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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN SAMOA

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Opposition Term

03 Months

Registration Term

10 Years

First Renewal Term

10 Years

Subsequent Renewal Term

10 Years

  • The Intellectual Property Act 2011, which is in force since 1st October 2012, and the Intellectual Property Amendment Act 2018 together form the legal basis for trademark registration in Samoa. 

  • Samoa is a member of the Madrid Protocol.

  • Trademark protection is obtained by registration in the nation. 

  • For getting a trademark registered in Samoa, an application has to be filed with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, & Labour.

  • Samoa follows the 9th edition of Nice Classification. Multiclass trademark applications are not available in the country, and the trademark law doesn't cover service marks as well.

  • The third parties can file opposition actions against a trademark application within three (03) months following its publication date in the Savali (a Samoan periodical publication).

  • In Samoa, 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. 

  • The period for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration. 

  • Samoa is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and a contracting party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

  • The Intellectual Property Act, 2011 - deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Samoa.

  • For seeking patent protection in Samoa, an application has to be filed with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, & Labour, which administers the entire process of patent grant.

  • Two types of patents can be granted in Samoa, namely, Standard Patents and Innovation Patents.

  • An invention can be patented as a standard patent if it is new, involves an inventive step, and is industrially applicable.

  • An innovation patent, on the other hand, is a shorter-term right that is designed to protect the inventions that do not meet the inventive threshold required for standard patents.

  • Standard patents last for twenty (20) years in Samoa, and innovation patents last for seven (07) years. 

  • The Intellectual Property Act 2011 governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Samoa. 

  • An industrial design can be protected under copyright, too, provided it meets the requirements of the Copyright Act 1998 in Samoa. The design should be a new and original work with some artistic quality to it. Copyright is automatic, free, and does not require registration. However, registration of the design provides a higher degree of protection than an unregistered design.

  • The total duration of industrial design registration in Samoa 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. 

  • Anyone who disagrees with an industrial design registration in Samoa can apply for the registration to be invalidated, as per the relevant provisions of the Intellectual Property Act 2011.

  • Samoa is a member of the Berne Convention and the TRIPS Agreement.

  • Copyright protection in Samoa is provided under the Copyright Act 1998 and the Copyright Amendment Act 2011, which became effective on 1st October 2012.

  • In Samoa, copyright is an automatic unregistered right that is granted once the original work is expressed in a tangible form or material form (for instance, paper, CD, DVD), irrespective of the content.

  • The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus seventy-five (75) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of works.

  • In the case of collective works, the duration of copyright protection is seventy-five (75) years from the making of the work.

  • When it comes to works of applied art, copyright subsists until seventy-five (75) years from the making of the work.