3. Without prejudice and as a complement to Article 13.14 (Cooperation), the Working Group shall:
(a) review and monitor the implementation and operation of this Chapter;
(b) discuss issues pertaining to the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights and the promotion of efficient and transparent administration of intellectual property systems, and exchange information relating to intellectual property rights matters under this Chapter, including how intellectual property protection contributes to innovation, creativity, economic growth and employment;
(c) report its findings and the outcomes of its discussions to the Joint Committee;
(d) carry out other functions as may be delegated by the Joint Committee; and
(e) carry out the functions specified in Article 13.39 (Modifications to the List of Protected Geographical Indications).
4. Without prejudice to other provisions under this Chapter, the Working Group shall meet within one year of the date of entry into force of this Agreement and thereafter annually if requested by either Party.
Article 13.16. Patent Cooperation and Work Sharing
1. The Parties recognise the importance of improving the quality and efficiency of their respective patent registration systems, simplifying and streamlining the procedures and processes of their respective patent offices, and promoting transparent systems, to the benefit of all users of the patent system and the public as a whole.
2. Further to paragraph 1, the Parties shall endeavour to cooperate among their respective patent offices to facilitate the sharing and use of search and examination work of the Parties, which may include cooperating under the WIPO CASE system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, and also exchanging information on quality assurance systems and quality standards relating to patent examination.
3. In order to reduce the complexity and cost of obtaining the grant of a patent, the Parties shall endeavour to share best practices to reduce differences in the procedures and processes of their respective patent offices.
Article 13.17. Cooperation on Collective and Certification Marks
1. Under the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, the Parties shall exchange general information on the registration and protection of India’s Geographical Indications listed in Annex 13C (Geographical Indications for Goods Other than Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs Protected in India as Goods of Handicrafts, Natural Goods and Manufactured Goods) as collective or certification marks under the United Kingdom’s trade mark system.
2. The United Kingdom shall promote to producers in India the use of collective or certification marks under the United Kingdom’s trade mark system, as a means of protecting geographical indications for goods other than wines, spirits, agricultural products, and foodstuffs.
Article 13.18. Cooperation on Trade Marks
The Parties recognise the importance of improving the quality and efficiency of their respective trade mark systems and shall cooperate and engage in general discussions relating to that subject.
Article 13.19. Cooperation on Geographical Indications
The Parties shall cooperate and exchange general information to gain a better understanding of each other’s sui generis systems for the protection of geographical indications, in their territories, for wines, spirits, agricultural products, and foodstuffs, and, in particular, the relationship between those systems and the protection of prior trade marks.
Article 13.20. WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore
The Parties affirm their commitment to work together through discussion and by the exchange of information at the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore.
Article 13.21. Cooperation In the Area of Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources
1. The Parties shall endeavour to cooperate through their respective agencies responsible for intellectual property, or other relevant institutions, to enhance the understanding of issues connected with genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources.
2. The Parties shall endeavour to pursue quality patent examination, which shall include:
(a) that in determining prior art, relevant publicly available documented information related to traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources may be taken into account;
(b) an opportunity for third parties to cite, in writing, to the competent examining authority prior art disclosures that may have a bearing on patentability, including prior art disclosures related to traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources; and
(c) the use of databases or digital libraries containing genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, such as India’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, (8) if reasonably accessible, applicable and appropriate.
Article 13.22. Cooperation on Transfer of Technology
1. The Parties agree to exchange views and information on their practices and policies affecting the voluntary transfer of technology. This may include measures to facilitate information flows, business partnerships, licensing and subcontracting deals, on a voluntary basis.
2. With respect to the transfer of technology, the Parties shall ensure that the legitimate interests of intellectual property right holders are protected.
Article 13.23. Cooperation on Request
Cooperation activities undertaken under this Chapter may be initiated on request of either Party, are subject to the availability of resources of each Party, and on terms and conditions mutually decided upon between the Parties. The Parties affirm that cooperation under this Section is additional to and without prejudice to other past, ongoing and future cooperation activities, both bilateral and multilateral, between the Parties, including between their respective intellectual property offices.
Section C. Trade Marks
Article 13.24. Types of Signs Registrable as Trade Marks
1. A Party may require, as a condition of registration as a trade mark, that a sign be visually perceptible. A Party may also require, as a condition of registration as a trade mark, a concise and accurate description, or graphical representation, or both, of the trade mark.
2. Where a sign is not inherently capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings, a Party may make registrability as a trade mark dependent on distinctiveness acquired through use.
