1. The Parties shall promote cooperation between their respective collective management organisations for the purpose of fostering the availability of works and other protected subject matter in the territories of the Parties and the transfer of royalties for the use of such works or other protected subject matter.
2. The Parties shall promote transparency of collective management organisations, in particular regarding the collection of royalties, deductions applied to collected royalties, the use of collected royalties, the distribution policy and their repertoire.
3. The Parties undertake to ensure that, where a collective management organisation established in the territory of one Party represents another collective management organisation established in the territory of the other Party by way of a representation agreement, the representing collective management organisation does not discriminate against right holders of the represented collective management organisation.
4. The representing collective management organisation shall accurately, regularly and diligently pay amounts owed to the represented collective management organisation as well as provide the represented collective management organisation with the information on the amount of royalties collected on its behalf and any deductions made to such royalties.
Subsection II. Trademarks
Article 224. International Agreements
Each Party shall:
(a) adhere to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks;
(b) comply with the Trademark Law Treaty and with the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks; and
(c) make all reasonable efforts to accede to the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks.
Article 225. Rights Conferred by a Trademark
A registered trademark shall confer on the proprietor exclusive rights therein. The proprietor shall be entitled to prevent all third parties not having his consent from using in the course of trade:
(a) any sign which is identical with the trademark in relation to goods or services which are identical to those for which the trademark is registered; and
(b) any sign which is identical or similar to the trademark in relation to goods or services which are identical or similar to those for which the trademark is registered, where such use would result in a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public, including the likelihood of association between the sign and the trademark.
Article 226. Registration Procedure
1. Each Party shall provide for a system for the registration of trademarks in which each final negative decision taken by the relevant trademark administration shall be communicated in writing and duly reasoned.
2. Each Party shall provide for the possibility to oppose trademark applications and an opportunity for the trademark applicant to respond to such opposition.
3. Each Party shall provide a publicly available electronic database of trademark applications and trademark registrations. The database of trademark applications shall be accessible at least during the opposition period.
Article 227. Well-known Trademarks
For the purpose of giving effect to the protection of well-known trademarks, as referred to in Article 6bis of the Paris Convention (1967) and Article 16 paragraphs 2 and 3 of the TRIPS Agreement, each Party shall apply the Joint Recommendation Concerning Provisions on the Protection of Well-Known Marks adopted by the Assembly of the Paris Union for the Protection of Industrial Property and the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) at the Thirty-Fourth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO on 20 to 29 September 1999.
Article 228. Exceptions to the Rights Conferred by a Trademark
Each Party:
(a) shall provide for the fair use of descriptive terms, including fair use of geographical indications as a limited exception to the rights conferred by a trademark; and (b) may provide for other limited exceptions to the rights conferred by a trademark. In providing for such exceptions, each Party shall take account of the legitimate interests of the owner of the trademark and of third parties.
Article 229. Grounds for Revocation
1. Each Party shall provide that a trademark shall be liable to revocation if, within a continuous period of at least three years, it has not been put to genuine use in the relevant territory in connection with the goods or services in respect of which it is registered, and there are no proper reasons for non-use.
No person may claim that the proprietor's rights in a trademark should be revoked where, during the interval between expiry of the minimum three-year period and filing of the application for revocation, genuine use of the trademark has been started or resumed.
The commencement or resumption of use within a period of three months preceding the filing of the application for revocation which began at the earliest on expiry of the continuous period of at least three years of non-use shall, however, be disregarded where preparations for the commencement or resumption occur only after the proprietor becomes aware that the application for revocation may be filed.
2. A trademark shall also be liable to revocation if, after the date on which it was registered:
(a) in consequence of acts or inactivity of the proprietor, it has become the common name in the trade for a product or service in respect of which it is registered; or
(b) in consequence of the use made of it by the proprietor of the trademark or with his consent in respect of the goods or services for which it is registered, it is liable to mislead the public, particularly as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of those goods or services.
