Loi n° IX-1181 du 7 novembre 2002 sur les dessins (telle que modifiée par la loi n° XI-2397 du 8 novembre 2012), Lituanie, WIPO Lex

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Anglais Law No. IX-1181 of November 7, 2002, on Designs (as amended up to Law No. XI-2397 of November 8, 2012)

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Law on Designs of November 7, 2002, No. IX-1181 (as amended on November 8, 2012 - by Law No. XI-2397)

REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

LAW

ON DESIGNS

7 November 2002 No. IX-1181

Vilnius

(As amended on 8 November 2012 – No XI-2397)

CHAPTER I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Purpose of the Law

1. This Law shall establish the procedure for legal protection, registration and use of an

industrial design (hereinafter: a ‘design’) in the Republic of Lithuania, as well as the maintenance of

the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania.

2. The provisions of this Law are in compliance with the legal acts of the European Union

referred to in the Annex to this Law.

Article 2. Main Definition of the Law

1. “Design” means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the

features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product

itself and/or its ornamentation.

2. “Product” means any industrial or handicraft item, including parts intended to be

assembled into a complex product, packaging, get-up, graphic symbols and typographic typefaces, but

excluding computer programs.

3. “Complex product” means a product which is composed of components which can be

replaced permitting disassembly and reassembly of the product (collections of items, composition).

4. “Person” means a natural or legal person.

5. “Application” means a package of documents to be presented to the State Patent Bureau of

the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter: ‘the State Patent Bureau’) according to the procedure

prescribed by this Law by the applicant in order to have his design registered.

6. “Designer” means a natural person (author) who has created a design.

7. “Applicant” means a person or a group of persons in whose name the application for the

registration of a design is filed.

8. “Patent attorney” means a natural person whose name appears on the Register of Patent

Attorneys of the Republic of Lithuania according to the procedure established in the Patent Attorney

Statute approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania.

9. “Design holder” means the holder of a design registered in the Republic of Lithuania in the

manner laid down by this Law.

10. “Licence” means consent of the design holder (licenser) to another person (licensee) to use

a registered design under the terms of a licensing contract.

11. “Sublicense” means the licensee’s consent to another person to use a design under the

terms of a sublicensing contract.

12. “International exhibition” means an international exhibition which is official or officially

recognised according to the Convention relating to International Exhibitions, adopted in Paris on 22

November 1928, as last revised on 30 November 1972.

13. “International registration of designs” means registration of a design in the International

‘International Bureau’) under the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement concerning the International

Registration of Industrial Designs (hereinafter: the ‘Geneva Act’), adopted at Geneva on 2 July 1999.

14. ‘’International application’’ means an application for international registration filed in

compliance with the requirements of the Geneva Act and Common Regulations Under the 1999 Act,

the 1960 Act and the 1934 Act of the Hague Agreement (hereinafter: the ‘Hague Agreement’) in

accordance with the procedure laid down by these legal acts.

15. “Paris Convention” means the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

of 20 March 1883 (with all effective supplements and amendments).

16. “Locarno Classification” means the international classification for industrial designs

under the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs of 8

October 1968 (with all effective supplements and amendments).

17. “Regulations” means Regulations for the Registration of Designs approved by the

Director of the State Patent Bureau.

18. “Community design” means a design in respect of which registration is applied for or

which is registered pursuant to the Regulation on Community designs.

19. “Regulation on Community designs” means Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12

December 2001 on Community designs.

Article 3. Scope of Application

1. This Law shall apply to every design 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.

2. A design which is the subject of international registration of the design, in effect in the

Republic of Lithuania, shall be protected under the Geneva Act.

CHAPTER II. PROTECTION OF THE DESIGN

Article 4. Protection Requirements

1. The legal protection shall be granted to the design registered in the Design Register of the

Republic of Lithuania, unless otherwise provided for in international treaties.

2. A design shall be registered and protected in the manner prescribed by this Law to the

extent that it is new and has individual character.

3. A design registered under this Law shall also be eligible for protection under the law of

Article 5. Novelty

1. A design shall be considered new if no identical design has been made available to the

public before the date of filing of the application or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority.

2. Designs shall be deemed to be identical if their features differ only in immaterial details.

Article 6. Individual Character

1. A design shall be considered to have individual character if the overall impression it

produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any

design which has been made available to the public before the date of filing of the application for

registration or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority.

2. In assessing individual character, the degree of freedom of the designer in developing the

design shall be taken into consideration.

Article 7. Novelty and Individual Character of Component Parts of a Product

1. A design of a component part of a complex product shall only be considered to be new and

to have individual character:

1) if the component part, once it has been incorporated into the complex product, remains

visible during normal use of the latter, and

2) to the extent that those visible features of the component part fulfil in themselves the

requirements as to novelty and individual character.

2. Normal use within the meaning of subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 shall mean use by the end

user, excluding maintenance, servicing or repair work.

Article 8. Disclosure

1. A design shall be deemed to have been made available to the public if:

1) following registration it has been published in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent

Bureau or any other publication, or exhibited;

2) it has been used in trade or otherwise disclosed.

2. The design for which protection is claimed shall not be deemed to have been made available

to the public:

1) if under the circumstances specified in paragraph 1 of this Article it has not become known

in the normal course of business to the circles specialised in the sector concerned, operating within the

European Community, before the date of filing of the application or, if priority is claimed, the date of

priority;

2) if it has been disclosed to a third person under explicit or implicit conditions of

confidentiality.

3. The design for which protection is claimed shall not be deemed to have been made available

to the public, if information relating to it has been disseminated during the 12-month period preceding

the date of filing of the application or, when priority is claimed, the date of priority and if information

has been disseminated:

1) by the designer, his successor in title, or a any other person as a result of information

provided or action taken by the designer or his successor in title;

2) as a consequence of an abuse of the rights of the designer or his successor in title by the

actions of another person.

Article 9. Grounds for Refusal of Registration of a Design or Invalidation of its

Registration

A design shall be refused registration, or, if the design has been registered, the registration

shall be declared invalid:

1) if the appearance of a product may not be regarded as a design within the meaning of

paragraph 1 of Article 2 of this Law;

2) if a design, its use or making available to the public is contrary to public policy or to

accepted principles of morality;

3) if a design incorporates the official or traditional (abbreviated) State name of the Republic

of Lithuania, armorial bearings, flag or other State heraldic objects, or any mark imitating them, also

warranty signs and hallmarks, stamps, decorations or badges of awards, unless the authorization for

their use in a design has been issued according to the established procedure by an institution

authorised by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania;

4) if a design incorporates armorial bearings, flags or other official emblems of other states or

international organisations the use of which has not been authorised by the competent authorities of

such states or international organisations pursuant to Article 6ter of the Paris Convention.

Article 10. Other Grounds for Invalidation of Registration of a Design

1. The registration of a design shall be declared invalid:

1) if it does not fulfil the requirements of Article 4 to 8 of this Law;

2) if the design is registered in the name of a person who is not entitled to it;

3) the design is identical with a prior design which is registered or applied for registration and

which has been made available to the public after the date of filing of the application or, if priority is

claimed, the date of priority;

4) if a component of the design is a prior design which is registered or applied for registration;

5) a trade mark, a name of a legal person the proprietor of which is another person, is

incorporated in the design without the consent of such person;

6) if the design constitutes the use of a work protected under the copyright law without the

authorization of the author or his successor in title;

7) if the features of appearance of a product are solely dictated by its technical function;

8) if the features of appearance of a product are solely dictated by the necessity to reproduce

the product in the exact form and dimensions in order to permit the product in which the design is

incorporated or to which it is applied to be mechanically connected to or placed in, around or against

another product so that the product so produced may perform its function.