Article 13.25. Rights Conferred
Each Party shall provide that the owner of a registered trade mark has the exclusive right to prevent all third parties not having the owner’s consent from using in the course of trade identical or similar signs for goods or services which are identical or similar to those in respect of which the trade mark is registered where that use would result in a likelihood of confusion. In case of the use of an identical sign for identical goods or services, a likelihood of confusion shall be presumed. The rights described above shall not prejudice any existing prior rights, nor shall they affect the possibility of each Party making rights available on the basis of use.
Article 13.26. Exceptions
A Party may provide limited exceptions to the rights conferred by a trade mark, such as fair use of descriptive terms, provided that those exceptions take account of the legitimate interests of the owner of the trade mark and of third parties.
Article 13.27. Well-Known Marks
1. Each Party shall provide for the protection of well-known trade marks as referred to in Article 6bis of the Paris Convention and paragraphs 2 and 3 of Article 16 of the TRIPS Agreement.
2. Each Party recognises the importance of the Joint Recommendation Concerning Provisions on the Protection of Well-Known Marks.
3. No Party shall require, as a condition for determining that a trade mark is well- known, that the trade mark has been registered in the Party or in another jurisdiction.
Article 13.28. Bad Faith Applications
Each Party shall provide, in accordance with its law, that its competent authority has the authority to refuse an application or cancel a registration where the application to register the trade mark was made in bad faith.
Article 13.29. Classification of Goods and Services
1. Each Party shall provide that:
(a) registrations and published applications for trade marks indicate the goods and services by their names, grouped according to the classes established by the Nice Classification; and
(b) goods or services may not be considered as being similar to each other on the ground that, in any application for a trade mark, including any published application, or registration of a trade mark, they are classified in the same class of the Nice Classification. Conversely, each Party shall provide that goods or services may not be considered as being dissimilar from each other on the ground that, in any application for a trade mark, including any published application, or registration of a trade mark, they are classified in different classes of the Nice Classification.
Article 13.30. Procedural Aspects of Examination, Opposition and Cancellation
1. Each Party shall provide a system for the examination and registration of trade marks that includes:
(a) communicating to the applicant in writing, which may be by electronic means, the reasons for any refusal to register a trade mark;
(b) providing the applicant with an opportunity to respond to communications from the competent authority, to contest any initial refusal, and to make a judicial appeal of any final refusal to register a trade mark;
(c) providing an opportunity to oppose an application for the registration of a trade mark and an opportunity to seek a decision that the trade mark should not have been registered through, at a minimum, administrative procedures; and
(d) requiring decisions in administrative procedures referred to in subparagraph (c) to be reasoned and in writing, which may be by electronic means.
Article 13.31. Electronic Trade Mark System
1. Each Party shall provide:
(a) a system for the electronic application for, and the renewal of, trade marks; and
(b) a publicly available electronic information system, including an online database, of trade mark applications and of registered trade marks.
Article 13.32. Terms of Protection
Each Party shall provide that initial registration and each renewal of registration of a trade mark is for a term of no less than 10 years.
Article 13.33. Domain Names
1. In connection with each Party’s system for the management of its ccTLD domain names, the Parties recognise the benefits of appropriate remedies being available in cases in which a person registers or holds, with a bad faith intent to profit, a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to a trade mark.
2. The Parties understand that these remedies may include, among other things, revocation, cancellation, transfer, damages or injunctive relief.
Section D. Geographical Indication
Article 13.34. Scope
1. This Section applies to the protection of geographical indications in the territories of the Parties for wines, spirits, agricultural products, and foodstuffs, through a sui generis system.
2. The Parties acknowledge that a Party may protect geographical indications for categories of goods other than wines, spirits, agricultural products, and foodstuffs, which may include handicrafts, natural goods and manufactured goods, through a sui generis or trade mark system, or other legal means. (9)
Article 13.35. System for the Protection of Geographical Indications
1. Each Party shall maintain a system for the protection of geographical indications in its territory.
2. The system referred to in paragraph 1 shall contain at least the following elements:
(a) a public register listing geographical indications protected in the territory of the Party;
(b) an administrative process of examination to verify that a geographical indication to be registered as referred to in subparagraph (a) identifies a good as originating in the territory, region or locality where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin;
(c) a requirement that a geographical indication shall correspond to a specific good or goods for which a specification is laid down which may only be amended by due administrative processes;
(d) an opposition procedure that allows the legitimate interests of third parties to be taken into account;
(e) legal provisions providing that a protected geographical indication may be used by a person marketing, trading or dealing in a relevant good if the good conforms to the corresponding specification; and
(f) a procedure for the cancellation of the protection of a protected geographical indication, taking into account the legitimate interests of third parties and the users of the geographical indication in question.