Subsection III. Geographical Indications
Article 230. Scope of Application
1. This Subsection applies to the protection of geographical indications originating in the territories of the Parties.
2. Geographical indications of a Party, which are to be protected by the other Party, shall only be subject to this Subsection if they are covered by the scope of the legislation referred to in Article 231.
Article 231. Established Geographical Indications
1. Having examined the legislation of the Republic of Armenia listed in Part A of Annex IX, the European Union concludes that that legislation meets the elements laid down in Part B of that Annex.
2. Having examined the legislation of the European Union listed in Part A of Annex IX, the Republic of Armenia concludes that that legislation meets the elements laid down in Part B of that Annex.
3. The Republic of Armenia, having completed an objection procedure and examined the geographical indications of the European Union, listed in Annex X, which have been registered by the European Union under the legislation listed in Part A of Annex IX, shall protect them in accordance with the level of protection laid down in this Agreement.
4. The European Union, having completed an objection procedure and examined the geographical indications of the Republic of Armenia, listed in Annex X, which have been registered by the Republic of Armenia under the legislation listed in Part A of Annex IX, shall protect them in accordance with the level of protection laid down in this Agreement.
Article 232. Addition of New Geographical Indications
1. The Parties may, in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 240 paragraph 3, add new geographical indications to the list of protected geographical indications set out in Annex X. Such new geographical indications may be added to the list after the objection procedure has been completed and the new geographical indications have been examined to the satisfaction of each Party, in accordance with Article 231 paragraphs 3 and 4.
2. The Parties shall have no obligation to add a new geographical indication to the list referred to in paragraph 1, where:
(a) the geographical indication would conflict with the name of a plant variety or an animal breed and as a result would be likely to mislead consumers as to the true origin of the product;
(b) in the light of a reputed or well-known trademark, protection of that geographical indication would be likely to mislead consumers as to the true identity of the product; or
(c) the name of the term is generic.
Article 233. Scope of Protection of Geographical Indications
The geographical indications listed in Annex X, shall be protected by each Party against:
(a) any direct or indirect commercial use of a protected name for comparable products not compliant with the product specification of the protected name, or in so far as such use exploits the reputation of a geographical indication;
(b) any misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the product is indicated or if the protected name is translated, transcribed, transliterated or accompanied by an expression such as "style", "type", "method", "as produced in", "imitation", "flavour", "like" or similar;
(c) any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product which is likely to convey a false impression as to its origin, placed on the inner or outer packaging, in advertising material or documents relating to the product concerned, or on the packing of the product in a container; and
(d) any other practice likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product.
2. Protected geographical indications shall not become generic in the territories of the Parties.
3. Where geographical indications are wholly or partially homonymous, protection shall be granted to each such geographical indication, provided that it has been used in good faith and with due regard for local and traditional usage as well as for the actual risk of confusion.
Without prejudice to Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement, the Parties shall mutually decide the practical conditions of use under which homonymous geographical indications will be differentiated from each other, taking into account the need to ensure equitable treatment of the producers concerned and that consumers are not misled.
A homonymous name which misleads consumers into believing that a product comes from another territory shall not be registered even if the name is accurate as far as the actual territory, region or place of origin of the product in question is concerned.
4. Where a Party, in the context of negotiations with a third country, proposes to protect a geographical indication of the third country which is homonymous with a geographical indication of the other Party protected under this Subsection, the latter shall be informed and be given an opportunity to comment before the third party's geographical indication becomes protected.
5. Nothing in this Subsection shall oblige a Party to protect a geographical indication of the other Party which is not, or ceases to be, protected in its country of origin.
Each Party shall notify the other Party if a geographical indication ceases to be protected in its country of origin. Such notification shall take place in accordance with the procedures provided in Article 240 paragraph 3. 6. 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 the consumers.
Article 234. Right of Use of Geographical Indications
1. A geographical indication protected under this Subsection may be used by any operator marketing agriculture products, foodstuffs, wines, aromatised wines or spirit drinks conforming to the corresponding specification.
2. Once a geographical indication is protected under this Subsection, the use of such protected name shall not be subject to any registration of users, or further charges.
