INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN LIECHTENSTEIN

Legal basis of trademark protection is the law of December 12, 1996, in its current version as of January 1, 2017 and the regulations of April 1, 1997 in their current version of April 1, 2013.
For getting a trademark registered in Liechtenstein, an application has to be filed with theIP department of the Office for Economics (‘Amt fürVolkswirtschaft’), which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file' system, which means that registration is mandatory for protection.
Liechtenstein follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
There are no provisions for filing an opposition against a pending trademark application or registration.
A trademark registration is valid for ten (10) years counted from the date of filing. It is further renewable indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

Liechtenstein is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
Liechtenstein has neither its own patent law nor a patent office. Instead, patents for inventions are also governed by the Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE), Switzerland, due to the bilateral patent protection act of 1978.
In Liechtenstein, patents are granted for inventions that are new, not obvious over the prior art, and commercially applicable. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
National patent applications are not substantively examined, concerning the aspects of novelty and inventiveness, by the IGE.
The grant of a national patent may not, as a rule, be opposed in proceedings before the IGE.
The patent term is twenty (20) years from patent application date. The payment of annual fees is payable from the fourth year. The term of a patent cannot be extended.

The Industrial Designs Law, 1964 - governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Liechtenstein.
For getting an industrial design registered in Liechtenstein, an application has to be filed with the registration office, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Liechtenstein include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Liechtenstein.
The total duration of industrial design registration is twenty-five (25) years from the date of application. The initial registration term is five (05) years, which is further extendible for four (04) terms of five (05) years each upon payment of the renewal fee.
The time frame for payment of the renewal fee before the due date is three (03) months.
There is no grace period to renew a registered industrial design.

Liechtenstein is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Law of May 19, 1999, on Copyright and Neighboring Rights (consolidated version of December 19, 2006) - is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Liechtenstein.
In Liechtenstein, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. No formal procedure is laid down for obtaining copyright protection.
A work is protected by copyright from the time it is created. The protection expires seventy (70) years after the death of the author.
If several people have participated in the creation of a work, protection expires seventy (70) years after the death of the last surviving co-author.
Where the individual contributions can be separated, each is protected for seventy (70) years after the death of the author.
The term of protection of cinematographic or other audiovisual works expires seventy (70) years after the death of the last survivor among the main director, author of the screenplay, the author of the dialogue, and the composer of the music made specifically for the film or the audiovisual work in question.
If the author of a work is unknown, copyright protection expires seventy (70) years after publication. If the author becomes known during this period, protection expires seventy (70) years after her death.