2. For the purposes of subparagraphs 3 and 4 of paragraph 1 of this Article, a “prior design”

shall mean:

1) a design the date of filing of application for registration in the Republic of Lithuania of

which is prior to the date of filing of application for registration of the design specified in paragraph 1

of this Article, taking account, where appropriate, of the priorities granted or claimed in respect of that

design;

2) a design the date of registration of which under the Geneva Act in respect of the Republic

of Lithuania is earlier than the date of filing of application for registration of the design specified in

paragraph 1 of this Article, or, if priority is claimed, earlier than the date of priority;

3) a Community design the date of filing of the application for which under the Regulation on

Community designs is prior to the date of filing of the application for a design referred to in paragraph

1 of this Article or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority.

3. The provisions of subparagraph 8 of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply, if a design

subsists in a design serving the purpose of allowing the multiple assembly or connection of mutually

interchangeable products.

Article 11. Priority

1. The application may contain a request to grant priority on the basis of one or more first

applications filed for the registration of the same design in the State which is a party to the Paris

Convention or a member of the World Trade Organisation, if the applicant or his successor in title

files an application to the State Patent Bureau within a period of six months from 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 design was

first exhibited at an 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 the design at the exhibition.

3. An applicant who intends to benefit from the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this

Article must 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

design was first exhibited. These documents may be submitted together with other application

documents or within three months from the date of filling of the application.

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.

Article 12. Persons Entitled to the Design Right

1. A designer who has created a design shall be entitled to personal moral rights and the right

to register a design in his own name. The right to register a design may be inherited or transferred to

third persons – successors in title.

2. The person in whose name a design has been registered shall be entitled to the exclusive

design right.

3. The exclusive design right shall be held by:

1) a designer, provided that such a right has not been transferred;

2) a successor in title, provided that such a right has been inherited or transferred to him;

3) an employer or client when a design is a service design, unless otherwise provided for in the

contract.

4. If a person who is not entitled to the design right under paragraph 3 of this Article, files an

application for registration of a design or registers such a design in his own name, a designer or his

successor in title shall have the right to request that the application for registration of the design or

design itself be reregistered in his own name.

5. If two or more persons have jointly developed a design, they shall be considered to be co-

authors and the right to the design shall vest in them jointly, unless otherwise agreed by them. A

person, who has rendered only material, technical or organisational assistance in the development of a

design, shall not be considered to be a designer.

6. Where two or more designers have developed the same design independently of each other,

the right to the design shall vest in the designer who first filed an application with the State Patent

Bureau or who has earlier priority to this design as long as his application has not been later

withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn.

Article 13. Service Design

1. A design shall be deemed to be a service design, if it has been developed under at least one

of the following conditions:

1) during the execution of an employment contract which provides for the development of a

design;

2) following concrete instructions (on order) under the contract in the course of designing,

constructing, scientific research or creation of technologies;

3) when making use of the experience accumulated by an enterprise, agency or organisation,

or its technologies and equipment.

2. The employee who developed a service design must immediately inform the employer in

writing. Until the filing of an application, the employer and the employee may not disclose the design.

3. Upon registration of a design in the name of the employer, he must pay remuneration to the

designer. The amount of such remuneration shall depend on the economic value of the design and any

benefit derived by the employer from the utilisation of this design. The conditions of remuneration

and the payment thereof shall be established in a remuneration agreement which is signed by the

employer and the designer, and which is concluded not later than within six months following the

issuing of a certificate of registration of the design or within one year of the beginning of the use of

the design, if the beginning of the use of the design is prior to the issuing of the certificate of

registration of the design. If the employer fails to fulfil the contractual requirements or the said

contract is not concluded within the aforementioned time limits, the designer shall be entitled to

appeal to the court to be recognised as a design holder of a service design.

4. The provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article regarding the payment of remuneration shall

not apply, if the employment contract provides for the development of a design.

5. If no agreement exists between the parties regarding the remuneration, the amount of

remuneration shall be established by the court.

6. The rights and duties of the employer and the employee, related to service designs, with the

exception of the payment of remuneration, shall expire when the registration of the design is declared

invalid or after one year of the termination of labour relations.

7. When a design is developed in the enterprise, agency or organisation which carries out

works related to scientific research, designing, constructing and other creative activities pursuant to

the contract with the client who finances such works, an exclusive right to the design shall be

established in the said contract. If the client withdraws the right to the design or fails to inform the

designer within four months about his intention to exercise such right, the right to the design shall be

transferred to the designer.

Article 14. Designer’s Personal Moral Rights

1. The names of a designer or designers (if two or more persons have jointly developed the

design) must be indicated in an application and a certificate of registration of the design.

2. The State Patent Bureau, in publishing data concerning the registration of a design, must

mention the names of the designer or designers.

3. The designer shall enjoy the right to request to withhold his name. He must file a request to

this effect with the State Patent Bureau. The State Patent Bureau must comply with this request.

4. A design may not be altered without the designer’s consent, unless otherwise provided for

in the contract.

Article 15. Information on a Design

A third person who uses a design for advertising, when marking goods or on their packages, or

in any other form, must, at design holder’s request, indicate immediately that the design is registered

or submitted for registration, as well as the number of registration or an application.

CHAPTER III. REGISTRATION OF DESIGN

Article 16. Filing of an Application

1. An applicant who wishes to register a design must file an application with the State Patent

Bureau. The application for registration of a service design shall be filed with the State Patent Bureau

in the name of an employer or a client. The applicant must pay a fixed fee for filing of the application

2. A representative of an applicant may also file an application. Natural persons of foreign

states who are not permanent residents of the Republic of Lithuania or any other EU Member State or

any other state of the European Economic Area and legal persons of foreign states who do not have a

branch office or representative office registered in the Republic of Lithuania, or a registered office, a

branch office or a representative office in any other EU Member State or any other state of the

European Economic Area, shall file applications with the State Patent Bureau and perform all actions

relating to the registration of the design with the State Patent Bureau, including also representation at

the Appeals Division, through the patent attorney of the Republic of Lithuania whose name appears

on the Register of Patent Attorneys of the Republic of Lithuania.

3. One application may request registration of more than one, but not more than one hundred

of examples of the design of a product. A product, except ornamentation, the examples of the design

of which the application requests to register must belong to the same class of the Locarno

classification, with the exception of multifunctional products which may belong to more than one

class of the Locarno according to their functions.

4. An application for the registration of a design shall contain:

1) a request for the registration of a design and issuance of a design registration certificate

signed by the applicant or his representative;

2) photographs or graphic representations of a design;

3) description of a design;

4) the power of attorney given to a person (where the application is filed by an authorised

person);

5) a declaration concerning designer’s authorship;

6) a document confirming the transfer of the design rights (where appropriate);

7) a document confirming priority under paragraph 3 of Article 11 of this Law (where

appropriate);

8) authorization granted by competent authorities under subparagraphs 3 or 4 of Article 9 of

this Law (where appropriate);

9) consent of the design holder according to subparagraphs 5 or 6 of paragraph 1 of Article 10

of this Law (where appropriate);

10) a request concerning an earlier date of publication of a design (where appropriate);

11) a request for deferment of publication of a design (where appropriate).