Article 13.36. Initial Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection
Where, prior to the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Parties have drawn up a list of geographical indications that may be submitted for protection under this Section, the Parties may agree, under the auspices of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, that the geographical indications set out in that list shall be submitted for protection under this Section in accordance with Article 13.38 (Procedures for Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection).
Article 13.37. Additional Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection
1. Where a Party intends to seek protection for an additional geographical indication or a list of additional geographical indications of that Party in the territory of the other Party under this Section, the Parties shall enter into consultations under the auspices of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights with a view to agreeing whether the additional geographical indication or geographical indications shall be submitted for protection under this Section.
2. Where the Parties have so agreed under paragraph 1, the geographical indication or geographical indications shall be submitted for protection under this Section in accordance with Article 13.38 (Procedures for Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection).
Article 13.38. Procedures for Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection
1. Where the Parties have submitted, under Article 13.36 (Initial Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection) or paragraph 2 of Article 13.37 (Additional Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection), a geographical indication for protection under this Section:
(a) the Party seeking protection of the geographical indication shall, under the auspices of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, ensure that the other Party has been provided with the name of the geographical indication and its corresponding specification. The specification shall include the information listed in Annex 13A (Geographical Indication Specification), and where applicable, a translation into English; and
(b) the other Party shall, within a reasonable period of time after the receipt of the information and documentation in subparagraph (a), complete the examination of the geographical indication in accordance with its domestic requirements.
2. Where a geographical indication has passed the examination procedure for the other Party, the other Party shall complete the opposition procedures required pursuant to its domestic requirements without undue delay. (10)
3, Each Party shall, through the contact points referred to in Article 13.13 (Contact Points), inform the other Party of the progress of any examination or opposition procedure conducted pursuant to subparagraph 1(b) and paragraph 2 and shall promptly notify the other Party of any objection made under that opposition procedure to any geographical indication submitted for protection under this Section pursuant to Article 13.36 (Initial Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection) or paragraph 2 of Article 13.37 (Additional Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection).
4. A Party shall, through the contact points referred to in Article 13.13 (Contact Points), consult the other Party if, in accordance with its domestic requirements, further information is required from the other Party in order to conduct the examination and opposition procedures conducted pursuant to subparagraph 1(b) and paragraph 2.
5. Following the examination and opposition procedures conducted pursuant to subparagraph 1(b) and paragraph 2, if an application for protection of a geographical indication under this Section is rejected, the examining Party shall, under the auspices of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, provide the other Party with the reasons for the refusal and exchange information regarding refusal of the application.
6. For the purpose of protection of a geographical indication under this Section pursuant to Article 13.36 (Initial Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection) or paragraph 2 of Article 13.37 (Additional Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection), a Party may require that a public authority recognised (11) by the other Party or an accredited product certification body has verified that goods using the name of that geographical indication conform to the corresponding specification.
Each Party shall ensure that each geographical indication that Party submits for protection under this Section pursuant to Article 13.36 (Initial Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection) or paragraph 2 of Article 13.37 (Additional Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection) is protected in its territory under the system referred to in Article 13.35 (System for the Protection of Geographical Indications).
Article 13.39. Modifications to the List of Protected Geographical Indications
1. Subject to paragraph 2, where a geographical indication has been examined and passed the opposition procedure in the other Party under its domestic requirements, the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights shall make a recommendation to the Joint Committee to modify, pursuant to subparagraph 2(g) of Article 27.2 (Functions of the Joint Committee – Administrative and Institutional Provisions), the list of protected geographical indications in Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs) to add the name of that geographical indication.
2. The Parties shall aim for an equitable number of geographical indications of each Party to be listed in Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs). In this respect, the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights shall consider whether it is appropriate to delay making a recommendation to the Joint Committee to modify, pursuant to subparagraph 2(g) of Article 27.2 (Functions of the Joint Committee – Administrative and Institutional Provisions), Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs), to allow a recommendation to be made in respect of a tranche of geographical indications and to ensure a mutually satisfactory number of geographical indications of both Parties can be added to Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs).
3. The list of protected geographical indications in Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs) may be modified to remove geographical indications, in particular where a geographical indication ceases to be protected in the territory of the Party of origin. The Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights may decide to make a recommendation to the Joint Committee to modify, pursuant to subparagraph 2(g) of Article 27.2 (Functions of the Joint Committee – Administrative and Institutional Provisions), the list of protected geographical indications in Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs) to remove a geographical indication.
