Civil Code (Section 10)

Section 10 - Intellectual Property

Chapter 62: General Provisions

Article 1100. Objects of Intellectual Property
1.Objects of intellectual property include results of intellectual activity and means of individualization of participants in civil commerce, of goods, of work, and of services.
2.Results of intellectual activity are:
1)works of scholarship , literature, and art;
2)performances, phonograms, and transmissions of broadcasting organizations;
3)inventions, utility models, industrial designs;
4)achievements of plant and animal breeding;
5)the topology of integrated microcircuits;
6)undisclosed information, including secrets of production (or know-how).
3.Means of individualization of participants in civil commerce, of goods, of work, and of services are:
1)firm names;
2)trademarks (and service marks);
3)names of places of origin (or designations of origin) of goods.
4.Objects of intellectual property also include other results of intellectual activity and means of individualization of participants in civil commerce, of goods, and of services in cases provided by the present Code and other statutes.

Article 1101. Bases for the Arising of Rights to Objects of Intellectual Property
1.Rights to objects of intellectual property arise by virtue of the fact of their creation or as the result of the giving of legal protection by an empowered state body in the cases and by the procedure provided by the present Code or by another statute.
2.The conditions of providing legal protection of undisclosed information shall be determined by a statute.

Article 1102. Personal Non-Property and Property Rights to Objects of Intellectual Property
1.Personal non-property and property rights with respect to the results of creative activity belong to the creator of the results of intellectual activity.
2.Personal non-property rights belong to the creator regardless of his property rights and are retained by him in case of passage of his property rights to the results of intellectual activity to another person.

Article 1103. Right of Creatorship
1.The right to be recognized as the creator of a result of intellectual activity (the right of creatorship) is a personal non-property right and may belong only to the person by whose creative labor a result of intellectual activity has been created.
2.The right of creatorship is inalienable, non-transferable, and is effective without limit of time.
3.If a result is created by the joint creative labor of two or more persons, they shall be recognized as cocreators.

Article 1104. Exclusive Rights to Objects of Intellectual Property
1.The holder of property rights to a result of intellectual activity or to a means of individualization of participants in civil commerce, goods, and services (hereinafter*means of individualization) has the exclusive right of lawful use of this object of intellectual property at his discretion in any form and any way.
2.The use by other persons of objects of intellectual property, with respect to which their rightholder has an exclusive right is allowed only with the consent of the rightholder, unless otherwise provided by statute.
3.The holder of an exclusive right to an object of intellectual property has the right to transfer this right to another person in whole or in part, to permit another person to use this object, and has the right to dispose of it in another manner if this does not contradict the rules of the present Code and other statutes.
4.Limitations on exclusive rights, including by way of giving the right for the use of an object of intellectual property to other persons, the declaration of these rights as invalid and their termination (or annulment) is allowed in the cases, within the limits, and by the procedure established by the present Code and other statutes.

Article 1105. Passage of the Exclusive Rights to Another Person
1.Property rights belonging to the holder of exclusive rights to an object of intellectual property, unless otherwise provided by the present Code or other statute, may be transferred by their rightholder in full or in part to another person by contract, and they also pass by the procedure of universal legal succession by inheritance or as the result of the reorganization of a legal person that is a rightholder.
2.The transfer of property rights by contract or their passage by way of universal legal succession does not entail the transfer or limitation of the right of creatorship and other inalienable and nontransferable exclusive rights. The conditions of a contract on transfer or limitation of such rights are void.
3.Exclusive rights that are transferred by a contract must be defined therein. The rights that are not indicated in the contract as alienated are presumed not to be transferred, until proved otherwise.

Article 1106. Licensing Contract
1.Under a licensing contract the party holding an exclusive right to the result of intellectual activity or to a means of individualization (the licensor) grants the other party (the licensee) permission to use the respective object of intellectual property.
2.A licensing contract is presumed to be for compensation. The amount of remuneration and/or the procedure for determining the amount of remuneration and the time periods for its payment must be established in the licensing contract.
3.The licensing contract must define the rights given, the limits and the time periods for their use.
4. A licensing contract may provide for giving to the licensee:
1) the rights of use of the object of intellectual property with the retaining by the licensor of the right of use and the right of giving licenses to other persons (a simple, nonexclusive license);
2) the rights of use of the object of intellectual property with the retaining by the licensor of the right of use, but without retaining the right of giving licenses to other persons (an exclusive license);
3) other types of license allowed by statute.
Unless provided otherwise in the licensing contract, a license is presumed to be simple (nonexclusive).
5.A contract on the provision by the licensor of the right of use of an object of intellectual property to another person is a sublicensing contract. The licensor has the right to conclude a sublicensing contract only in cases provided by the licensing contract.
The licensee bears liability to the licensor for the actions of the sublicensee, unless the licensing contract provides otherwise.

Article 1107. Contract for the Creation and Use of the Results of Intellectual Activity
1.A creator may undertake by contract the obligation to create in the future a work, invention, or other result of intellectual activity and to provide to the customer who is not his employer exclusive rights to the use of this result.
2.The contract provided for in Paragraph 1 of the present Article must define the nature of the result of intellectual activity to be created and also the purposes or the means of its use.
3.A contract obligating a creator to provide to any person exclusive rights to the use of any results of intellectual activity that this creator creates in the future is void.
4.Terms of a contract limiting a creator in the future in the creation of results of intellectual activity of a particular type or in a particular area are void.

Article 1108. Exclusive Right and Right of Ownership
The exclusive right to a result of intellectual activity or a means of individualization exists independently of the right of ownership of the material object in which such a result or means of individualization is expressed.

Article 1109. Time Period of Effectiveness of an Exclusive Right
The exclusive right to an object of intellectual property is effective during the time period provided by the present Code or other statutes.