5. A request for the registration of a design and issuance of a design registration certificate

shall contain:

1) information identifying the applicant and his representative, set out in the Regulations;

2) name of a product;

3) the classes and subclasses of the Locarno classification;

4) information identifying the designer, set out in the Regulations;

5) the state where the first application was filed, the number and date of such application or

the date and state of display at an international exhibition (where appropriate). Indication of the said

date shall be considered to be a request to be granted priority under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 11

of this Law;

6) reference to earlier or deferred publication of a design;

7) evidence demonstrating that a fixed fee has been paid.

6. If registration of more than ten example of a design is applied for, a fixed additional fee

shall be payable for each additional example of the design indicated in the application.

7. A fee for filing an application for registration of a design shall be paid by an applicant

within one month of the filing thereof.

Article 17. Date of Filing of Application

1. The date of receipt by the State Patent Bureau of a request specified in subparagraph 1 of

paragraph 4 of Article 16 of this Law, containing at least the information referred to in subparagraphs

1 to 3 of paragraph 5 of Article 16 of this Law, as well as the document specified in subparagraph 2 of

paragraph 4 of Article 16 of this Law shall be considered the date of filing of the application.

2. In case of failure to submit the documents listed in paragraph 1 of this Article or if the said

documents do not satisfy the requirements laid down in this Law or the Regulations, 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. A date of filing shall be

deemed not to have been granted and the application documents shall be returned to the applicant, if

the fee for the filing of the application for registration of the design has not been paid within the time

limit referred to in paragraph 7 of Article 16 of this Law.

3. An applicant shall acquire the right of seniority of a design from the date of filling of the

application or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority. From the said date to the date of issuance of a

certificate of registration of the design, temporary legal protection shall be afforded for the design,

during which claims may be invoked to another person, warning him about the possible infringement

of the rights provided for in Article 36 of this Law.

4. If an applicant has withdrawn his application or the design has not been registered, or it has

been removed from the Register at the request of the holder of the design, or its registration is

opposed by another person, the temporary legal protection provided for in paragraph 3 of this Article

shall be deemed not to have been afforded for the design.

Article 18. Examination of Application

1. The State Patent Bureau shall, within the time limit set out in the Regulations, conduct a

formal examination of the application documents: check whether or not the documents specified in

paragraph 4 of Article 16 of this Law have been filed.

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 paragraph 1 of Article 17

of this Law have been filed.

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 the number accorded to it shall be indicated.

4. Having ascertained that the documents specified in subparagraphs 1-8 of paragraph 4 of

Article 16 of this Law have not been filed or that the said documents do not satisfy the requirements

of this Law and the Regulations, the State Patent Bureau shall notify the applicant or his

representative in writing, pointing out the deficiencies and the suggestions how to remedy them. If the

deficiencies are not remedied within the time limit set out in the Regulations, the State Patent Bureau

shall recognise the document or the application as having not been filed and shall notify the applicant

or his representative in writing.

5. Having accorded the application a date of filing, a certified copy of the application may be

issued, if the applicant submits a request to this end and pays a fixed fee.

6. The requests referred to in subparagraphs 10 and 11 of paragraph 4 of Article 16 of this Law

may be presented, when filing an application, in a form of a reference in a request for the registration

of a design and issuance of a design registration certificate pursuant to subparagraph 6 of paragraph 5

of Article 16 of this Law, or within five months after the filing of the application.

Article 19. Examination of a Design

1. Having conducted an examination of the application, the State Patent Bureau shall carry out

an examination of the design with a view to ascertaining whether or not there are grounds for refusal

of registration of a design, referred to in Article 9 of this Law.

2. Where, under Article 9 of this Law, a design is not registrable, the State Patent Bureau shall

adopt a decision to refuse the registration of the design. The decision must indicate grounds and

reasons for the refusal of the registration of the design. Such decision shall be sent to the applicant or

his representative within ten calendar days (hereinafter: ‘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 design;

2) to leave valid the decision to refuse registration of the design.

5. The State Patent Bureau shall send the decision adopted pursuant to paragraph 4 of this

Article to the applicant or his representative within ten days from the adoption thereof.

6. Having established that the design is assigned to the wrong class of the Locarno

classification or that a class is not indicated, the State Patent Bureau shall assign the design to an

appropriate class or designate it, and shall notify the applicant or his representative about it in writing.

Article 20. Filing of Appeal

1. An applicant or his representative who objects to the decision adopted by the State Patent

Bureau to refuse registration of a design, shall have the right to file with the Appeals Division of the

State Patent Bureau (hereinafter: the ‘Appeals Division’), within three months from the sending of the

decision, a written appeal with a substantiated request for a review of the findings of the examination.

A fee must be paid in accordance with the procedure laid down by legal acts for the filing of an

appeal.

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 design in respect of all or some of

the design examples;

2) to dismiss the appeal and to uphold the decision to refuse the registration of the design.

3. Where the applicant or his representative objects to the decision of the Appeals Division, he

shall have the right to appeal against that decision to the Vilnius Regional Court within six months

from the date of adoption thereof.

Article 21. Registration of a Design

1. Upon ascertaining that there are no grounds for refusal of registration of the design, referred

to in Article 9 of this Law, or when the appeal is granted pursuant to the procedure established by

Article 20 of this Law, the State Patent Bureau shall adopt a decision to register the design and shall,

within ten days from the date of adoption of the decision, send to the applicant or his representative

this decision and instruction to pay the fee fixed for registration, publication of the design, and the

issuance of a registration certificate.

2. After the applicant or his representative pays a fixed fee, the design shall be entered in the

Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania. Information about the entry of the design in the said

3. The design shall be registered and published not earlier than after 6 months from the date of

filling of the application. At the request of the applicant or his representative, a design may be

registered and published prior to the expiration of this period of time.

4. At the request of the applicant or his representative, publication in the Official Bulletin

of the State Patent Bureau of information about the entry of a design in the Design Register of the

Republic of Lithuania may be deferred for a period of up to 30 months from the date of filing the

application or, if a priority is claimed, from the date of priority.

Article 22. Withdrawal and Separation of the Application

1. If the applicant or his representative fails to pay the fixed fee within three months from the

day of sending of the decision to register the design, 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

decrease the number of design examples contained therein at any stage of examination of the

application or the design.

4. The applicant or his representative shall have the right, at any stage of examination of the

application containing more than one design example or examination of the design, to submit a

request to separate the design examples into several independent applications The filing date of the

initial application shall be established for each independent application and, if priority is claimed or

has been granted, the priority date of the initial application.

5. A fee shall be paid for each independent application as for a newly filed application.

Article 23. Opposition to Registration of a Design

1. Within a period of three months following the publication of the registered design in the

Official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau, the persons specified in Article 44 of this Law may, on

the grounds of Articles 9 and (or) 10 of this Law, oppose the registration of the design by submitting

to the Appeals Division a justified written opposition.

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 aforementioned requirements, the Appeals Division shall accept

the opposition as admissible and shall communicate one copy of the opposition to the holder of the

design against which the opposition is filed or his representative.

4. The holder of the design 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 refusal of the design holder or his

representative to participate in the consideration of the opposition and this not prevent the Appeals

Division from considering the opposition.

5. Following the examination of the opposition, the Appeals Division shall adopt one of the

following decisions:

1) to satisfy the opposition and to make a decision to declare invalid the registration of the

design in respect of all or some of the design examples;

2) to reject the opposition and leave the registration of the design valid.

6. The design holder 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 the 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

Regional 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 24. Procedure for Examination of Appeals and Opposition at the State Patent

Bureau

1. Appeals and oppositions shall be examined at a meeting of the Appeals Division in

accordance with the written or public oral procedure.