Article 13.40. Lists of Protected Geographical Indications
1. The United Kingdom shall protect the geographical indications of India listed in Part 1 of Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs) in accordance with this Section and its law, those geographical indications having been protected in India under the system referred to in Article 13.35 (System for the Protection of Geographical Indications) and subsequently having been examined and having completed and passed an opposition procedure in the United Kingdom under its domestic requirements.
2. India shall protect the geographical indications of the United Kingdom listed in Part 2 of Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs) in accordance with this Section and its law, those geographical indications having been protected in the United Kingdom under the system referred to in Article 13.35 (System for the Protection of Geographical Indications) and subsequently having been examined and having completed and passed an opposition procedure in India under its domestic requirements.
3. Annex 13C (Geographical Indications for Goods Other than Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs Protected in India as Goods of Handicrafts, Natural Goods and Manufactured Goods) contains a list of geographical indications for goods other than wines, spirits, agricultural products, and foodstuffs protected in India. Applications for the protection of the geographical indications relating to these goods may be submitted under the United Kingdom's trade mark system.
4. For the purposes of this Section, the date of protection of a geographical indication is the date that the modification of Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs), made pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 13.39 (Modifications to the List of Protected Geographical Indications), listing the geographical indication is adopted.
Article 13.41. Scope of Protection of Geographical Indications
1. Having regard to the Parties’ respective levels of domestic protection, each Party shall, in respect of the geographical indications protected under this Section, protect as a minimum against:
(a) use of such geographical indications by any means in the designation or presentation of goods that indicates or suggests that those goods originate in a geographical area other than the true place of origin of those goods in a manner which misleads the public as to the geographical origin of those goods, and the use of such a geographical indications in respect of goods originating in the relevant geographical area but not conforming with the corresponding specification of the geographical indication under this Section;
(b) any other use which constitutes an act of unfair competition within the meaning of Article 10bis of the Paris Convention; and
(c) any use of a geographical indication, which, although literally true as to the territory, region or locality in which the goods originate, falsely represents to the public that the goods originate in the territory, region or locality in respect of which such registered geographical indication relates. (12)
2. Neither Party shall be required to protect a name as a geographical indication under this Section if that name:
(a) conflicts with the name of a plant variety or an animal breed and as a result is likely to mislead consumers as to the true origin of the good; or
(b) is the term customary in common language as the common name for the good concerned in the territory of that Party.
3. Neither Party shall be required to protect a name as a geographical indication under this Section if, in light of a prior trade mark or pending application for registration of a trade mark, a Party’s law would prevent protection of the geographical indication.
4. The Parties shall:
(a) as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, enter into consultations under the auspices of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights established pursuant to Article 13.15 (Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights), to review paragraph 3;
(b) agree a timetable for further consultation at an initial meeting held as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, or alternatively agree as soon as reasonably practicable, but no later than one year after the date of entry into force of this Agreement not to enter into further consultations;
(c) where such further consultations are entered into, review paragraph 3 with a view to amending it in the light of any relevant changes that may have occurred in the laws and regulations of the United Kingdom in consequence of the United Kingdom’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership done at Santiago on 8 March 2018; and
(d) where such further consultations are entered into, use reasonable endeavours to complete the review of paragraph 3 in a timely manner.
5. Nothing in this Agreement shall prejudice the right of any person to use, in the course of trade, that person’s name or the name of that person’s predecessor in business, except where such name is used in such a manner as to mislead consumers.
6. Each Party shall decide the practical conditions of use under which homonymous geographical indications will be differentiated from each other in its territory, taking into account the need to ensure equitable treatment of the producers concerned and that consumers are not misled.
7. If a Party (“Party A”) intends to consider the protection of a geographical indication of a non-Party, either pursuant to an international agreement or through its domestic system of protection referred to in Article 13.35 (System for the Protection of Geographical Indications), which is homonymous with a geographical indication of the other Party (“Party B”) protected under this Section, Party A shall inform, no later than on the date of the publication for opposition of that geographical indication, Party B of the opportunity to comment, provided that the date of publication for opposition is after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
8. Nothing in this Chapter shall oblige a Party to protect a geographical indication of the other Party which is not or ceases to be protected in accordance with the law of the other Party. Each Party shall promptly notify the other Party if a geographical indication protected under this Section ceases to be protected in the territory of the Party of origin.
9. The Parties shall provide that geographical indications protected under this Section shall be protected through a sui generis system.
