INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN MACAU

An application for patent grant must be filed with the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) of the Macau Economic Bureau.

Macau acknowledges both inventions and utility patents.

Invention patents last a maximum of twenty (20) years from the date the application is filed. However, the protection of pharmaceutical inventions may be extended by up to twenty-seven (27) years to compensate the patent holder for the time he may have to wait for the marketing approval of his product. Utility patents last a maximum of ten (10) years. In either case, protection will continue only if the annual fees are paid.

The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.

Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China is not itself a contracting party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property nor to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The opposition can be filed any time after the publication till the grant of the application.

The first, second, and third annuities are included in the application fees.

Annual payments must be paid during the six (06) months preceding the respective expiry dates regardless of whether the patent has been approved or not.

The annuities payment is still possible during the grace period of six (06) months, which is subject to the payment of an additional official tax.

A patent application extension may be revived during the course of an additional grace period of six (06) months. The revival will only be granted by the Macau IP Office, provided it does not infringe on the rights of a third party.

The Industrial Property Code of Macau (General provisions: Article 1-53, Industrial Property Registration: Article 54-59, Industrial Designs and Models: Article 150-196, Legal recourse: Article 275-283, Monitoring and penalties: Article 284-314); The Industrial Property Code of Macau that was backed up by the Decree-Law no. 97/99/M was issued on 13th December 1999, and was effective on 6th June 2000 - are the laws dealing with industrial design registration and protection.

Design is named as industrial design or model in Macau SAR. For classification, the International Classification for Designs (the Locarno Classification) is used.

For obtaining industrial design protection in Macau, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) of the Macau Economic Bureau by attaching a two dimensional reproduction of the design, which the applicant is looking forward to protecting, and explaining where its novelty lies.

A conventional application cannot be filed. Only non-conventional applications can be filed in Macau.

Opposition to a particular application for industrial design or model registration can be made from the publication of the application notice to the date the registration is granted.

The total duration of industrial design registration in Macau 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 six (06) months.

As a founding member of the WTO and in accordance with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, Macau has passed legislation for copyright protection, known as Decree Law No. 43/99/M for the Copyright Code, which came into force on 1st October 1999.

Generally, copyright lasts the lifetime of an author plus fifty (50) years. For a work of joint authorship, copyright lasts from the date it was acquired until fifty (50) years after the deaths of all the creators.

The Copyright Code Decree - Decree-Law No 43/99/M of August 16, 1999 governs the domain of copyright protection.

For audio-visual works, the duration of copyright protection is fifty (50) years after announcement.

For applied art works, the duration of copyright protection is twenty-five (25) years after completion.

For photographic works, the duration of copyright protection is twenty-five (25) years after completion.

For the rights of performers, the duration of copyright protection is fifty (50) years after deduction or performance.

For the rights of producers of phonograms, the duration of copyright protection is fifty (50) years after fixation.

For the rights of broadcasting organization, the duration of copyright protection is twenty (20) years after broadcast.