Article 235. Relationship to Trademarks
1. A Party shall refuse to register or shall invalidate a trademark that corresponds to any of the situations referred to in Article 233 paragraph 1 in relation to a protected geographical indication for like products, provided that an application to register that trademark is submitted after the date of application for protection of the geographical indication in the territory concerned.
2. For geographical indications referred to in Article 231, the date of application for protection shall be the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
3. For geographical indications referred to in Article 232, the date of application for protection shall be the date of the transmission to the other Party of a request to protect a geographical indication.
4. Without prejudice to point (b) of Article 232 paragraph 2, each Party shall protect geographical indications listed in Annex X where a prior trademark exists. A prior trademark means a trademark the use of which corresponds to one of the situations referred to in Article 233 paragraph 1 and which has been applied for, registered or established by use, if that possibility is provided for by the legislation of a Party, in good faith in the territory of one Party before the date on which the application for protection of the geographical indication is submitted by the other Party under this Agreement. Such trademark may continue to be used and may be renewed notwithstanding the protection of the geographical indication, provided that no grounds for the trademark's invalidity or revocation exist in the legislation on trademarks of either Party.
5. By way of derogation from paragraph 4, prior trademarks of the Republic of Armenia which consist of or contain the geographical indication of the European Union "Cognac" or "Champagne", including in transcription or translation, registered for like products and not complying with the relevant specification, shall be invalidated, revoked or modified in order to eliminate that name as an element of the whole trademark, at the latest within 14 years for "Cognac" and two years for "Champagne", following the entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 236. Enforcement of Protection
Each Party shall enforce the protection of geographical indications in accordance with Articles 233 to 235 through appropriate administrative action by its public authorities. Each Party shall also enforce such protection at the request of an interested person.
Article 237. Transitional Provisions
1. Goods which were produced and labelled in conformity with domestic law before the entry into force of this Agreement, but which do not comply with its requirements, may continue to be sold after the entry into force of this Agreement until their stocks run out.
2. For a transitional period of 24 years to count as of one year after the entry into force of this Agreement for "Cognac" and for a transitional period of three years after the entry into force of this Agreement for "Champagne", the protection pursuant to this Agreement of those geographical indications of the European Union shall not preclude those names from being used on products originating in the Republic of Armenia and exported to third countries, where the laws and regulations of the third country concerned so permit, in order to designate and present certain comparable products originating in the Republic of Armenia, provided that:
(a) the name is labelled exclusively in non-Latin characters;
(b) the true origin of the product is clearly labelled in the same field of vision: and
(c) nothing in the presentation is likely to mislead the public as to the true origin of the product.
3. For a transitional period of 13 years to count as of one year after the entry into force of this Agreement for "Cognac", and for a transitional period of two years after the entry into force of this Agreement for "Champagne", the protection pursuant to this Agreement of those geographical indications of the European Union shall not preclude those names from being used in the Republic of Armenia provided that:
(a) the name is labelled exclusively in non-Latin characters;
(b) the true origin of the product is clearly labelled in the same field of vision; and
(c) nothing in the presentation is likely to mislead consumers as to the true origin of the product.
4. For the purposes of facilitating the smooth and effective termination of the use of the European Union geographical indication "Cognac" for products originating in the Republic of Armenia, as well as assisting the industry of the Republic of Armenia in maintaining its competitive position in export markets, the European Union shall provide to the Republic of Armenia technical and financial assistance. That assistance, to be provided in conformity with EU law, shall include, in particular, actions for developing a new name and promoting, advertising and marketing the new name in domestic and traditional export markets.
5. The specific amounts, types, mechanisms and timeframes of the EU assistance referred to in paragraph 4 shall be defined in a financial and technical assistance package to be agreed definitively by the Parties within one year of the entry into force of this Agreement. Parties shall jointly develop the terms of reference of such assistance package, based on a thorough assessment of the needs to be covered by such assistance. That assessment shall be carried out by an international consulting firm chosen jointly by the Parties.
