Improvement of legislation in the field of protection and protection of intellectual property rights

Today, a press conference dedicated to improving legislation in the field of protection and protection of intellectual property rights was held at the site of the Central Communications Service. The press conference was attended by Vice-Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Akerke Akhmetova, Director of the Department for Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Ermek Altynbekov, Deputy Director of the RSE "National Institute of Intellectual Property" of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aydin Artykova.

It should be noted that on June 20, 2022, the Head of State signed the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Amendments and Additions to Some Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on improving legislation in the fields of intellectual property and providing state-guaranteed legal assistance." According to the Vice Minister of Justice, the work on this law has become another step in improving legislation in the field of intellectual property.

“This process is due to the harmonization of national legislation with international treaties in this area. Currently, the Republic of Kazakhstan is a party to 19 international treaties and 25 regional agreements. In this regard, in 2020, the Mazhilis of the Parliament recommended that the Ministry of Justice conduct an analysis of law enforcement practice in this area. Based on the results of the analysis, the Ministry of Justice, with the involvement of legal consultants from Reed Smith, developed proposals for the further development of the field of intellectual property. The results of the work carried out were presented to the deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament and, after discussion, formed the basis of the deputy initiative,” Akerke Akhmetova noted.

By the way, a broad discussion was held on the draft law with the involvement of all interested parties - authors and right holders, patent attorneys, scientists, representatives of collective organizations, interested government bodies and NCE "Atameken". As the Vice Minister of Justice noted the analysis of practice, the complaints of authors and copyright holders necessitated clarification of the responsibilities of organizations.

“The amendments reflect the expectations of about nine thousand Kazakhstani authors and copyright holders to receive their due remuneration and are aimed at eliminating violations of their rights by collective organizations. Also, amendments were made regarding the "geographical indication". This amendment will allow domestic producers to enter world markets with new opportunities. In addition, short-term protection of unregistered industrial designs is introduced (no more than 3 years from the date of putting into circulation in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan). This is in line with the commitments made under the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union dated December 21, 2015 (ratified on March 25, 2016). Such protection will protect right holders from direct copying of the appearance of original products,” said Akerke Akhmetova.

In addition, several other amendments were made to the law. "Opposition" system on trademarks, geographical indications and appellations of origin of goods will provide an opportunity for interested parties to send an objection to the expert organization at the stage of consideration of the application. This will eliminate the possible risks of challenging the registration of trademarks, geographical indications and appellations of origin.

“In terms of patent attorneys, the amendments are aimed at clarifying the qualification requirements, the rights of a patent attorney and the procedure for removing him from the register. The amendments will improve the quality of services provided by patent attorneys,” concluded Vice Minister of Justice Akerke Akhmetova.