Article 1110. Means of Protection of Exclusive Rights
1.Protection of exclusive rights shall be conducted by the means provided by Article 14 of the present Code. Protection of exclusive rights may be conducted also by:
1) taking of material objects with the aid of which exclusive rights are violated and material objects created as the result of such violation;
2) compulsory publication about a breach committed, with an inclusion therein of information about to whom the right breached belongs;
3) other means provided by statute.
2.In case of breach of contracts on the use of results of intellectual activity and of means of individualization the general rules on liability for breach of obligations (Chapter 26) shall be applied.

Chapter 63: Copyright

Article 1111. Objects of Copyright
1.Copyright extends to works of scholarship, literature, and art that are the result of creative activity regardless of the use and merits of the work and also to means of its expression.
2.The work must be expressed in audible, written or other objective form allowing the possibility of its perception.
3.A work in written form or otherwise expressed on a material carrier (manuscript, typescript, musical notation, recording with the use of technical means, including sound or video recording, fixation of an image in two dimensional or volume-special form, etc.) shall be considered as having objective form regardless of its accessibility by third persons.
4.An audible work or other work not expressed on a material carrier, shall be considered to have objective form if it has become accessible for perception by third persons (public recitation, public performance, etc.)
5.Copyright extends both to works made public and not made public.
6.Copyright does not extend to scientific discoveries, ideas, principles, methods, procedures, viewpoints, systems, ceremonies, scientific theories, mathematical formulas, statistical diagrams, rules of games, even if they are expressed, described, disclosed, commented in works.

Article 1112. Types of Objects of Copyright
The objects of copyright include:
1) literary works (literary-artistic, scholarly, instructional, publicistic, etc.)
2) dramatic and film script works;
3) musical works with words and without words;
4) musical-dramatic works;
5) choreographic works and pantomimes;
6) audiovisual works (motion picture, television, and video films, slide films, transparency films and other motion picture, television and video works), radio works;
7) works of painting, sculpture, graphics, design and other works of fine art;
8) works of applied decorative and stage-setting art;
9) works of architecture, city planning, and garden and park art;
10) photographic works and works made by modes analogous to photography;
11) geographic, geologic, and other maps, plans, drawings, and plastic works related to geography, topography, and other sciences;
12) programs for computers of all types, including applied programs and operating systems;
13) kinds of fonts;
14) other works meeting the requirements established by Article 1111 of the present Code.

Article 1113. Parts of a Work and Derivative Works
1.Parts of works, their names, and derivative works are objects of copyright if they meet the requirements established by Article 1111 of the present Code.
2.Derivative works include:
1)works that are the reworking of other works (revisions, annotations, summaries, resumes, surveys, stage-settings, arrangements, and other similar works of scholarship, literature, and art);
2)translations;
3)collections (encyclopedias, anthologies) databases and other compiled works, that are by selection or organization of materials the result of creative labor.
3.Derivative works are protected by copyright, regardless of whether or not the works upon which they are based or which they include are objects of copyright.

Article 1114. Works that are not Objects of Copyright
The following are not objects of copyright:
1)official documents (legal acts, decrees, decisions, etc.), and also their official translations;
2)official symbols and signs (flags, coats of arms, medals, monetary signs; etc.);
3) expressions of traditional folklore and art;
4)communications on daily news or communications on current events having the nature of ordinary press information;
5) results obtained by technical means without the intervention of human creative activity;
6) political speeches, speeches delivered in the court.

Article 1115. Rights to Drafts of Official Documents, Symbols, and Signs
1.The right of authorship to a draft of an official documents, of a symbol, or of a sign belongs to the person who has created the draft (the developer).
2.The developers of drafts of official documents, symbols, and signs have the right to publish such a draft if this is not forbidden by the body upon whose delegation the development of the draft was made. In case of publication of the draft the developers have the right to indicate their names.
3.The draft may be used by the competent body for the making of an official document without the consent of the developer if this draft has been published by him or has been sent by him to the respective body.
4.In the making of official documents, symbols or signs on the basis of a draft, additions and changes may be made to it at the discretion of the body conducting the making of the official document, symbol, or sign.
After approval of the draft by the competent body, it may be used without indication of the name of the developer.

Article 1116. Arising of Copyright. Presumption of Authorship
1.Copyright to a work of scholarship, literature, or art arises by virtue of the fact of its creation. Neither registration of the work nor the observance of any other formalities is required for the arising of copyright.
2.A person whose name appears on the work or whose name is mentioned at the moment of making the work public, or in whose name the work is deposited in the relevant organization of collective administration of economic rights or the notary or other organizations having the appropriate authorization by law shall be deemed to be the author, unless proved otherwise. This provision also applies in case the name is a pseudonym and the personality of the author acting under pseudonym causes no doubt.
3.In the case of publication the work anonymously or by pseudonym the publisher whose name or denomination appears on the work shall, until otherwise proved, be deemed to be the representative of the author and shall be entitled to protect the author's rights and ensure their execution. This provision shall be valid until the author of such a work reveals his identity and declares his authorship.

Article 1117. Co-authorship
1.Copyright to a work made by the joint creative activity of two or more citizens belongs to the coauthors jointly, regardless of whether such a work forms one indivisible whole or consists of parts each of which also has independent significance.
2.A part of a work has independent significance if it may be used independently from other parts of the work.
3.Each of the coauthors shall have the right to use a part of the work created by him that has independent significance at his discretion unless otherwise provided by agreement among them.
4.The relations of coauthors shall be determined on the basis of an agreement. In the absence of such an agreement, copyright to a work shall be exercised by all the authors jointly and remuneration shall be distributed among them equally.
5.If the work of coauthors forms one indivisible whole, then no one of the authors has the right without sufficient bases there for to forbid the use of the work.