6. In the event that the European Union does not provide the financial and technical assistance referred to in paragraph 4, the Republic of Armenia may have recourse to the dispute- settlement mechanism provided for in Chapter 13 and, if successful, suspend the obligations arising from paragraphs 2 and 3.
7. The European Union financial and technical assistance shall be provided not later than eight years after the date of the entry into force of this Agreement.
Article 238. General Rules
1. Import, export and commercialisation of products referred to in Articles 231 and 232 shall be conducted in compliance with the laws and regulations applying in the territory of the Party in which the products are placed on the market.
2. The Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications established pursuant to Article 240 shall address any matter concerning product specifications of a registered geographical indication which have been approved by the authorities of the Party in the territory of which the product originates, including any amendments thereto.
3. Geographical indications protected under this Subsection may only be cancelled by the Party in which the product originates.
Article 239. Co-operation and Transparency
1. The Parties shall, either directly or through the Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications established pursuant to Article 240, maintain contact on all matters relating to the implementation and functioning of this Subsection. In particular, a Party may request information from the other Party relating to product specifications and their modification, and on contact points of national control authorities.
2. Each Party may make publicly available the specifications of the geographical indications protected under this Subsection or a summary thereof, and information on contact points of national control authorities, corresponding to the geographical indications of the other Party protected pursuant to this Subsection.
Article 240. Sub-committee on Geographical Indications
1. The Parties hereby establish a Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications consisting of representatives of the European Union and the Republic of Armenia with the purpose of monitoring the implementation of this Subsection and of intensifying their cooperation and dialogue on geographical indications.
2. The Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications adopts its decisions by consensus. It shall determine its own rules of procedure. The Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications shall meet at the request of either Party, alternately in the European Union and in the Republic of Armenia, at a time and a place and in a manner, which may include by videoconference, agreed by the Parties, but no later than 90 days after the request.
3. The Sub-Committee on Geographical Indications shall also see to the proper functioning of this Subsection and may consider any matter related to its implementation and operation. In particular, it shall be responsible for:
(a) amending Part A of Annex IX, as regards the references to the law applicable in each Party;
(b) amending Part B of Annex IX, as regards the elements for registration and control of geographical indications;
(c) amending Annex X, as regards the list of geographical indications;
(d) exchanging information on legislative and policy developments on geographical indications and any other matter of mutual interest in the area of geographical indications;
(e) exchanging information on geographical indications for the purpose of considering their protection in accordance with this Subsection.
Subsection IV. Designs
Article 241. International Agreements
The Parties shall adhere to the Geneva Act of 1999 of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
Article 242. Protection of Registered Designs
1. The Parties shall provide for the protection of independently created designs that are new and original. Such protection shall be provided by registration and shall confer an exclusive right upon their holders in accordance with this Subsection.
For the purpose of this Subsection, a Party may consider a design having individual character to be original.
2. A design applied to or incorporated into a product which constitutes a component part of a complex product shall only be considered to be new and original:
(a) if the component part, once it has been incorporated into the complex product, remains visible during normal use of the latter; and
(b) to the extent that those visible features of the component part fulfil in themselves the requirements as to novelty and originality.
3. The term "normal use" in paragraph 2 (a) means use by the end user, excluding maintenance, servicing or repair work.
4. The holder of a registered design shall have the right to prevent third parties not having the holder's consent at least from making, offering for sale, selling, importing, exporting, stocking or using a product bearing or embodying the protected design when such acts are undertaken for commercial purposes, unduly prejudice the normal exploitation of the design or are not compatible with fair trade practice.
5. The duration of protection available shall amount to 25 years.
Article 243. Protection Conferred to Unregistered Designs
1. The European Union and the Republic of Armenia shall provide the legal means to prevent the use of the unregistered appearance of a product only if the contested use results from copying the unregistered appearance of the product. Such use shall at least cover offering for sale, putting on the market, importing or exporting the product.
2. The duration of protection available for the unregistered appearance of a product shall amount to at least three years from the date on which the design was made available to the public in one of the Parties.
