This page has been validated.

Developments in Intellectual Property Protection

2002-2003

2002

May

  • On May 8, the Republic of Slovenia deposited its instruments of ratification to the Patent Law Treaty and the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs.
  • On May 14, India passed the second amendment to its 1970 patent law, which recognized some of the shortcomings of the earlier law, including the extension of pharmaceutical process patent protection from 7 years to 20 years.
  • On May 18, Senegal became party to the WIPO Copyright Treaty.
  • On May 20, Honduras became party to the WIPO Copyright Treaty.
  • On May 20, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) entered into force. The following parties had acceded to or ratified the Treaty on that date: Albania, Argentina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Panama, Paraguay, Romania, Saint Lucia, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and the United States.
  • On May 22, Kazakhstan issued a resolution with a package of measures intended to correct deficiencies in the Kazakh IPR regime, such as including providing clear protection for pre-existing works and sound recordings and civil ex parte procedure.
  • On May 25, Guinea became party to the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty.
  • On May 26, Slovenia became party to the Trademark Law Treaty.
  • Morocco's Ministry of Health's Office of Medicines and Pharmaceuticals evaluated weaknesses in the 1960 pharmaceuticals law and sent new legislation to eliminate all obstacles to foreign investment in the sector, including IPR issues, to the Secretariat General.
  • Panama held an intensive IPR workshop focused on helping judges, prosecutors, police and
May 1, 2003
33