EC Issues Clarification On Scope Of IP Enforcement Directive

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

19 April 2005

In an attempt to clarify the situation regarding the Directive on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, the European Commission last week revealed which types of IP rights will be covered.

The legislation is set to come into force at the end of this month, and aims to harmonise the procedures and remedies available to rights holders on an EU-wide basis. However, the Commission's failure to specify exactly which rights were within the reach of the Directive had caused concern for member states attempting to write their own implementing laws.

In the statement released last Wednesday, the Commission announced that "at least" the following intellectual property rights are covered by the scope of the Directive:

• Copyright;
• Rights related to copyright;
• Sui generis right of a database maker;
• Rights of the creator of the topographies of a semiconductor product;
• Trademark rights;
• Design rights;
• Patent rights, including rights derived from supplementary protection certificates;
• Geographical indications;
• Utility model rights;
• Plant variety rights; and
• Trade names, in so far as these are protected as exclusive property rights in the national law concerned.

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