Article 1118. Authors of Derivative Works
1.Authors of derivative works are respectively persons who have made the revision of other works, translators, compilers of collections and other compiled works.
2.The author of a derivative work shall enjoy copyright to this work on the condition of his observance of the right of the author of the work that has undergone revision, translation, or inclusion in a compiled work.
3.The copyright of creators of derivative works shall not prevent other persons from creating their own derivative works on the basis of work already used earlier, if the requirements of paragraph (2) of this Article are met.

Article 1119. Rights of Persons Organizing the Creation of Works
1.Persons organizing the creation of works (publishers of encyclopedias, makers of films, producers, etc.) shall not be recognized as authors of the respective works. However in the cases provided by the present Code or other statutes, such persons shall acquire exclusive rights to the use of these works.
2.Publishers of encyclopedias, encyclopedic works, periodical or continuing collections of scholarly works, newspapers, magazines, and other periodical publications shall have the exclusive rights to the use of such publications. The publisher shall have the right in case of any use of such designations to indicate its name or demand such an indication.
The authors of works included in such publications shall retain the exclusive rights to the use of their works independent of the publication as a whole unless otherwise provided by a contract for the creation of the work.

Article 1120. Symbols of Protection of Copyright
1.The holder of an exclusive copyright may, for notification of his rights, use the symbol of protection of copyright which shall be placed on each copy of the work and consists of three elements:
1) the Latin letter “C” in a circle:
2) the name or denomination of the holder of the exclusive economic rights;
3) the year of first publication of the work.
2.Unless proved otherwise, the right holder shall be considered to be the person indicated in the symbol of protection of copyright.

Article 1121. Moral Non-Economic Rights of the Author
1.Moral non-economic rights of the author shall provide his intellectual and personal ties to the work.
2.The author shall enjoy the following moral non-economic rights to his work:
1) the right to be recognized as the author of the work (the right of authorship);
2) the right to use the work by his name, pseudonym or anonymously or the right to authorize of such use (the right of the author's name);
3) the right of prohibiting probable distortions, modifications or other trespasses to the work which may prejudice to his honor or reputation (the right of honor and reputation of the author);
4) the right to make the work public in any mode for the first time or to assign that right to a third person (the right of making public);
5).the right to withdraw the former decision to make the work public (right to withdrawal) if the work being made public does not comply with his principles and that event will have a negative effect on his authority provided that he adequately reimburses the damage (included the missed advantage) caused to the lawful users. If the work has already been published the author shall publicly notify about its revocation. Furthermore the author has the right to withdraw from circulation, previous copies of the work, covering the necessary expenses. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to computer works, audiovisual works, databases as well as employment works, unless otherwise provided by the contract between the author and the employer.
3.The moral rights of the author are inalienable and nontransferable and are not subject to exhaustion with the exception of the right to withdrawal, which runs for the life of the author.

Articles 1122 and 1123 are repealed.

Article 1124. The Right of the Author to Use of a Work
1. The author has an exclusive right to use his work in any mode and form, as well as to authorize or prohibit third persons to use his work, particularly;
1) reproduction of a work (right of reproduction);
2) distribution of a work ( right of distribution);
3) rental of the original or copies of a work (rental right);
4) lending of the original or copies of a work (lending right)
5) translation of a work (right of translation);
6) arrangement, rearrangement, illustration, adaptation and other transformations of a work (right of transformation);
7) communication of a work to the public (right of communication to the public);
8) public performance of a work (right of public performance);
9) public display of a work (right of public display);
10) broadcasting of a work (right of broadcasting) ;
11) simultaneous broadcasting or further re-broadcasting of a work (right of re-broadcasting);
12) transmission of a work by cable or similar means (right of cable transmission);
13) use of a work in other forms and modes which do not contradict with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.
2) 2nd paragraph is hereby repealed.
3) Paragraphs 3 and 4 modify as follows.
<3. Reproduction of a work shall mean the fixation in any tangible medium directly or indirectly, permanently or temporarily by any means and in any form, in whole or in part.
4. Distribution of a work shall mean the putting into circulation the original or copies of a work by sale or other form of transfer of ownership as well as their importation.>
5.If copies of a work have been alienated by the procedure established by statute, then their further distribution shall be allowed without the consent of the author and without the payment of remuneration with the exception of cases provided by statute.
6.A work shall be considered used regardless of whether it has been used with the purpose of acquiring profit or its use was not directed at this.
7.The practical use of matters constituting the contents of works (inventions, other technical, economic, organizational, etc. solutions) shall not constitute the use of a work in the sense of copyright.

Article 1125. Disposition of the Right to Use of the Work
1.The author or other right holder may by contract, including contract concluded at public auction, transfer all rights to use the work to another person (alienation of the right to use).
2.The right to use of a work may pass by way of universal legal succession (Paragraph 1 of Article 1105).
3.The rightholder may grant another person permission (a license) for the use of the work within defined limits. Permission is required for the use of the work both in its original and in a reworked form, in particular as a translation, arrangement, etc.
4. For each mode of use of the work special permission of the right older is required (Paragraph 2 of Article 1105).

Article 1126. Right of Access of the Author to a Fine Arts Work
1.The author of a work of fine art has a right to demand from the owner of the original or the copy of the work to provide him an opportunity to reproduce and reprocess his work if it does not prejudice the legitimate interests of the owner. However, the owner of the work is not obliged to deliver the work to the place of the author. By providing such an opportunity the owner may require the author to provide security in the amount of the market value of the original or the copy of the work or other assurance.
2. The author of the work of fine art has a right to be notified of the resale of the original of the alienated work of fine art by the owner, auctions, galleries, art salons, stores or other agent, and shall enjoy the inalienable right to obtain from the vendor five percent of the price of each subsequent resale (resale right).

