INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Opposition Term |
03 Months |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
The Law of 1978, which is in force since 1980, governs and deals with the mechanism of trademark registration in Papua New Guinea.
Papua New Guinea is not a member of the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol.
Trademark protection is obtained by registration in the nation. It can also be obtained through sufficient public recognition.
For getting a trademark registered in Papua New Guinea, an application has to be filed with the Investment Promotion Authority.
Papua New Guinea follows the 9th edition of Nice Classification and covers both goods and services; however, it doesn't accept multi-class trademark applications.
The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months following its publication date in the official journal.
In Papua New Guinea, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is twelve (12) months with a penalty.
The period for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is three (03) years from the date of registration.
Papua New Guinea is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and a contracting party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which implies that both convention priority claims and nationalized PCT applications can be filed in the nation.
The Patents and Industrial Designs Act, 2000 - deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Papua New Guinea.
For seeking patent protection in Papua New Guinea, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Papua New Guinea (IPOPNG), a department within the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), which deals with all the registrable IPRs.
The patent of invention lasts for twenty (20) years in Papua New Guinea. Annual fees are required to be paid for the duration of the patent.
The Patents and Industrial Designs Act, 2000 governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Papua New Guinea.
For seeking industrial design protection in Papua New Guinea, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Papua New Guinea (IPOPNG), a department within the Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), which deals with all the registrable IPRs.
An industrial design can be registered in Papua New Guinea if it is new or original (i.e., it has not been disclosed to the public anywhere in the world).
The total duration of industrial design registration in Papua New Guinea is fifteen (15) years from the date of application. The initial registration term is five (05) years, which is further extendible for two (02) terms of five (05) years each upon payment of the renewal fee.
There is a grace period of six (06) months to renew a registered industrial design.
Papua New Guinea is a member of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2000 is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Papua New Guinea.
Copyright protection does not depend on official registration procedures in Papua New Guinea. A created work is considered protected by copyright as soon as it exists.
The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus fifty (50) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of work.