Article 13.42. Right of Use of Geographical Indications
1. Each Party shall provide that a person may use a geographical indication protected under this Section provided that such use is in accordance with the requirements under the law of the Party in which the geographical indication is protected.
2. Where a Party has a renewal requirement with respect to geographical indications under its law, both Parties shall ensure that the renewal process is streamlined and timely. (13) At least six months and no more than a year prior to the date of renewal, the Party requiring renewal shall notify the other Party of the need to fulfil its domestic requirements concerning renewal.
3. Upon receipt of this notification, the other Party shall, at least three months prior to the date of renewal, apply for renewal in accordance with the domestic requirements of the notifying Party.
4. For the purpose of the renewal of protection of a geographical indication under this Article, the date of renewal shall be calculated from the date of application for protection of a geographical indication, as referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 13.43 (Relationship with Trade Marks).
Article 13.43. Relationship with Trade Marks
1. Each Party shall, in accordance with its law, refuse to register or shall invalidate a trade mark in respect of a geographical indication protected under this Section, provided that an application for registration of the trade mark is submitted after the date of application for protection of the geographical indication in the territory concerned.
2. Each Party shall ensure that the protection of a geographical indication under this Section is without prejudice to the continued use of a trade mark which, in good faith, has been applied for, registered or established by use, if that possibility is provided for by the law, in the territory of a Party before the date of the application for protection of the geographical indication. A prior trade mark may continue to be used and renewed for that good notwithstanding the protection of the geographical indication provided that no grounds for the trade mark’s invalidity or revocation exist in the laws and regulations of the Party concerned.
3. For the purposes of this Section, the date of application for protection of a geographical indication listed in Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs) shall be:
(a) for a geographical indication submitted for protection under this Section pursuant to Article 13.36 (Initial Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection), the date of entry into force of this Agreement; or
(b) for a geographical indication submitted for protection under this Section pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 13.37 (Additional Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection), the date of the other Party’s receipt of information and documentation provided in paragraph 1(a) of Article 13.38 (Procedures for Geographical Indications Submitted for Protection)
Article 13.44. Enforcement of Protection
1. Each Party shall require its competent authorities to take appropriate measures, in accordance with its laws and regulations, ex officio or on request of an interested party, to protect the geographical indications listed in Annex 13B (Protected Geographical Indications for Wines, Spirits, Agricultural Products, and Foodstuffs) pursuant to this Section.
2. Each Party shall designate and notify the other Party of a contact point for matters concerning enforcement of geographical indications under this Section in their respective territories. A Party and any interested person of that Party may seek guidance on the operation of the other Party's enforcement system through that contact point. The contact point shall provide relevant information relating to the enforcement matter raised, and alternative contact details, where appropriate, to that Party or its interested person. Each Party shall provide the other Party with up to date contact information of the designated contact point under this Section.
Article 13.45. Consultations on the Protection of Geographical Indications
1. The Parties shall, following entry into force of this Agreement, enter into consultations to review this Section if:
(a) after the date of entry into force of this Agreement an international agreement enters into force between a Party and a non-Party that grants any substantive advantage, favour, privilege or immunity with regard to the protection of geographical indications for wines, spirits, agricultural products, or foodstuffs that is not granted by this Agreement; or
(b) after this Agreement has been signed by the Parties, a Party adopts any substantive change to the protection of geographical indications for wines, spirits, agricultural products, or foodstuffs provided under the sui generis system for the protection of geographical indications in effect in that Party’s territory on the date of signature of this Agreement by the Parties.
2. The Parties shall, following entry into force of this Agreement, enter into consultations to review this Section if:
(a) after the date of entry into force of this Agreement an international agreement enters into force between the United Kingdom and a non- Party that includes obligations to introduce a sui generis system for the protection of categories of goods other than wines, spirits, agricultural products, or foodstuffs in the United Kingdom; or
(b) after this Agreement has been signed by the Parties, the United Kingdom adopts a sui generis system for the protection of categories of goods other than wines, spirits, agricultural products, or foodstuffs in the United Kingdom.
3. The relevant Party shall promptly notify the other Party, through the contact points referred to in Article 13.13 (Contact Points), if any of the events or changes described in paragraph 1 or 2 occur and provide any relevant information in relation to that event or change to the other Party.
4. If an event or change described in paragraph 1 or 2 occurs, the Parties shall:
(a) enter into consultations under the auspices of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights established pursuant to Article 13.15 (Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights) as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant event or change in paragraph 1 or 2 has taken place, and in any event no later than one year after the date of that event or change; (14)