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State of legislative base on protection of the intellectual property

Legislative base for protection of the intellectual property in Turkmenistan is: the Law of Turkmenistan about legal protection of inventions (2017), the Law of Turkmenistan about legal protection of industrial designs (2017),  the Law of Turkmenistan about trademarks (2019), the Law of Turkmenistan about names of places of an origin of the goods (2019), the Law of Turkmenistan about legal protection of selective achievements (2011), The Customs Code of Turkmenistan (2011), the Law of Turkmenistan about neighboring and copy rights (2012), the Civil Code of Turkmenistan, the Law of Turkmenistan about a legal protection of algorithms, programs for electronic computers, databases and topology of integrated microcircuits, the Law of Turkmenistan about commercial secret, the Law of Turkmenistan about a property, the Law of Turkmenistan about enterprise activity, the Law of Turkmenistan about protection of consumer’s rights, the Arbitration civil procedure code of Turkmenistan, the Code of Turkmenistan about administrative offences, the Criminal code of Turkmenistan, the  Civil procedure code of Turkmenistan, the Law of Turkmenistan about foreign investments in Turkmenistan, the Law of Turkmenistan about the scientific intellectual property, the Law of Turkmenistan about certification of production and services, the Law of Turkmenistan about standardization and metrology etc.

Some of the above mentioned legislative acts (the criminal code, the code about administrative offences) contain to some extent the rules of protection of the industrial property, other legislative acts contain indirect references, and the third does not contain them at all. Nevertheless, the legal orientation of all these documents adjusts on the one hand the responsibility for offences, and on another side a right of the legal and physical persons related to property possession, including industrial property (IP), investment activity, activity of the enterprises and entrepreneurs, certification and standardization of the goods and services.

Therefore, based on these documents it is possible effectively to protect rights of owners of the intellectual property in Turkmenistan. At the same time, the further legislative work is required in this area in order to concrete and improve IP protection. One of such future legal projects, which must be presented soon to Mejlis (Parliament) for approval and consideration, is the Law about unfair competition. The development of this Law was planned for a while, thus will help to strengthen the protection of the owners’ rights and will help to create according to article 10 of Parisian Convention (where Turkmenistan is a member), the legal basis for protection from unfair competition. Equivalent Law was accepted by many other countries and serves as effective tool in standoff against illegal activities that contradict to fair business practice. Acceptance of such Law by Turkmenistan will respond not only to its international obligations, but also to compliance with IP owners’ rights guaranties, which as a result will bring to civilized trade relationship in Turkmenistan.                     

In nowadays, it has also appeared a necessity of entering additions to some legislative acts of Turkmenistan concerning to protection of the intellectual property. Among them we shall name the Law of Turkmenistan about trade secret, to which it shall be added a section about regulation of a right protection and assignment of know-how.

The new Customs Code of Turkmenistan shall play an important role in the field of IP protection. It could be explained by following: the best way to withstand to illegal entry of counterfeit goods to Turkmenistan is to provide close custom’s control and supervision over the goods at the time of their board crossing. The presence of legal acts in the Customs Code of Turkmenistan about provision of effective mechanism for registration by State Customs patented and registered IP objects, will allow to its owners to protect themselves (and their goods) from counterfeit infringement by third parties. Presently, such practice is used by many countries all over the world, which assists not only in civilized trade relationship but in fulfillment of international obligations by parties as well.

Besides, as is known the effective work of any law is based on by-laws which develop law’s positions. Therefore, norms incorporated in legislative base and supported by normative mechanism of their realization, provides an opportunity for conducting effective opposition against wrongful encroachments of the third parties in area of copyright and adjacent rights. As an outcome, Turkmenpatent takes measures for development of normative acts, which will bring legislative base in the field of protection of copyright and adjacent rights back to ‘life’.

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