Article 1127. Limitations Upon Copyrights
1.Limitations of the exclusive rights of the author shall be applied on the condition that they do not cause unjustified damage to the normal use of the work and do not impinge in an unjustified manner on the legal interests of the author.
2.Limitation of the exclusive rights of the author and of other persons to the use of the work shall be allowed only in cases provided by statute.

Article 1128. The Right to an Employment Work
The 1st paragraph is hereby repealed.
2. Economic rights in a work created on employment assignments or employment duties shall belong to the employer unless otherwise stipulated by the contract between the author and the employer.
The contract concluded between the author and the employer may provide equitable remuneration for the author for the use of each type of the employment work as well as the calculation and payment order and contain other terms for the use of the work.
3. The provisions of this Article shall not apply to encyclopedias, encyclopedic dictionaries, scientific works, periodic and continuous collections, newspapers, magazines and other periodical publications created by the order of employment assignments or employment duties.
The 4th paragraph is hereby repealed.

Article 1129. Effectiveness of Copyright on the Territory of the Republic of Armenia
1.The provisions of this Law shall apply to the works of authors and performances of performers who are citizens of the Republic of Armenia irrespective of the place of the creation or making public of the work.
2. The provisions of this Law shall apply to the works of authors and performances of performers who are not citizens of the Republic of Armenia but their works or performances were first made public in the Republic of Armenia or if the author or performer has permanent residence in the Republic of Armenia.
The work is also considered to be published for the first time in the Republic of Armenia if within 30 days of having been published in another country, is published in the Republic of Armenia.
3. The provisions of this Law shall apply also to phonograms the producers of which are citizens of the Republic of Armenia or have permanent residence in the Republic of Armenia. The provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article shall apply to the phonograms of foreign producers of phonograms.
4.The provisions of paragraph (3) shall respectively apply to films, TV and radio programs, publication of works not made public before, as well as databases.

Article 1130. The Beginning of Effectiveness of Copyright
1. Copyright to a work begins to be in effect from the time a work is given an objective form accessible for perception by third persons regardless of its release to the public. Copyright to an audible work is effective from the time of its communication to third persons.
2. If a work does not fall under the effect of Article 1129 of the present Code, the copyright to such a work shall be protected from the time of the first publication of the work, if the publication is made in the Republic of Armenia .

Article 1131. Term of Protection of Economic Rights
1.The author’s economic rights shall run for the whole life of the author and for 70 years after his death.
2.The economic rights in a work created by co-authorship shall run for the life of the co-authors and for 70 years after the death of the last surviving author.
3. In case of anonymous or pseudonymous works the economic rights of the author emanate from the date the work is lawfully made available to the public and shall run for 70 years. If, during the mentioned period, the identity of the author of the work made public anonymously or under a pseudonym is disclosed, the terms mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article shall apply.
4. The terms of protection laid down in this Article shall be calculated from the first day
of January of the year following the year in which the event has occurred.

Article 1132. Passage of a Work into the Public Domain
1.Upon the expiration of the time period of effectiveness of the copyright to a work it shall enter the public domain.
Works that never were given protection on the territory of the Republic of Armenia shall be considered to be in the public domain.
2.Works that are in the public domain may be used freely by any person without payment of author's remuneration. However, the right of authorship, the right of the author's name, and the right of honor and reputation of the author must be protected, except in cases provided for by the law.

Article 1133. Inheritance of Economic Rights and Transfer
1. Copyright is subject to succession.
2.The right of authorship, the right of name, the right of honor and reputation, and the right of withdrawal shall not be transferable by succession.
3. The author's heirs are entitled to protect the right of authorship, the right of name, the right of honor and reputation, without term limitation.
In case of absence of heirs the protection of the mentioned rights shall be carried out by the Authorized Body of the Government of the Republic of Armenia.
4. Economic rights of the author may be transferred to a third person by a contract concluded between the latter and the author, his heirs and subsequent successors in title.
5. Economic rights may be transferred to another person in the result of reorganization of the right holder legal entity.

Article 1134. License for the Use of Work. Author’s Contract
1.Third persons may use the work only with the consent of the holder of economic rights (the author of a work or a third person who has obtained these rights in the order established by Law, hereinafter right holder) on the basis of author’s contract, unless otherwise provided by Law.
2.Author’s contract, which regulates the relations between the right holder and the person who has obtained license to use the work (hereinafter licensee), shall be compensative and may be exclusive or non-exclusive.
3.By the author’s non-exclusive contract the right holder grants the licensee a right to use the work in certain term and within the limits mentioned in the contract, retaining the exclusive rights in the work, among them the right to authorize third persons to use the work.
4.By the author’s exclusive contract the right holder transfers the licensee an exclusive right to use the work in certain term and within the limits provided by the contract, retaining the right in the work for the part specified by the contract. In this case the right to prevent the use of the work by third persons may be exercised by the right holder, if the licensee does not do so.
5.The rights transferred by the author’s contract are considered to be non-exclusive unless otherwise provided by the contract.
6.Conditions of the contract, limiting the author's rights of creating a work in future shall be null and void.
7.The rights to use an unknown work at the moment of concluding the contract may not be a subject matter of an author’s contract.