2. Generally, appeals and oppositions shall be examined in accordance with the written

procedure. When appeals and oppositions are examined in accordance with the written procedure, an

applicant, a person specified in Article 44 of this Law, a holder of a design against which the

opposition is filed or their representatives shall not be invited to a meeting of the Appeals Division

and the examination shall be conducted without their participation.

3. Appeals and oppositions shall be examined in accordance with the oral procedure only in

exceptional cases, when the dispute is complicated or pivotal in shaping a new practice of the Appeals

Division. When appeals or oppositions are examined in accordance with the oral procedure, an

applicant a person specified in Article 44 of this Law, a holder of a design against which the

opposition is filed or their representatives shall be invited to a meeting of the Appeals Division,

however, their failure to attend a meeting does not prevent from examining appeals or oppositions.

4. The procedure for examining appeals and oppositions shall be laid down in the Regulations

for Appeal and Opposition Examination approved by the Director of the State Patent Bureau.

Article 25. Certificate of Registration of a Design

1. The State Patent Bureau shall issue a registration certificate to the holder of a registered

design or his representative, if opposition has not been filed in accordance with the procedure laid

down in Article 23 of this Law or if opposition has been rejected or registration of the design in

respect of some of the design examples has been declared invalid pursuant to paragraph 5 of Article

23 of this Law.

2. The form of the certificate of registration of a design and the data recorded therein shall be

established by the State Patent Bureau.

3. The certificate of registration of a design shall be a legal document certifying the entry of

the design in the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania and the exclusive rights of the design

holder to the registered design.

4. If the design holder loses the certificate of registration of a design, he shall be issued a

duplicate of the certificate at his request and upon the payment of a fixed fee.

Article 26. Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania

1. The Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania is a state register. The Register shall be

administered by the State Patent Bureau.

2. The procedure for collecting, amassing, processing, systemising, storing, using, and

providing documents and data relating to designs shall be established by the Statute of the Design

Article 27. Data of the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania

1. The following data shall be recorded and gathered in the Design Register of the Republic of

Lithuania:

1) date of filing of the application and its file number;

2) name of a design product and its class (subclass) according to the Locarno classification;

3) reproduction of a design and the number of examples;

4) date of registration of the design and its file number;

5) the applicant’s name or personal name, surname and address (headquarters);

6) personal name, surname and address (headquarters) of the designer;

7) name or personal name, surname and address (headquarters) of the design holder;

8) date of expiry of registration;

9) priority date, first application file number, code of the state, provided that priority has been

given under paragraph 1 of Article 11 of this Law;

10) name of the exhibition, date of display of the design, provided that priority has been given

under paragraph 2 of Article 11 of this Law;

11) personal name, surname, address (headquarters) of the representative (where he has been

appointed);

12) other data relating to the registration, use and protection of the design;

13) grounds for and date of changing the data.

2. All natural and legal persons shall have the right to use the data of the Design Register of

the Republic of Lithuania according to the procedure laid down by the Statute of the Design Register

of the Republic of Lithuania.

3. The State Patent Bureau shall issue extracts from the Design Register of the Republic of

Lithuania at the request of any person who has paid the fixed fee.

Article 28. Inspection of Application Files

1. Design application files and data pertaining to the claimed design shall not be made

available to the public prior to the publication of the design in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent

Bureau in the manner prescribed by Article 21 of this Law.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply if:

1) the applicant gives a written consent to a third person to inspect the application files and

data;

2) information on the filed applications is requested by the court and other State institutions

which are entitled to obtain restricted information in the manner prescribed by legal acts;

3) if opposition has been filed against the registration of a design on the basis of a prior design

application, and the holder of the design against which the opposition has been filed submits a written

request to disclose the documents and data pertaining to the earlier application.

3. Where an application is, in accordance with Article 18 of this Law, deemed not to have

been filed or is, in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 3 of Article 22, deemed to have been withdrawn,

inspection of it shall be possible only upon written consent of the person who has filed such

application.

Article 29. Recording of Changes in the Application and in the Design Register of the

Republic of Lithuania

1. The applicant, the design holder or his representative must notify the State Patent Bureau of:

1) changes in the name or personal name, surname or address (headquarters) of the designer,

the applicant or the design holder;

2) changes of the representative of the applicant or design holder, or his address

(headquarters);

3) an amended form of the design applied for registration or of the registered design, if the

design registration has been declared invalid pursuant to Article 9 of this Law, and, in the opinion of

the State Patent Bureau, in that form the design complies with the requirements laid down in this Law

and the identity of the design is retained;

4) limitation of the list of design examples;

5) the full or partial change of the applicant or the design holder;

6) the need to correct technical errors.

2. Requesting for change to be recorded in the application or in the Design Register of the

Republic of Lithuania, the applicant, the design holder or their representative shall submit the

following documents:

1) request for recording changes in the application or in the Design Register of the Republic of

Lithuania;

2) documents substantiating the request where the recording of the changes specified in

subparagraphs 5 or 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 Design Register 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

Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the State

Patent Bureau.

5. Technical error made by the State Patent Bureau shall be corrected free of charge.

6. When registering an amended form of the design, specified in subparagraph 3 of paragraph

1 of this Article, it shall be indicated in the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania that the

change is entered:

1) on the initiative of the design holder;

2) upon withdrawal of part of the rights by the design holder;

3) by a court decision.

Article 30. Removal of a Design from the Register

1. A design shall be removed from the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania if:

1) the Appeals Division declares the registration of the design invalid according to the

procedure laid down in Article 23 of this Law;

2) the registration of the design is declared invalid by a court decision;

3) the registration of the design has not been renewed according to the procedure laid down in

Article 35 of this Law;

4) the design holder requests for the design to be removed from the Register.

2. The State Patent Bureau shall remove the design from the Design Register of the Republic

of Lithuania following the receipt of one of the following documents:

1) effective court decision to declare the registration of the design invalid;

2) a written request of the design holder.

3. After the Appeals Division takes a decision to declare the registration of a design invalid, or

in case of failure to renew the registration of the design according to the procedure laid down in

Article 35 of this Law, the design shall be removed from the Register on the initiative of the State

Patent Bureau.

4. A notice of removal of the design from the Register shall be published in the Official

Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau.

Article 31. Requirements for the Documents Filed to the State Patent Bureau

1. Documents must be filed to the State Patent Bureau in the state language. If the documents,

except for the application for the registration of a design and for the issuance of a certificate of

registration of a design, are filed in a language which is not the state language, the applicant, the

design holder or his representative 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 design holder must be issued in in

the simple written form.

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 design holder or his representative fails to submit the documents

within the time limit set in this Law or the documents have been executed not in accordance with the

requirements.

Article 32. Time Limit

1. Where an applicant or his representative files a written request and pays a fixed fee for the

renewal of a time limit, the time limits provided for in paragraph 4 of Article 18, paragraph 3 of

Article 19, paragraph 1 of Article 20, paragraph 1 of Article 22, paragraph 1 of Article 31, and

paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 334 of this Law may be renewed once, but for not longer than two

months from the date of expiry of the initial time limit.

2. Upon payment of the fee for the renewal of the time limit, the applicant, the design holder

or his representative may, not later than within two months from the date of expiry of the initial time

limit, submit an application for the renewal of the missed time limit. The time period shall be renewed

on the decision of the State Patent Bureau.

