Protection of exclusive rights in Belarus

Exclusive rights to intellectual property enjoy the following protections in the Republic of Belarus:
    Recognition of the right;
    The prevention of actions violating or menacing a right;
    The restoration of the pre-violation situation;
    The seizure of objects used to violate an exclusive right and material objects created as a result of such violation;
    Mandatory publication of information on instances of violations and information on the entity whose rights were violated;
    Other methods envisaged by the legislation.

 

Entities holding copyright or related rights are entitled to apply to judicial or other bodies in order:
    To obtain recognition of their copyright or related rights;
    To obtain restitution of the situation prevailing prior to the breach of copyright or related rights;
    To prevent actions violating or posing a threat to copyright or related rights;
    To obtain refund for damages, including lost earnings;
    To obtain seizure of earnings received by an entity in breach of copyright or related rights through such breach in lieu of damages;
    To obtain compensation in the amount of 10-50,000 base totals by court order in lieu of refund for losses or seizure of earnings, depending on the nature of the violation.

Note: the three lattermost measures are realized at the discretion of the right-holder.
    To undertake other measures envisaged by the legislation to protect copyright or related rights

 

Upon requirement of the patent holder violation of the exclusive right is to be desisted and the violator is obliged to compensate the patent holder for the losses incurred according to the legislation.

 

An entity which is unlawfully using someone else's topography is obliged to desist from doing so and compensate the owner of the topography.

 

Apart from the requirement to desist and pay compensation, the following protections are afforded by civil law to prevent the unauthorized use of trademarks:
    The removal from the product or its packaging of unlawfully used trade marks or marks resembling established trade marks to the point of confusion, and/or the destruction of copies of the trade mark or mark resembling an established trade mark;
    The impoundment or destruction of goods with which the trade mark was unlawfully used;
    The imposition of penalties in favor of the damaged party in the amount of the cost of the goods;
    The assignation in favor of the damaged party of goods with which the trade mark was unlawfully used.

 

An entity holding the right to use a geographical indication is entitled to require entities making use of the same indication on false pretences to cease using it, to remove it from their products, packaging, notepaper and other documentation, in addition to any geographical indication or designation which is similar to the point of confusion.

 

Any entity acquiring, distributing or using proprietary information by unlawful means is obliged to compensate the entity which rightfully owns the information in question for any losses incurred as a result.

 

Certain cases of intellectual rights violation may be regarded as unfair competition.

 

Unfair competition is deemed to be:
1.    Any action which could induce confusion with respect to competing enterprises, goods, work, services or entrepreneurial activity;
2.    False representations that could discredit a competing enterprise, product, work, services or entrepreneurial activity;
3.    Indications or affirmations as used in business which could give rise to misleading information on the character, characteristics, applicability or quantity of goods, work or services of a competitor;
4.    Other actions at variance with the Civil Code and other laws on competition.
Protection against unfair competition is realized by the submission of complaint to antimonopoly body (Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus).

 

Citizens and non-citizens living outside the Republic of Belarus or foreign legal entities residing in foreign countries shall obtain and maintain patents for inventions, prototypes, industrial samples as well as register trademarks, indication of place of origin, breeding achievements through patent agents registered with the patent authorities of the Republic of Belarus.