Article 244. Exceptions and Exclusions
1. Each Party may provide limited exceptions to the protection of designs, provided that such exceptions do not unreasonably conflict with the normal exploitation of protected designs and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the holder of the protected design, taking account of the legitimate interests of third parties.
2. Design protection shall not extend to designs dictated essentially by technical or functional considerations. In particular, a design right shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product which necessarily have to be reproduced in their 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 either product may perform its function.
Article 245. Relationship to Copyright
A design shall also be eligible for protection under the law of copyright of a Party as from the date on which the design was created or fixed in any form. The extent to which, and the conditions under which, such a protection is conferred, including the level of originality required, shall be determined by each Party subject to its domestic laws and regulations.
Subsection V. Patents
Article 246. International Agreements
The Parties shall adhere to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and make all reasonable efforts to comply with the Patent Law Treaty.
Article 247. Patents and Public Health
1. The Parties recognise the importance of the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, adopted on 14 November 2001 by the Ministerial Conference of the WTO. In interpreting and implementing the rights and obligations under this Subsection, the Parties shall ensure consistency with that Declaration.
2. The Parties shall respect, and contribute to the implementation of, the Decision of the WTO General Council of 30 August 2003 on Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.
Article 248. Supplementary Protection Certificate
1. The Parties recognise that medicinal and plant protection products protected by a patent on their respective territory may be subject to an administrative authorisation procedure before being put on their market. The Parties recognise that the period that elapses between the filing of the application for a patent and the first authorisation to place the product on their respective market, as defined for that purpose by their relevant legislation, may shorten the period of effective protection under the patent.
2. Each Party shall provide for a further period of protection for a medicinal or plant protection product which is protected by a patent and which has been subject to an administrative authorisation procedure, that period being equal to the period referred to in the second sentence of paragraph 1, reduced by a period of five years.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, the duration of the further period of protection may not exceed five years.
In the Union, a further six month extension is possible in the case of medicinal products for which pediatric studies have been carried out and the results of those studies are reflected in the product information.
Subsection VI. Undisclosed Information
Article 249. Scope of Protection for Trade Secrets
1. The Parties affirm their commitments under Article 39 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the TRIPS Agreement. Each Party shall provide for appropriate civil judicial procedures and remedies for any trade secret holder to prevent, and obtain redress for, the acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret whenever carried out in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices.
2. For purposes of this Subsection:
(a) "trade secret" means information that:
(i) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question;
(ii) has commercial value because it is secret; and
(iii) has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret;
(b) "trade secret holder" means any natural or legal person lawfully controlling a trade secret.
3. For the purpose of this Subsection, at least the following forms of conduct shall be considered contrary to honest commercial practices:
(a) the acquisition of a trade secret without the consent of the trade secret holder, whenever carried out through unauthorised access to, appropriation of, or copying of any documents, objects, materials, substances or electronic files lawfully under the control of the trade secret holder which contain the trade secret or from which the trade secret can be deduced;
(b) the use or disclosure of a trade secret whenever carried out, without the consent of the trade secret holder, by a person who is found to:
(i) have acquired the trade secret in a manner referred to in point (a);
(ii) be in breach of a confidentiality agreement or any other duty not to disclose the trade secret; or
(iii) be in breach of a contractual or any other duty to limit the use of the trade secret;
(c) the acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret whenever carried out by a person who, at the time of the acquisition, use or disclosure, knew or ought, under the circumstances, to have known that the trade secret had been obtained directly or indirectly from another person who was using or disclosing the trade secret unlawfully within the meaning of point (b), including where a person has induced another person to carry out the actions referred to in that point.
4. Nothing in this Subsection shall be understood as requiring a Party to consider any of the following forms of conduct as contrary to honest commercial practices:
(a) independent discovery or creation by a person of the relevant information;
(b) reverse engineering of a product by a person who is lawfully in possession of it and who is free from any legally valid duty to limit the acquisition of the relevant information;
(c) acquisition, use or disclosure of information required or allowed by the relevant domestic law;