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Doing Business: Intellectual Property

6 June 2016

Introduction
Kazakhstan in 1992-93 began to implement a national system for registering and protecting Intellectual Property rights. The legislation on intellectual property is represented by various main laws: the Copyright Law, the Trademark Law, the Patent Law, the Protection of Topologies of Integrated Circuits, and the Law on Selection Achievements. IP rights in Kazakhstan include all rights to industrial property, such as inventions, service marks, appellations of origin of goods, copyrights and related rights and others.

Registration and International Conventions
It is quite important to register as soon as possible, in order to protect industrial property rights in Kazakhstan, such as trademarks, inventions, utility models and designs).

From 1993 to 2011 Kazakhstan became a member of such agreements as:

  • Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization;
  • Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property;
  • Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Trade Marks;
  • Patent Cooperation Treaty;
  • Eurasian Patent Convention;
  • Berne Convention of Copyright Protection;
  • Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms against Unauthorized Duplication of their Phonograms;
  • Trademark Law Treaty;
  • Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification for Industrial Designs;
  • Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure;
  • Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification;
  • WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT);
  • Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Trade Marks;
  • Agreement on Unified Regulating Principles in Sphere of Intellectual Property Protection;
  • Also, Kazakhstan ratified the Patent Law Treaty on 2 May, 2011.

Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Goods
The Coalition for Intellectual Property Rights (CIPR ) registers trademarks or service marks, and may protect it without local registration under applicable international treaties where Kazakhstan is a member. Trademark or service mark registration is granted for 10 years and can be renewed every 10 years. Assignments or licenses for trademarks or service marks should be registered with the CIPR in order to be valid

Appellations of origin of goods registration with the CIPR give the opportunity to have legal protection. The registered owner may not grant licenses for the use of appellation of origin of goods.
Trademarks’ violation and appellation of origin of rights entails civil, criminal, and administrative liability.

Copyrights and Related Rights
The author has a copyright protection without registration or any other formalities. Copyright has a right to be assigned. The author can protect a copyright for life plus an additional 70 years. The Copyright Act protects works of science, literature and art; also, phonograms, performance, TV and radio broadcasting or cablecast organizations (related rights).

Computer Programs and Databases
The Copyright Act protects computer programs and databases. Computer programs’ production and distribution of infringing copies, unlawful alteration of existing programs and unlawful access to legal protected computer information entails civil, criminal, and administrative liability.

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