3. The time limit, fixed in paragraph 1 of Article 22, which has been missed by the applicant,

may be reinstated upon payment by the applicant of the fixed fee and filing of the following

documents:

1) a substantiated request to reinstate the missed time limit;

2) a document stating the grounds of missing of the time limit.

4. Reinstatement specified in paragraph 3 of this Article shall be granted, if the documents are

submitted within two months from the moment the circumstances on the grounds whereof the

applicant failed to timely pay the fixed fee ceased to exist, but not later than within one year from the

end of the time limit which had to be observed. Reinstatement of the time limit shall be granted on the

decision of the State Patent Bureau.

5. Refusal to renew or reinstate the time limit may be appealed against to the court in the

manner prescribed by the law.

Article 33. Fees

The amount of fees, specific actions for which fees are payable, the procedure for paying the

fees shall be established by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Fees for the Registration of

Industrial Property Objects.

CHAPTER III1

INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION OF A DESIGN

Article 331. Validity of International Registration of a Design

1. International registration of a design, which designates the Republic of Lithuania, shall,

from the date of registration pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Geneva Act, have the same

legal protection as a design in respect of which registration is applied for in accordance with the

procedure laid down by this Law.

2. Where following the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 332 of this Law, validity of the

international registration of a design in the Republic of Lithuania has not been refused or where such

refusal has been later withdrawn, the international registration of a design shall, from the date

indicated in paragraph 1 of this Article, have the same legal protection as a design which has been

registered pursuant to the provisions of this Law.

3. Data concerning the international registration of a design shall be published in the

International Designs Bulletin of the International Bureau.

4. The State Patent Bureau shall record in the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania the

data concerning the international registration of a design, in which the Republic of Lithuania is

designated.

Article 332. Invalidation of International Registration of a Design

1. Where all or part of examples of a design that is the subject of the international registration

do not meet the requirements of Article 9 of this Law or where an opposition to the international

registration of a design is filed in accordance with the procedure laid down by this Law, the State

Patent Bureau shall, within a period and in a manner prescribed by the Regulations under the Hague

Agreement, communicate to the International Bureau a notification of refusal of the validity of the

international registration of a design in the Republic of Lithuania, stating all the grounds on which the

refusal is based. Such a refusal may be withdrawn, in part or in whole, at any time by the State Patent

Bureau.

2. Where the international registration in respect of all or part of examples of a design in the

Republic of Lithuania has been declared invalid, the State Patent Bureau shall notify the International

Bureau about this.

3. The international registration of a design shall be invalid in the Republic of Lithuania from

the date of its declaration invalid in the Republic of Lithuania.

Article 333. Filling of an International Application

1. An applicant who satisfies the requirements of Article 3 of the Geneva Act shall be entitled

to file an international application through the State Patent Bureau or directly with the International

Bureau. The Republic of Lithuania may be designated in the international application among the

states in which protection is applied for.

2. An international application shall be filed in compliance with the requirements and in the

manner prescribed by the Geneva Act and the Regulations under the Hague Agreement.

3. Where an international agreement is filed through the State Patent Bureau, it shall enter the

date of filling the international application and shall communicate the international application to the

International Bureau. The State Patent Bureau shall not conduct examination of an international

application.

4. The procedure for filling an international application through the State Patent Bureau shall

be laid down by the Regulations.

Article 334. Special Provisions Applied to the International Registration of a Design

1. If the holder of the international registration of a design opposes the decision of the State

Patent Bureau to refuse to validity of the international registration of the design in the Republic of

Lithuania on the grounds that all or part of the examples of the design do not satisfy the requirements

of Article 9 of this Law, he shall be entitled to request a re-examination of the design within five

months from the day of taking of the decision. If he fails to file the request within the prescribed time

limit, the decision of the State Patent Bureau shall be deemed final.

2. If the holder of the international registration of a design opposes the decision taken by the

State Patent Bureau in the course of the re-examination of the design, he shall be entitled to file,

within three months from the day of transmittal of the decision, an appeal to the Appeals Division.

The said appeal shall be accepted, considered and appealed against according to the procedure laid

down by Article 20 of this Law.

3. The interested persons or their representatives must file an opposition to the international

registration of a design within three months from the day of publishing of the data on the international

registration of the design in the International Designs Bulletin of the International Bureau. The

opposition must meet the requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 23 of this Law.

4. The holder of the international design registration to which an opposition has been filed or

his representative appointed in the manner laid down in paragraph 2 of Article 16 of this Law shall,

within five-month from the date indicated in a notification to the International Bureau of refusal of the

validity of the international registration of the design in the Republic of Lithuania, present a justified

reply to the opposition. Failure to present a justified reply to the opposition shall be considered as a

refusal to take part in the consideration of the opposition and shall not prevent the Appeals Division

from considering the opposition in the absence of the holder (or his representative) of the international

design registration to which the opposition has been filed. If the holder of the international design

registration to which the opposition has been filed fails to appoint his representative, the decision

taken by the Appeals Division shall not be communicated to the holder of the international

registration of the design.

5. Data on a license issued by the holder of the international registration of a design may be

recorded in the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania in accordance with the procedure laid

down by Article 41 of this Law.

6. Changes concerning the international registration of a design, renewal of the registration,

transfer of the rights and other data relating to the international registration of the design shall be

recorded by the International Bureau in compliance with the procedure laid down by the Geneva Act.

Requests shall be presented directly to the International Bureau.

7. All fees prescribed in the Geneva Act and the Regulations under the Hague Agreement shall

be paid directly to the International Bureau.

CHAPTER IV. DURATION OF REGISTRATION OF A DESIGN

Article 34. Duration of Registration of a Design

1. An initial period of validity of the registration of a design shall be 5 years from the date of

filing of the application.

2. The term of the registration of a design may be renewed up to a total term of 25 years in the

manner prescribed by Article 35 of this Law.

Article 35. Renewal of Registration of a Design

1. Following the expiry of the period specified in paragraph 1 of Article 34 of this Law, the

registration of a design may be renewed four times for a period of five years each, up to a total term of

25 years from the date of filing of an application.

2. The registration of a design shall be renewed on the decision of the State Patent Bureau

provided that a fixed fee is paid and a request for renewal of the registration of the design in respect of

all or part of the examples is submitted to the State Patent Bureau in accordance with the procedure

laid down by the Regulations.

3. A request for renewal of the registration of a design must be filed by the design holder or

his representative within the last six months of the design registration validity, with the exception of

the case provided for in paragraph 4 of this Article.

4. Upon having paid for the renewal of the registration of a design the surcharge increased by

50 per cent, the design holder or his representative may, within 6 months from the day of the expiry of

the validity of registration of the design, submit the documents specified in paragraph 2 of this

Article. In this case it shall be considered that the registration of the design has not ceased to be valid.

5. Information relating to the renewal of the registration of a design shall be recorded in the

Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania and published in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent

Bureau.

6. If the design holder or his representative fails to submit a request for renewal of the

registration of the design within the period specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this Article, the

registration of the design shall not be renewed and the design shall be removed from the Design

CHAPTER V. RIGHTS CONFERRED BY DESIGN REGISTRATION

Article 36. Rights of the Design Holder

1. The holder of a registered design shall enjoy the exclusive right to use it and to allow or

prevent any other persons not having his consent from making, offering for sale, selling, putting on

the market, importing, exporting, stocking and using any products or their parts, if the overall

impression their design produces on an informed user differs from that produced on him by the

registered design.

2. When establishing the rights conferred by the registration of a design, the freedom of the

designer in developing the design shall be taken into consideration.