Article 1135. The Conditions and Forms of an Author's Contract
1. The author’s contract shall establish the extent of the transferred rights, the modes of
using the work, the term of transferring the right to use and the amount of remuneration,
the order to determine the amount of remuneration, the term and order of payment, as
well as other conditions that the parties may consider to be essential.
2. Remuneration in the author’s contract is defined as a percent of profit received from
the relevant exploitation of the work, and in the case it is not possible due to the nature
of the work, it is defined as a certain amount fixed in the contract or in any other way
acceptable for the parties.
The minimum rates for authors’ remuneration shall be established by the government of
the Republic of Armenia.
3. In case of absence, in the author's contract, of the condition in respect of the territory
(within the boundaries of which the right of use of the work is valid), the validity of the
contract shall be limited to the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
4.All the other rights, which are not provided in the author's contract, shall be reserved in
favor of the right holder.
5.The author's contract is valid until the expiry date mentioned in the contract but shall
cease at the moment of expiry of the term of validity of economic rights. If the term of
validity is not mentioned in the license contract then the defined validity period shall be
considered 5 years.
6.Each party of the contract may transfer the rights, transferred under the author’s
contract, to third persons, either entirely or in part, only in case it is directly stipulated by
the contract.
7.Conditions of the author’s contract, which contradict with the provisions of this Law or limit the author's rights of creating in future a work of certain type and in certain field, shall be null and void.
8. An author’s contract shall be concluded in a written form.

Article 1136. Liability for the Use of a Work without Authorization
1.A person that has used the work without authorization of the right holder has the obligation to compensate to the right holder the actual damages caused .
2.The right holder may claim;
a) compensation at the rate of double royalty or remuneration, which the right holder would receive if the infringer had the authorization for the use of copyright subject matter or
b) compensation for damages equal to the damage caused by the actual infringement, including the lost benefit.

Article 1137. Liability for the Use of a Work Without a Contract
1. In case of use of a work without a contract with the right holder, the infringer has the obligation to compensate the right holder for the caused damages, including the lost benefit.
The right holder has the right to recover from the infringer, for the damages, the income received by it as a result of the infringement.
2. The use of a work in a mode not provided by the author's contract or upon the termination of effectiveness of such contract shall be considered as a use of the work without a contract.

Article 1138. Legal Regulation of Copyright Relations
Copyright relations shall be regulated by the present Code and by the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Copyright and Related Rights.”
The Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Copyright and Related Rights” shall be applied to relations not regulated by the present Chapter.

Chapter 64: Related Rights

Article 1139. The Subject Matters of Related Rights
Related rights extend to performances, fixations of phonograms and films, programs of broadcasting organizations, contents of databases, typographical arrangements. For the arising and exercise of related rights there is no requirement of observation of any formalities whatsoever.

Article 1140. Subjects of Related Rights
1.The subjects of neighboring rights are the performers, phonogram producers, producers of the first fixation of a film, broadcasting organizations, makers of databases and publishers.
2.The right to a performance belongs to the performers.
3.The right to a phonogram belongs to the producer of the phonogram
4. The right to the first fixation of a film belongs to the producer of the first fixation of a film.
5. The right to broadcasting of the program belongs to the broadcasting organization that has created the program.
6. The right to the content of the database belongs to the maker of a database.
7. The right to the typographical arrangements of the editions belongs to the publisher
of that very arrangement.
8. The rights mentioned in the paragraphs 2-7 of this article may be inherently transferred to another person by the order of comprehensive succession or by the contract or by the right of re-organization of a legal entity, which is the right holder.

Article 1141. Symbols of Protection of Related Rights
The producers of phonograms Producers of phonograms for the notification of their related rights may put the symbol of protection of related rights on each copy of the fixation medium or on the containers, consisting of:
1) the Latin letter “P” in a circle (è);
2) the name or firm name of the holder of related rights;
3) the year of the first publication of the phonogram.

Article 1142. Term of Protection of Related Rights
1.The economic rights of performers emanate from the date of performance and shall run 50 years. If the fixation of a performance was lawfully published or lawfully made available to the public within this period, the rights of performer shall emanate from the date of first such publication or from the first such making available to the public,(whichever occurred earlier) and shall run 50 years.
2.The economic rights of a producer of a phonogram emanate from the date of fixation
and shall run 50 years. If the phonogram was lawfully published or lawfully made
available to the public within this period, the rights of a producer of a phonogram
shall emanate from the date of first such publication or from the first such making
available to the public, (whichever occurred earlier) and shall run 50 years.
3.The economic rights of producer of the first fixation of the film emanate from the date
of fixation and shall run 50 years. If the film was lawfully published or lawfully made
available to the public within this period, the rights of film producer shall emanate from the date of first such publication or from the first such making available to the public, (whichever occurred earlier) and shall run 50 years.
4.The economic rights of a broadcasting organization in respect with the program
emanate from the date of first broadcast and shall run 50 years.
5.The right of publisher emanates from the date of publication and shall run 50 years.
6.The rights of a database maker shall emanate from the date of completion of the making of the database and shall run 15 years.
If, the database is made available to the public in whatever manner before expiry of the mentioned period, the term of protection of economic rights of the maker of the database shall be calculated from the date of the first making available to the public.
7. The terms laid down in this Article are calculated from the first day of January of the year following the relevant mentioned event.

Article 1143. Legal Regulation of Related Rights Relations
Related rights relations shall be regulated by the present Code and by the law of the Republic of Armenia “On Copyright and Related Rights.”
The law of the Republic of Armenia “On Copyright and Related Rights” shall be applied to relations not regulated by the present Chapter.

Chapter 65: Right to an Invention, Utility Model, or Industrial Design

Article 1144. Conditions of Legal Protection of an Invention, Utility Model, or Industrial Design
1.The rights to an invention, utility model, or industrial design shall be protected on the condition of issuance of a patent.
2.Legal protection shall be given
1) to an invention, which is a solution that is new, has an inventive level, and is industrially applicable;
2) to a utility model, which is the design realization of means of production and consumer items;
3) to an industrial design, which is an artistic-design solution for a manufacture defining its external appearance and being new, original, and industrially applicable.
3.The requirements applied to an invention, utility model, and industrial design, according to which the right arises to acquire a patent and also the procedure for its issuance by the patent office shall be established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On Patents.”

