- Patents, Trademarks, Product Licensing and Permit System
- Patents
- Trademarks
- Product Licensing
- Permit System
- Competition and monopolistic activities
- Standardization and Certification
- Environmental Protection
- Legal system
In Tajikistan, the legal regulations generally do not distinguish between Tajik people and foreign nationals regarding business activities and investments. Reliable laws in Tajikistan enable companies to plan their investments effectively and licenses granted by the local authority body provide a secure base for different business projects and operations, either for Tajik entrepreneurs or foreign investors. Also intellectual property, for instance trade name, trademarks, industrial designs, software, database, art and literature etc., is well protected by the Civil Code of Tajikistan and governed by individual laws such as the ‘Law on Investments’, ‘Law on Innovations”, ‘Law on State protection and support of Business’, ‘Law on Industrial Pieces’ and the ‘Law on Trademarks and service marks’ which extends the same conditions enjoyed by Tajik people to foreign entrepreneurs. If necessary, investor’s rights, if of national or foreign origin, can be equally enforced by the judicial system of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Moreover, the Government takes a great interest in assuring a competitive environment for business activities and prevents the emergence of any monopolistic activity of entrepreneurs by statutory rules, such as the ‘Law on Competition and Limitation of monopolistic activities at merchandise market’.
All investors in Tajikistan are guaranteed the full and unconditional protection of legitimate rights and interests, as well as the stability of agreement conditions singed by the investor and the authorized state bodies, except in cases where amendments were made upon the decision of all parties involved.
In the event of amendments to the investment legislation of the Republic of Tajikistan, investors have the right to choose the most favourable conditions for them within five years from the date of the official publication of such changes in the legislation.
Patents, Trademarks, Product Licensing and Permit System
Trademarks and patents are well protected in Tajikistan. When establishing a company you should remember to protect your company’s intellectual property by means of registration. Conversely, you should ensure that your company and products do not infringe on existing intellectual property rights that have already been registered in the Republic of Tajikistan.
The National Center for Patents and Information under the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan (NCPI Center) is electronically modernized, and handles external international patent registrations on a regular basis.
Patents
Patents are granted for inventions which are new, involve an inventive step, and are industrially applicable. The duration of a patent is twenty years, beginning on the day of the invention patent application.
Patents on Industrial designs are valid for a period of ten years, from the date of submission of all relevant documents to the State Authority on the Protection of Industrial Property Subjects.
Exclusive right to use belongs to the person having the patent, including the right to prohibit the use of these inventions to other people. Relations within the use of invention, the patent which belongs to several persons, are stated by their agreement. In case of non-availability of such an agreement, each of the owners of the patent may use the protected invention at their own discretion, but they have no right to provide the license or transfer the exclusive right (to give away the patent) to another person without the consent of the other patent owners.
To register a patent, the interested party should submit an application with all relevant information on the invention to the NCPI, together with the payment of a patent fee.
A person who holds the patent may transfer the exclusive right (to give away the patent) to any person or entity on the basis of a contract. Agreement on transfer of exclusive rights (patent assignment) shall be registered in the NCPI; it is considered invalid without registration.
Trademarks
A trademark is a personal name, a company name, a term, a logo, or a combination of these, which identifies a company, its goods, or it services. Marks of this kind, which are associated with a specific manufacturer or supplier, may for instance take the form of symbols, words, illustrations, audio signatures, colour designs or packaging.
Additionally, a company or a product name that has acquired a secondary meaning as a trademark due to its independent value can also be eligible for trademark protection.
Similar to a patent, an application for trademark protection has to be submitted, either by an individual or a legal entity, to the NCPI together with the payment of a trademark fee. Issuance of a certificate for trademark is performed by the NCPI within one month from the date of trademark registration. A trademark registration is valid for ten years from the date of application.The registration of a trademark can be renewed at the request of the holder of trademark rights, submitted during the last year of its operation.
The exclusive right to a trademark may be transferred, and the Agreement on the transfer of an exclusive trademark right along with the Agreement granting the right to use the trademark are registered in the NCPI. Without this registration, these agreements are invalid.
For more information on the procedure for registration and the transfer of exclusive rights, please contact the National Center for Patents and Information (NCPI) at www.ncpi.tj.
Product Licensing
The government of the Republic of Tajikistan distinguishes between two groups of product licenses: exclusive licensing and non-exclusive licensing.
An exclusive license entitles only the licensee to exploit the respective right, usually defined for a certain territory.
A non-exclusive licensing (general licensing) enables various licensees to use a right in the same territory at the same time.
The license is granted for certain activities that can be performed only by the legal entity or individual entrepreneur that received the license. Licensing activities and procedures for obtaining the licenses are defined under the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On licensing of certain activities” and “Regulations on features of licensing for certain types of activities”, approved by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.
To obtain a license, relevant documents and an application form have to be submitted to the appropriate authority. The processing time for the disbursement of a license will take around 30 days. Licenses will be issued for 3 or 5 years, depending on the type of license.