Article 37. Limitation of the Rights Conferred by the Design Right

1. The provisions of Article 36 of this Law may not apply in order to prevent any third party

from doing the acts set out in Article 36 of this Law, provided they are:

1) done to meet personal needs and for non-commercial purposes;

2) done for experimental purposes;

3) acts of reproduction of a design for the purposes of making citations or of teaching provided

that such acts are compatible with fair trade practice and do not prejudice the normal exploitation of

the design, and that mention is made of the source.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article may apply only when the aforementioned acts

are compatible with fair trade or commercial practice and do not unduly prejudice the lawful interests

of the design holder.

3. In addition to the acts provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article, the design holder shall not

have the right to prevent any third party from doing the following acts:

1) to use a design on ships, aircrafts and other means of transport registered in foreign

countries, and in the equipment thereof, when these temporarily enter the territory of the Republic of

Lithuania;

2) to import in the Republic of Lithuania spare parts and accessories for the purpose of

repairing the means of transport specified in subparagraph 1 of this paragraph;

3) to execute repairs on the means of transport specified in subparagraph 1 of this paragraph;

4) to exercise the right of prior use.

Article 38. Right of Prior Use

1. Persons who have in good faith used or have been completely prepared to use the design,

which has not been copied, but has been developed independently from a registered design of another

person, before the date of filing of the application, or, if a priority is claimed, before the date of

priority, shall have the right in their enterprise and for the purposes of the activities thereof to

continue such use or to use the design as envisaged during the preparations.

2. The person who enjoys the right of prior use may not grant a licence to another person to

use the design.

3. The right of prior use cannot be transferred except along with that part of the business in the

course of which design was used or the preparations were made for the use thereof.

Article 39. Exhaustion of rights

The rights conferred by registration of a design shall be exhausted, when the products the

design of which is protected in the manner prescribed by this Law, have been put by the holder of the

design or with his consent on the European Community market.

CHAPTER VI. TRANSFER OF THE RIGHT TO A DESIGN,

LICENSING AND RIGHTS IN REM

Article 40. Transfer of the Right to a Design Applied for or a Registered Design

1. The right to a design applied for or a registered design may be transferred, under agreement,

together with or separately from other rights of the design holder, related to his business, with the

exception of the cases where a successor in title has not been granted an authorisation or given a

consent pursuant to subparagraph 3 or 4 of Article 9 of this Law. Unless the agreement provides

otherwise, the transfer of business shall include the transfer of the right to a design.

2. The right to a design applied for or to a registered design may be transferred in respect of a

part of the design examples.

3. The transfer of a right to a design applied for or a registered design shall be recorded in the

Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania upon the request of one of the parties to the transfer,

provided a fixed fee is paid and the following documents are submitted to the State Patent Bureau:

1) a request to record the transfer;

2) a document certifying the transfer and signed by the parties to the transfer or an extract

from the transfer agreement, signed by one of the parties to the transfer or the representative thereof;

3) the power of attorney issued to the representative (where appropriate);

4) an authorisation or consent referred to in subparagraph 3 or 4 of Article 9 of this Law and

granted to a successor in title (where appropriate).

4. The State Patent Bureau shall examine the submitted documents within a time limit set out

in the Regulations and, provided that the documents satisfy the requirements of this Article and the

Regulations, shall record the data relating to the transfer of a design applied for or a registered design

in the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania. Having established that the submitted documents

do not satisfy the requirements laid down in this Law or the Regulations, the State Patent Bureau shall

send the applicant, the proprietor of the design holder or his representative a notification identifying

the deficiencies and suggestions for their remedy. If the said deficiencies are not remedied within one

month from the dispatch of the said notification, the request to record the transfer in the Design

5. A transfer of the right to an applied for or registered design shall become effective from its

recording in the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania. The data relating to the transfer of the

right to a registered design shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau.

6. Where upon the transfer of the right to a design applied for or a registered d, a successor to

the title has not been granted an authorisation or given a consent pursuant to subparagraph 3 or 4 of

Article 9 of this Law, the State Patent Bureau shall take a decision not to record the data related to the

transfer of the right to the design applied for or the registered design in the Design Register of the

Republic of Lithuania.

Article 41. Licensing

1. The design holder shall enjoy the right to issue to a third party an exclusive or non-

exclusive licence for using a design within the whole or part of the Republic of Lithuania.

2. The licensing contract data shall be recorded in the Design Register of the Republic of

Lithuania upon the payment of a fixed fee and the filing of a request of one of the parties to the

licensing contract. The following documents shall be submitted to the State Patent Bureau alongside

with the request:

1) a document certifying the conclusion of the licensing contract signed by both parties or an

extract from the licensing contract, signed by one of the parties to the transfer or the representative

thereof;

2) the power of attorney issued to a representative (where appropriate);

3. The following must be indicated in the document certifying the conclusion of a licensing

contract or in an extract from the licensing contract:

1) the name or the personal name, surname and address (headquarters) of the design holder;

2) the name or the personal name, surname and address (headquarters) of the licensee;

3) registration number of the design for which the licence is granted;

4) type of the licence;

5) the time period of the validity of the licence;

6) the territory in which the licence is valid.

4. The State Patent Bureau shall examine the received documents within a time limit set out by

the Regulations and, upon ascertaining that the documents satisfy the requirements of this Law and

the Regulations, shall record the data relating to the conclusion of the licensing contract in the Design

the requirements of this Law or the Regulations, the State Patent Bureau shall send the applicant,

design holder or his representative a notification identifying the deficiencies and suggestions for their

remedy. If the said deficiencies are not remedied within one month from the dispatch of the said

notification, the request for recordal of the data on the licensing contract in the Design Register of the

Republic of Lithuania shall be deemed not to have been submitted. .

5. The data relating to the recordal of the licensing contract in the Design Register of the

Republic of Lithuania shall be published in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau.

6. The design holder may invoke the rights provided for by Article 36 of this Law against a

licensee who contravenes any of the provisions in his licensing contract.

7. The provisions of paragraphs 1-6 of this Article shall also apply mutatis mutandis to the

sublicensing contract.

Article 42. Rights in Rem

1. The right to a design may be given as security or seized (temporary restriction of the right to

use, administer or dispose of the design) according to the procedure laid down by the laws of the

Republic of Lithuania.

2. Having been notified by the keeper of the Register of Mortgages or the Register of Property

Seizure Acts about the right to a design given as security or seized, the State Patent Bureau shall enter

the relating data in the Design Register of the Republic of Lithuania and publish a notice to the effect

in the Official Bulletin of the State Patent Bureau.

CHAPTER VII. INVALIDATION OF REGISTRATION OF A DESIGN

Article 43. Invalidation of Design Registration

1. Upon request by the persons specified in Article 44 of this Law, the registration of a design

may be invalidated by the court on the grounds laid down in Articles 9 and (or) 10 of this Law.

2. Having received an effective court’s decision declaring the invalidity of the design

registration, the State Patent Bureau shall remove the design from the Design Register of the Republic

of Lithuania according to the procedure laid down in Article 30 of this Law.

3. After the registration of a design has been declared invalid, the issued registration certificate

shall also be declared invalid.

4. Registration of a design may be declared invalid even after it has lapsed or has been

surrendered by the design holder.