Article 1145. Right to Use of an Invention, Utility Model or Industrial Design
1.The patentholder has the exclusive right to the use of the protected invention, utility model, or industrial design at his discretion.
2.Other persons do not have the right to use the invention, utility model, or industrial design without the permission of the patentholder, with the exception of cases when such use in accordance with the law of the Republic of Armenia “On Patents” is not a violation of the rights of the patentholder.

Article 1146. Disposition of the Right to a Patent
The right to acquire a patent, the rights deriving from the registration of an application, the right to possession of a patent, and the rights deriving from a patent may be transferred in whole or in part to another person.

Article 1147. Right of Creatorship of an Invention, Utility Model, and Industrial Design
1.The creator of an invention, utility model, or industrial design has the right of inventorship and the right of giving a name to the invention, utility model, or industrial design.
2.The right of creatorship and other personal rights to an invention, utility model, or industrial design arise from the time of arising of rights based on a patent.
3.The person indicated in the application as the creator of the invention, utility model, or industrial design, shall be considered the creator until it is proved otherwise.

Article 1148.Cocreators of an Invention, Utility Model, or Industrial Design
1.The mutual relations of cocreators of an invention, utility model, or industrial design shall be determined by agreement among them.
2.Noncreative support in the creating of an invention, utility model or industrial design (technical or organizational assistance, assistance in formalizing rights, etc.) does not entail cocreatorship.

Article 1149. Employment Inventions, Utility Models, and Industrial Designs
The right to receive a patent for an invention, utility model, or industrial design made by an employee in the fulfillment by him of his employment responsibilities or of a concrete task of the employer (an employment invention) belongs to the employer if this is directly provided in a contract between them.

Article 1150.The Right of the Creator to Remuneration for an Employment Invention, Utility Model, or Industrial Design
The amount, conditions, and procedure for remuneration of a creator for an employment invention, utility model, or industrial design shall be determined by an agreement concluded between him and the employer or, in case of absence of an agreement by decision of a court.

Article 1151.Effectiveness of a Patent on the Territory of the Republic of Armenia
A patent for an invention, patent for a utility model, or patent for an industrial design issued by the patent office of the Republic of Armenia is effective on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.
Patents issued in foreign states or by an international organization are effective on the territory of the Republic of Armenia in the cases provided by international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.
Foreign citizens and legal persons or their legal successors have the right to acquire, in the Republic of Armenia, a patent for an invention, a patent for a utility model, or a patent for an industrial design if a solution that is the subject of an application by the established procedure satisfies the requirements applied by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On Patents” for an invention, utility model, or industrial design.

Article 1152.Time Period of Effectiveness of a Patent
The time period of effectiveness of a patent is established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On Patents.”

Article 1153. Form of a Contract on Transfer of the Right to a Patent and Registration of the Rights Arising from the Contract
1.A contract for the assignment of a patent must be concluded in written form and the rights arising from the contract are subject to registration at the patent office.
2.Nonobservance of written form or of the requirement of shall entail the invalidity of the contract.

Article 1154. Form of a Licensing and Sublicensing Contract and Registration of Rights Arising From Them
1.A licensing contract or sublicensing contract shall be concluded in written form and the rights arising from these contracts shall be subject to registration at the patent office.
2.Nonobservance of the written form or the requirement of registration shall entail the invalidity of the contract.

Article 1155. Liability for Infringement of a Patent
Upon demand of the patentholder the infringement of a patent must be terminated and the infringer shall be obligated to compensate the patentholder for the losses borne by it.

Article 1156.Limitation of the Rights of a Patentholder
The bases for the limitation of rights of a patentholder, conditions for termination (or annulment) of a patent, of recognizing it as invalid, issuance of compulsory licenses, and compulsory alienation of patents are established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On Patents.”

Chapter 66: Rights to New Varieties of Plants and New Breeds of Animals

Article 1157. Conditions of the Protection of Rights to New Varieties of Plants and New Breeds of Animals
1.The rights to new varieties of plants and new breeds of animals (achievements of breeding) shall be protected on condition of the issuance of a patent.
An achievement of breeding in plant cultivation is a variety of plant acquired by an artificial means or by selection and having one or several economic characteristic that distinguish it from existing varieties of plants.
An achievement of breeding in animal husbandry is a breed, i.e., a whole multiple group of animals of common origin crated by man and having a genealogical structure and characteristics that make possible distinguishing it from other breeds of animals of the same type and are quantitatively sufficient for multiplication as a single breed.
2.The requirements upon which the right to obtain a patent arises and the procedure for issuing a patent to achievements of breeding are established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On Patents.”
3.To relations connected with the rights to achievements of breeding and protection of these rights, the rules of Articles 1146-1151 and 1153-1156 of the present Code are applied correspondingly unless the rules of the present Chapter and the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On the Protection of Achievements of Breeding” do not provide otherwise. In this case the respective rights and duties of the patent office shall be exercised the state agency to which is assigned the testing and protection of achievements of breeding.

Article 1158. Right of the Breeder to Determine the Name of an Achievement of Breeding
1.The breeder of an achievement of breeding has the right to determine its name, which must comply with the requirements established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On the Protection of Achievements of Breeding.”
2.In the production, reproduction, offering for sale, sale, and other types of distribution of protected achievements of breeding the use of the names registered for them is obligatory. The application to seeds or breeding material that are produced and/or being sold of a name different from that which is registered is not allowed.
3.The application of the name of a registered achievement of breeding to seeds or breeding material that are produced or being sold that are not covered by it is a infringement of the rights of the patentholder and the breeder.