Permit System
According to the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On the permit system” the permit is an administrative document issued by the appropriate authority (Tax Authority office; eventually Ministry of Health Protection; and/or Ministry of Energy and Industry etc.), which certifies the right of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to carry out the specific activity or activities within the prescribed period while observing mandatory compliance with licensing conditions.
Only the legal entity or individual entrepreneur who obtained the permit may perform the type of activity for which the permit is granted. The Permit is issued for unlimited duration, but for activities subject to licensing it shall be issued for a licensing term(generally one or five years). The permitting document is valid in the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan. The permit is issued following an application submitted to the appropriate authority in person, by letter or by e-mail.
Competition and monopolistic activities
The Government of Tajikistan takes great interest in a competitive environment for business activities and has regulations to prevent the emergence of any monopolistic activity. The ‘Law on Competition and Limitation of Monopolistic Activities in the Marketplace’ governs the competition in the markets of Tajikistan. All legal entities and individuals are bound by these regulations including foreign and government agencies. The law is applicable in any cases where the actions and agreements of persons or legal entities withinthe territory of Tajikistan Republic, may lead to restriction of competition or entail other negative impacts on the commodity markets of Tajikistan.
More information can be obtained from the State Agency For Anti-Monopoly Policy And Enterprise Support, Dushanbe, 734012, Rudaki Ave., 20 , Phone: 215349, 213669, 214512, 217828 Fax: 215553, 216895.
Standardization and Certification
The ‘Law on Standardization’ governs compliance standards for products, their development process, transportation, storage, manufacture and use. The law provides guidelines and specifications, and covers terminology, symbols, packaging, marking and labelling, to the extent that they apply to the product, process or method of production. In principle, products are to be ‘stamped’ as compliant with the regulations.
Producers and sellers of products must have a certificate of compliance issued by the competent authority to verify that the product conforms to the industry standards for its classification. The Law ‘On certification of products and services’ sets the criteria for this procedure.
Another certification is carried out in order to protect the consumers’ interests in matters of food safety for life, health, property, environmental protection, information compatibility and interchange ability of products, creation of conditions for businesses, institutions, organizations and businesses in the single commodity market of the Republic of Tajikistan.
For certain products and manufacturing processes, certification is mandatory as defined in the Law‘On licensed activities’, while for others it is voluntary such as selected food products. Mandatory certification is carried out by the Tajikgosstandart (Tajik State Standard Body).
Products which are subject to mandatory certification must provide the Certificate and the Mark of Conformity to demonstrate compliance with statutory requirements. Certificates or documents of recognition must be submitted to the customs authorities, together with the cargo customs declaration and required documents for obtaining permission to import the goods into the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan. In the absence of documentation attesting to the safety of imported products, the customs control bodies may prohibit its entry and will inform the Tajikgosstandart.
Environmental Protection
Tajikistan’s ‘Laws on Environmental Protection’ aims to protect the population and environment from detrimental effects due to air pollution, noise, vibration, radiation and similar immissions. The Law defines the legal basis of state policy on environment and aims to ensure sustainable socio-economic development, guarantees for a healthy and favourable environment, and to prevent the negative impact of economic and other activities on the environment, the efficient use of natural resources and environmental safety.
Violation of the Law on Environmental Protection may mean the suspension or restriction of activities until the situation is corrected. To learn more and to consult the regulations, visit the Ministry for Nature Protection,Bokhtar 12, Dushanbe, TajikistanPhone/Fax (992 372) 21-18-39.
Legal system
In Tajikistan, different types of courts are available for different purposes. The judicial authority protects the rights and freedom of citizens, interests of the state, organizations, institutions, law and justice of individual, state interests, organizations, institutions, law and justice.
Judicial authority is exercised by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, SupremeEconomic Court, the Military Court, the Court of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, Dushanbe courts, regional courts, town and district courts, the economic courts of the city of Dushanbe, economic courts of the regions and the economic court of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.
The courts of general jurisdiction review civil, criminal and family cases, including labour disputes and cases on administrative offenses at the national and regional levels.
Justice in the field of entrepreneurial and other economic activities is carried out mainly by the economic courts of the Republic of Tajikistan. If one party fails to fulfill the conditions of a signed contract, the aggrieved party may register a claim in the economic courts.
In addition, Tajikistan has alternative courts known as courts of arbitration. By mutual agreement the parties may address civil and economic disputes if such mechanism is specified in the signed contracts. Once both parties have signed the arbitration agreement, they are under obligation to voluntarily execute the decision of arbitration. The parties and arbitration counsel shall make every effort to ensure that the arbitration decision is applied.
For detailed information consult the High Economic Court, Republic of Tajikistan Dushanbe, 734002, Niezi Str., 37, Phone: 211558, 211049, 211813; Fax: 211046. Another resource to understand the legal system in Tajikistan is the International Center for Non-Profit Law, which can advise on the legal environment, but does not represent. www.icnl.org