General Information | Patents of Invention
Trade & Service Marks | Industrial Designs | Domain Names
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General Information

Area: 64,589 sq. km.
Population: 2,306,000 inhabitants.
Capital: Riga.
Languages: Latvian (official) and Russian (still used).
Currency: Lats.

GENERAL REMARKS

Latvia was officially accepted as part of the USSR in August 1940. Latvia re-established its independence in 1991, joined NATO in 2004 and is a member of the European Community as of May 1, 2004.

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Patents of Invention

LEGAL BASIS

• Patent Law, in force since April 20, 1995.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention, since September 7, 1993.
• Patent Cooperation Treaty, since September 7, 1993.
• Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, since January 1, 1995.
• Patent Law Treaty signed on June 2, 2000, not yet ratified.
• Extension to European Patent (according to agreement) as of May 1, 1995.

FILING REQUIREMENTS (to be sent to resident agent for filing an application)

• Power of Attorney (no legalization for legal entities);
• Specification with claims and an abstract in English, German, French or Russian for translation into Latvian - 1 copy;
• Drawings (if applicable);
• Priority document (if applicable);
• A document on the deposit of the microorganism in an international depository authority (if applicable).

REMARKS

National Phase of PCT: under Chapter I: 31 months; under Chapter II: 31 months.
Validity: issued after examination - valid for 20 years from the filing date.
Annuities: are to be paid after the grant of the patent.
Opposition: may be filed within nine months of the date of the announcement of grant.

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Trade and Service Marks

LEGAL BASIS

• Trademark Law, effective July 15, 1999, amendments of November 8, 2001 and November 11, 2004.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention.
• Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks, since January 1, 1995.
• Madrid Protocol, since January 5, 2000.
• Trademark Law Treaty, since December 28, 1999.
• Nice Agreement, since January 1, 1995 – CTM, since May 1, 2004.

FILING REQUIREMENTS (to be sent to resident agent for filing an application)

• The mark (word mark or label) and the list of goods for which the mark should be protected;
• Power of Attorney (no legalization);
• 10 copies of representation of the mark (size: 5 x 5; 5 x 10; 8 x 8 cm);
• Priority document, if any.

REMARKS

Kinds of protection: trade marks comprising a word or device or a combination of both, two and three-dimensional designations. Individual and service marks are registrable.
Classification: International
Obligation to use the registered mark: compulsory. Non-use during any five-year period of effective registration allows any interested party to require cancellation of the registration.
Duration - renewals: 10-year period from the filing date, renewable for a further period of ten years.
Opposition: is possible within three months from the publication date.

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Industrial Designs

LEGAL BASIS

• Industrial Design Protection Law in force since June 10, 1993.

MEMBERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

• Paris Convention (Stockholm Act).

FILING REQUIREMENTS (to be sent to resident agent for filing an application)

• Name and address of the applicant;
• Name and address of the creator of the design;
• A description of the industrial design;
• A Power of Attorney simply signed, general one is accepted (may be filed within two months from the filing date);
• Priority document (can be filed within three months);
• Complete reproduction set of the industrial design, which provides a full and detailed idea of the external appearance; 10 photos of each view, not larger than 18 x 24 cm;
• Deed of Assignment, only if the applicant is not the same as the one shown in the priority document.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: after formal examination: 5 years. Extension: four additional 5-year periods.
Opposition: third parties may contest the registration of a design before the Board of Appeal, within three months from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

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Domain Names

LEGAL BASIS

• There is no specific legislation although some regulations on the organization and management of country code top-level domain names do exist.

FILING

• ccTLD: .lv
• Applicant: individuals and legal entities.
• Local Presence: not required.

REMARKS

Duration - renewals: one to five years.
Uniform dispute resolution procedure: the dispute resolution procedure adopted under the ".lv" zone is considered to be the same as the UDRP adopted by ICANN (since July 1, 2000), with the exception of minor differences. However, since the administrative dispute resolution service for domain names is not yet established, all disputes regarding already assigned domain names are to be resolved in court or Arbitration Institution in Latvia directly between the current owner of the domain name and the contesting party without involvement of the Registry.

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If you wish more detailed information concerning intellectual property protection in this territory please contact us or order Katzarov’s Manual on Industrial Property®.

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