Article 1159. Rights of the Holder of a Patent to an Achievement of Breeding
The holder of a patent to an achievement of breeding has the exclusive right to the use of the achievement of breeding within the limits established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On the Protection of Achievements of Breeding.”

Article 1160. Duties of the Patentholder
The holder of a patent to an achievement of breeding is required to maintain the respective variety of plant or respective breed of animal during the time period of effectiveness of the patent in such a manner as to maintain the characteristics indicated in the description of the variety or breed compiled at their registration.

Article 1161. The Time Period of Effectiveness of a Patent to an Achievement of Breeding
The effectiveness of a patent to an achievement of breeding starts from the day of registration of the achievement in the state register of protected achievements of breeding and the issuance of a patent. The time period of effectiveness of the patent shall be established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On the Protection of Achievements of Breeding.”

Article 1162. Allowance for Achievements of Breeding to be Used
1.Achievements of breeding that have been given legal protection shall be allowed for use. Giving an achievement of breeding legal protection is not a basis for allow its use.
2.Inclusion of varieties of plants and breeds of animals in the state register of achievements of breeding allowed for use shall be done by the state agency responsible for testing and protection of achievements of breeding on the results of state testing for economic utility.
An application for allowance of use of varieties of plants or breeds of animals shall be submitted to the state agency responsible for testing and protection of achievements of breeding.

Chapter 67: Right to the Topology of Integrated Microcircuits

Article 1163. Conditions of Protection of Rights to the Topology of Integrated Microcircuits
1.Legal protection of the topology of an integrated microcircuit shall be given on the basis of its registration. Registration of the topology of an integrated microcircuit shall be conducted by the patent office.
On the basis of registration a certificate of the right of use of the topology of an integrated microcircuit shall be issued.
2.The procedure and conditions for registration of the topology of an integrated microcircuit and the issuance of a certificate shall be established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia "On the Legal Protection of the Topology of Integrated Microcircuits."
3.Relations connected with the topology of integrated microcircuits shall be regulated by the present Code and the statute of the Republic of Armenia "On the Legal Protection of the Topology of Integrated Microcircuits."

Article 1164. Conditions of Legal Protection of Undisclosed Information
1.A person who lawfully possesses technical, organizational, or commercial information, including secrets of production (or know-how) unknown to third persons (undisclosed information), has the right to protection of this information from illegal use, if the conditions are observed that are established by the Paragraph 1 of Article 141 of the present Code.
2.The right to protection of undisclosed information from illegal use arises independently of the fulfillment with respect to this information of any formalities whatsoever (its registration, acquiring certificates, etc.).
3.The rules on the protection of undisclosed information shall not be applied with respect to information that, in accordance with statute may not constitute an official, commercial, or banking secret (information on legal persons, rights to property subject to state registration, information subject to presentation for state statistical reporting, etc.)
4.The right to protection of undisclosed information shall be effective so long as the conditions provided by Paragraph 1 of Article 141 of the present Code are in effect.

Article 1165. Liability for Illegal Use of Undisclosed Information
1.A person who without legal bases has received, distributed, or is using undisclosed information shall be obligated to compensate the person who lawfully possesses this information for the losses caused by its illegal use.
2.If a person who is illegally using undisclosed information has received it from a person who did not have the right to distribute it, of which the aquirer did not know and should not have known (a good-faith aquirer), the lawful possessor of the undisclosed information has the right to demand from it compensation for losses caused for use of the undisclosed information after the good-faith aquirer learned that it use was illegal.
3.A person lawfully having undisclosed information has the right to demand from a person who is illegally using it the immediate cessation of its use. However, a court, taking into account the funds expended by a good-faith acquirer of undisclosed information toward its use, may permit its further use on the condition of a compensated nonexclusive license.
4.A person who has independently and lawfully acquired information constituting the content of undisclosed information has the right to use this information independently of the rights of the possessor of the corresponding undisclosed information and is not liable to it for such use.

Article 1166. Transfer of the Right to Protection of Undisclosed Information from Illegal Use
1.A person having undisclosed information may transfer all or part of the information constituting the content of this information to another person under a licensing contract (Article 1106).
2.The licensee shall be obligated to take appropriate measures for the protection of the confidential information acquired under the contract and has the same rights to its protection from illegal use by third persons as has the licensor. Unless otherwise provided in the contract, the duty to keep the information confidential remains for the licensee even after the termination of the licensing contract if the corresponding information continues to remain undisclosed information.

Chapter 68: Right to Protection of Undisclosed Information From Illegal Use

Article 1164. Conditions of Legal Protection of Undisclosed Information

1.A person who lawfully possesses technical, organizational, or commercial information, including secrets of production (or know-how) unknown to third persons (undisclosed information), has the right to protection of this information from illegal use, if the conditions are observed that are established by the Paragraph 1 of Article 141 of the present Code.
2.The right to protection of undisclosed information from illegal use arises independently of the fulfillment with respect to this information of any formalities whatsoever (its registration, acquiring certificates, etc.).
3.The rules on the protection of undisclosed information shall not be applied with respect to information that, in accordance with statute may not constitute an official, commercial, or banking secret (information on legal persons, rights to property subject to state registration, information subject to presentation for state statistical reporting, etc.)
4.The right to protection of undisclosed information shall be effective so long as the conditions provided by Paragraph 1 of Article 141 of the present Code are in effect.