Article 44. Persons Entitled to Request to Declare Registration of a Design Invalid

The following persons shall be entitled to request to declare registration of a design invalid:

1) a person whose rights are directly infringed by the use of such design, or officers of

competent authorities – on the grounds laid down in subparagraphs 3 and 4 of Article 9 of this Law;

2) a person who is entitled to the design right – on the ground laid down in subparagraph 2 of

paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law;

3) a person who is a design holder of a prior design which has been registered or applied for

registration – on the grounds laid down in subparagraph 3 or 4 of paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this

Law;

4) a proprietor of a trade mark, a business name of a legal person or any other distinctive sign

of business of that legal person – on the ground laid down in subparagraph 5 of paragraph 1 of Article

10 of this Law;

5) an author or his successor in title – on the ground laid down in subparagraph 6 of paragraph

1 of Article 10 of this Law;

6) any person concerned – on the grounds laid down in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of Article 9, and

subparagraph 1 of paragraph 1 of Article 10 of this Law.

Article 45. Decision regarding Refusal of Registration or Invalidation of Registration of a

Design only in respect of some Design Examples

Where a decision is taken to refuse registration or to invalidate registration in respect of only

some of the design examples, the decision regarding the refusal of registration or invalidation shall

cover those design examples only.

CHAPTER VIII. DISPUTE SETTLEMENT. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS

Article 46. Institutions having Jurisdiction in Disputes relating to Designs

1. The Appeals Division shall deal with disputes referred in Article 23 of this Law.

2. Vilnius County Court shall deal with disputes relating to:

1) decisions of the Appeals Division;

2) invalidation of registration of a design;

3) enforcement of the rights of the design holder;

4) a Community design under the provisions of Article 79-92 of the Regulation on Community

designs.

Article 47. Enforcement of Rights

1. The applicant, the design holder or their successors in title, when enforcing their rights, and

the licensees of exclusive licences, when protecting the rights granted to them, shall be entitled to

apply to the court in accordance with the procedure laid down by the law and to seek:

1) recognition of the rights;

2) an injunction intended to terminate the continuation of infringing activities;

3) prohibition to carry out activities by reason of which the rights may be actually infringed or

the prejudice suffered;

4) compensation for the material damage, including lost income and other incurred expenses;

5) application of other remedies set out by this Law and other laws.

2. In order to ensure enforcement of an injunction intended to forbid the continuation of

infringing activities, as well as an injunction intended to prevent activities by reason of which the

rights may be actually infringed or the prejudice suffered, the court may, upon request of the persons

referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, order an infringer to lodge adequate assurance intended to

ensure compensation for any possible prejudice.

3. Where there is no fault in the activities, in connection with the infringement of the rights

established by this Law, of a person in respect of whom an injunction intended to terminate the continuation

of infringing activities or the corrective measures specified in Article 474 are applied, the court may, at the

request of this person, order him to pay pecuniary compensation to the injured party, if execution of the

measures referred to in this paragraph of the Article would cause him disproportionate harm and if pecuniary

compensation to the injured party appears reasonable and satisfactory.

4. The persons referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, when enforcing their rights, shall be

entitled to apply to the court for an injunction against intermediaries whose services are used by a third

party to infringe the rights established by this Law. Such an injunction shall include the suspension of

communication of information related to the infringement of the rights established by this Law or, if

an intermediary is capable of performing this technically, the elimination of information infringing the

said rights, or prohibition to obtain information infringing these rights. Such compliance with the

judicial decision shall not exempt an intermediary from the responsibility for any act or omission

related to keeping or communication of such information, which was the case before coming into

effect of this decision.

5. When hearing a case of infringement of the rights of the design holder, the defendant shall

be entitled to file a counterclaim for invalidation of the registration of a design.

6. The design holder shall be entitled to apply to the court for an injunction against the use of a

Community design within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania pursuant to the provisions

regarding the Community design of Annex II: List referred to in Article 20 of the Act of Accession. 4.

Company law. C. Industrial property rights of the 16 April 2003 Treaty between the Kingdom of

Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the

Kingdom of Spain, the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of

Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, the Portuguese Republic, the

Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland (Member States of the European Union) and the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the

Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the

Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia, the Slovak Republic, concerning

the accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of

Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of

Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic to the European Union Act concerning the

conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the

Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the

Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the

Treaties on which the European Union is founded.

Article 471. Right of information

1. When hearing a case concerning an infringement of the rights established by this Law, the

court, in response to a justified request of the claimant, may, in the context of proceedings, order the persons

to immediately provide information on the origin and distribution networks of the products (goods) which

infringe the rights established by this Law, particularly:

1) the names and addresses of the producers, manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and other

previous holders of the products (goods) infringing the rights established by this Law, as well as the

wholesalers and retailers for whom the indicated products (goods) have been intended;

2) information on the quantities of the produced, manufactured, delivered, received or ordered

products (goods) which infringe the rights established by this Law, as well as the price which has been

obtained or ought to have been obtained for those products (goods).

2. The infringers of the rights established by this Law, other persons who were in possession on a

commercial scale of the products (goods) infringing the rights established by this Law, who were using on a

commercial scale the services infringing the rights established by this Law or who were providing on a

commercial scale the services which a third party used to infringe the rights established by this Law, as well

as those who were indicated by the said persons as being involved in the production, manufacture or

distribution of the products (goods) infringing the rights established by this Law or the provision of the

services infringing the rights established by this Law may be ordered to provide information referred to in

paragraph 1 of this Article.

Article 472. Evidence

1.On application by a party which has presented reasonably available evidence sufficient to support

its claims, and has, in substantiating those claims, specified evidence which lies in the control of the

opposing party, the court of such party may, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Code of

Civil Procedure, order that such evidence be presented by the opposing party, subject to the protection of

confidential information. A reasonable sample of a substantial number of products or goods shall be

considered by the court to constitute reasonable evidence of the infringement of the rights established by

this Law.

2. In the case of an infringement of the rights established by this Law, which has been committed

on a commercial scale and under the conditions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, the court may, in

accordance with the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, order that banking,

financial or commercial documents be communicated by the opposing party, subject to the protection

of confidential information. In the event of failure to present such evidence without strong reasons within

the time limit set by the court or where the use of the evidence is denied, the court shall have the right to

take a decision on the grounds of the evidence presented to it.

Article 473. Provisional measures and measures for preserving evidence

1. Application of provisional measures and measures for preserving evidence shall be regulated by

the Code of Civil Procedure and this Law.

2. If there are sufficient grounds to suspect that the rights established by this Law have been

infringed, the court may, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure, apply

provisional measures necessary to prevent imminent infringing activities, to promptly terminate infringing

activities and to enforce a final decision of the court, that is:

1) to forbid persons to commit an imminent infringement of the rights established by this Law;

2) to order persons to temporarily terminate an infringement of the rights established by this Law;

3) to forbid an intermediary to provide services to a third party who uses such services by infringing

the rights established by this Law;

4) to seize products (goods), prevent their entry into or remove them from the channels of

commerce, if it is suspected that they may infringe or are infringing the rights established by this Law;

5) to seize the property of the persons suspected of infringing the rights established by this Law,

which is possessed by the said persons or a third party, including the accounts of banks and other credit

institutions; also to order the communication of bank, financial or commercial documents, or appropriate

access to these documents in the case of an infringement committed on a commercial scale;

6) to apply other measures laid down by the Code of Civil Procedure.

3. If the provisional measures which are referred to in subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 2 of this

Article and which have been applied are being infringed and the infringement continues, the court may

order the persons suspected of committing an infringement to lodge adequate assurance intended to ensure

that a person who has applied for provisional measures will be compensated for a possible prejudice.

