
Theprovisions onseizure, forfeiture ordestruction ofmaterials andimplements fortheir
production arebasically thesame asregards allintellectual property rights. They havebeendescribed
inthecontext ofquestion 5.
(d) Other
25. Describe provisions governing thelength andanycostofproceedings. Provide anyavailable
dataontheactual duration ofproceedings andtheir cost, ifany.
Seeanswer toquestion 8.