Article 1165. Liability for Illegal Use of Undisclosed Information

1.A person who without legal bases has received, distributed, or is using undisclosed information shall be obligated to compensate the person who lawfully possesses this information for the losses caused by its illegal use.
2.If a person who is illegally using undisclosed information has received it from a person who did not have the right to distribute it, of which the aquirer did not know and should not have known (a good-faith aquirer), the lawful possessor of the undisclosed information has the right to demand from it compensation for losses caused for use of the undisclosed information after the good-faith aquirer learned that it use was illegal.
3.A person lawfully having undisclosed information has the right to demand from a person who is illegally using it the immediate cessation of its use. However, a court, taking into account the funds expended by a good-faith acquirer of undisclosed information toward its use, may permit its further use on the condition of a compensated nonexclusive license.
4.A person who has independently and lawfully acquired information constituting the content of undisclosed information has the right to use this information independently of the rights of the possessor of the corresponding undisclosed information and is not liable to it for such use.

Article 1166. Transfer of the Right to Protection of Undisclosed Information from Illegal Use

1.A person having undisclosed information may transfer all or part of the information constituting the content of this information to another person under a licensing contract (Article 1106).
2.The licensee shall be obligated to take appropriate measures for the protection of the confidential information acquired under the contract and has the same rights to its protection from illegal use by third persons as has the licensor. Unless otherwise provided in the contract, the duty to keep the information confidential remains for the licensee even after the termination of the licensing contract if the corresponding information continues to remain undisclosed information.
 

Chapter 69: Means of Individualization of Participants in Civil Commerce, of Goods, and of Services

Article 1167. Right to a Firm Name

1.A legal person has the exclusive right to use its firm name on goods, their packing, in advertising, signs, catalogs, bills, printed publications, official letterheads, and other documentation connected with its activity and also in demonstration of goods at exhibits and fairs.

2.The firm name of a legal person is determined upon the approval of its charter and is subject to registration by the procedure established by statute.

Article 1168.The Use of the Firm Name of a Legal Person in a Trademark

The firm name of a legal person may be used in a trademark belonging to it.

Article 1169. Effectiveness of the Right to a Firm Name

1.On the territory of the Republic of Armenia there is in effect an exclusive right to a firm name registered in the Republic of Armenia as the designation of a legal person.

For a name registered or generally recognized in a foreign state, an exclusive right is in effect on the territory of the Republic of Armenia in the cases provided by statute.

2.The effectiveness of the right to a firm name is terminated only upon the liquidation of the legal person or with a change in its firm name.

Article 1170. Passage of the Right to a Firm Name

Passage of the right to the firm name of a legal person is allowed only in case of its reorganization.

Article 1171. Conditions of Legal Protection of a Trademark

1.A trademark (or service mark) is a registered verbal, pictorial, spacial, or other designation serving to distinguish the goods or services of one person from the same kind of goods and services of other persons.
2.Legal protection of a trademark is given on the basis of its registration.
3.The right to a trademark is evidenced by a certificate.

4.Designations whose registration as a trademark is not allowed, the procedure for registration of trademarks, for their annulment and declaration as invalid, and also cases in which legal protection of unregistered trademarks may be allowed shall be determined by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On Trademarks, Service Marks, and Designations of Places of Origin of Goods.”

Article. 1172. The Right to Use a Trademark

1.The possessor of the right to a trademark has the exclusive right to use and dispose of the mark belonging to it.

2.The use of a trademark is any introduction of it into commerce: the making, application, import, storage, proposal for sale, or sale of the trademark or of goods designated by this mark, its use in signs, advertising, printed production, or other business documentation.

Article 1173. Legal Protection of a Trademark on the Territory of the Republic of Armenia
A trademark registered by the patent office of the Republic of Armenia or by an international organization by virtue of an international treaty of the Republic of Armenia is granted legal protection on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

Article 1174. Time Period of Effectiveness of the Registration of a Trademark
The time period of effectiveness of the registration of a trademark shall be established by the statute of the Republic of Armenia “On Trademarks, Service Marks, and Designations of Places of Origin of Goods.”

Article 1175. Passage of the Right to a Trademark
1.The right to a trademark with respect to all the classes of goods and services indicated in the certificate or part of them may be transferred by the rightholder to another person by contract.
2.The passage of the right to a trademark, including its transfer by contract or by way of legal succession must be registered at the patent office.

Article 1176. Permission to Use a Trademark
1.The right to use a trademark may be given by the holder of the right to the trademark to another person with respect to all classes of goods and services indicated in the certificate or part of them under a licensing contract (Article 1106).
2.A licensing contract permitting the licensee to use a trademark must contain a condition to the effect that the quality of the goods or services of the licensee will be not lower than the quality of goods or services of the licensor and that the licensor has the right to exercise supervision of the fulfillment of this condition.
3.Upon termination of the effect of registration of the right to a trademark the effect of the licensing contract is terminated.
4.The passage of the right to a trademark to another person does not entail the termination of the licensing contract.

Article 1177. Form of Contracts on the Transfer of the Right to a Trademark or on the Giving of a License and the Registration of the Transfer of Rights
1.A contract on the transfer of the right to a trademark or on the giving of a license must be concluded in written form and the transfer of rights must be registered in the patent office.
2.Nonobservance of the written form or the requirement of registration entails the invalidity of the contract.

Article 1178.Liability for Infringing the Right to a Trademark
1.A person who is unlawfully using a trademark must cease the infringement and compensate the holder of the trademark for the losses borne by it (Article 17).
2.A person who is unlawfully using a trademark has the duty to destroy reproductions of the trademark that have been prepared, to remove from the goods or their packaging an illegally used trademark or a designation similar to it to the point of confusion.
3.In case of the impossibility of fulfilling the requirements established by Paragraph 2 of the present Article, the respective goods are subject to destruction.