4. The court shall have the right to require the person who applies for provisional measures to

provide any reasonably available evidence in order to satisfy the court with a sufficient degree of certainty

that the said person or the person in whose interest provisional measures are applied for is the holder or user

of the rights established by this Law and that the applicant's right is being infringed, or that such

infringement is imminent.

5. The court may, on application by a person who has presented reasonably available evidence to

support his claims that the rights established by this Law have been infringed or are about to be infringed,

may apply provisional measures or measures for preserving evidence, subject to the protection of

confidential information, thus preserve relevant evidence in respect of the alleged infringement, that is:

1) to describe in detail the goods infringing the rights established by this Law and to seize them, or

only to describe them;

2) to seize the products infringing the rights established by this Law and, in appropriate cases, the

materials and implements used in the production and/or distribution of these products as well as the

documents relating thereto;

3) to apply other prompt and effective provisional measures provided for in the Code of Civil

Procedure.

6. Provisional measures and measures for preserving evidence may be applied without the

defendant having been notified or heard, in particular where any delay would cause irreparable harm to the

applicant or where there is a demonstrable risk of evidence being destroyed. Where provisional measures

are applied without the defendant having been notified and heard, the defendant must be given notice

without delay, i.e. after the execution of such measures at the latest. At the request of the parties, including a

right to be heard, the provisional measures and measures for preserving evidence may be reviewed with a

view to deciding, within a reasonable period after the notification of application of the measures, whether

such measures must be modified, revoked or confirmed.

7. Where the applied provisional measures or measures for preserving evidence are revoked by the

court or where they lapse due to any act or omission by the person who applied for them, or where a decision

of the court establishing that there has been no infringement or threat of infringement of the rights

established by this Law comes into effect, or where the person, who has applied for provisional measures or

measures preserving evidence, does not institute proceedings within a period determined by the court, the

defendant shall be entitled to request compensation for any injury caused by application of those measures.

Article 474. Corrective measures

1. The persons specified in paragraph 1 of Article 47 of this Law shall be entitled to apply to the

court and request that products (goods) be recalled, removed from the channels of commerce in such a

manner as to avoid any harm being caused to the said persons and to ensure the protection of their rights

(e.g. to remake the infringing goods into other goods or to apply similar measures), or to request that the

products (goods), which the court has found to be infringing the rights established by this Law and, in

appropriate cases, the materials and implements principally used in the creation or manufacture of the

specified objects be destroyed.

2. The measures referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be applied regardless of other

requirements of a person, applying for these measures, for compensation of the prejudice suffered as a result

of the infringement of his rights. Such measures shall be carried out at the expense of the infringer, without

compensating and taking into account proportionality between the seriousness of the infringement and the

measure applied as well as the legitimate interests of third parties.

Article 48. Recovery of material damage

1. The procedure for recovery of material damage shall be regulated by the Civil Code and this

Law.

2. When assessing the amount of the actual damage (losses) suffered as a result of the

infringement of the rights established by this Law, the court shall take into account the substance of

the infringement, the amount of the inflicted damage, lost income, incurred expenses, and other

important circumstances. Profit made by the infringer may, at the request of the persons specified in

paragraph 1 of Article 47 of this Law, be recognized as losses. Goods infringing the rights established

by this Law may be transferred to the holders of those rights upon their request.

3. The amount of income lost by the persons specified in paragraph 1 of Article 47 of this Law

shall be set by taking into account the amount of income which would have been made if the design

protected under this Law had been used legally (i.e. taking account of the royalties which are usually

paid for the legal use of the design), as well as the concrete circumstances which might have created

conditions for making income (works performed by the right holders, implements used, negotiations

for conclusion of contracts concerning the use of the design, etc.).

4. Instead of the recovery of the damage (losses) actually suffered by reason of the

infringement of the rights established by this Law, the persons specified in paragraph 1 of Article 47

of this Law may claim the payment which would have been due if the infringer had used the design

legally (i.e. had acquired permission), and where the infringement has been committed intentionally or

through gross negligence – the said persons may claim up to twice the amount of such payment.

5. Where the infringer did not knowingly, or with reasonable grounds to know, engage in infringing

the rights established by this Law (i.e. there is no fault in his actions), the court may, upon request of the

persons specified in paragraph 1 of Article 47 of this Law, order the recovery of profit made by the

infringer. A total that the infringer has saved and/or made by infringing the rights established by this Law

shall be regarded as the profit made by the infringer. The profit made by the infringer shall be ascertained

and recovered regardless of whether or not the right holder would have made the same profit as the

infringer. When ascertaining the profit made by the infringer, the right holder must provide only the

evidence that would confirm the gross income received by the infringer; the amount of net profit of the

infringer (after deducting the expenses) must be proved by the infringer.

Article 481. Publication of judicial decision

The court which takes a decision on the infringement of the rights established by this Law may, at

the request of the persons specified in paragraph 1 of Article 47 of this Law, order the infringer to

disseminate at his own expense the information concerning the adopted decision, including disseminating

the decision in full or in part in the mass media or by any other means. A judicial decision or information

concerning an adopted decision may be announced after the coming into effect of the decision, unless

otherwise established by the court. The manner and extent of dissemination of a judicial decision shall be

laid down in this judicial decision. The persons specified in paragraph 1 of Article 47 of this Law may

request that the infringer pay in advance into the bank account, indicated by the court, a sum of money

necessary to disseminate the information concerning an adopted judicial decision or an adopted judicial

decision itself.

Article 49. Application of customs supervision measures

Customs supervision measures determined by legal acts of the European Union and the

Republic of Lithuania must be applied to the products, goods and/or their parts the import of which

from third countries to the Republic of Lithuania or the export of which from the Republic of

Lithuania to third countries should be regarded as an infringement of the rights of the design holder.

CHAPTER IX. FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 50. Transitional Provisions

1. A design applied for registration prior to the entry into force of this Law shall be registered

under the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Industrial Design.

2. The design holder’s rights to a design registered prior to the entry into force of this Law

shall be protected under this Law.

Article 51. Proposal to the Government

The Government shall by 1 January 2003 harmonise the legal acts relating to the provisions of

this Law.

Article 511. Application of the Regulation on Community Designs

1. The State Patent Bureau shall be a central industrial property office under the Regulation on

Community design.

2. The State Patent Bureau shall approve legal acts related to the application of the Regulation

on Community designs.

3. Fees for the actions carried out by the State Patent Bureau after the filing through the State

Patent Bureau of an application for the registration of a Community design shall be paid in

accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Law on Fees for

the Registration of Industrial Property Objects and the Regulation on Community designs.

Article 52. Entry into Force of the Law

1. This Law, except for Article 51, shall enter into force on 1 January 2003.

2. The provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 3 of this Law shall become effective from the

moment the international treaty specified in paragraph 2 of Article 3 becomes effective.

3. Upon entry into force of this Law, the following shall become invalid:

1) the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Industrial Design;

2) the Law of the Republic of Lithuania Amending Article 5 of the Law on Industrial Design;

3) the Law of the Republic of Lithuania Supplementing the Law on Industrial Design with

Article 261.

I promulgate this Law enacted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC VALDAS ADAMKUS

Annex to

Law of the Republic of Lithuania

on Designs

EU LEGAL ACTS IMPLEMENTED BY THE LAW ON DESIGNS

1. The Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Designs is in compliance with Directive 98/71/EC

of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 on the legal protection of designs.

2. Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs.

3. Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the

enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Loi n° IX-1181 du 7 novembre 2002 sur les dessins (telle que modifiée par la loi n° XI-2397 du 8 novembre 2012), Lituanie

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