Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights

It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that their Intellectual Property is enforced and is not infringing upon someone else’s. Infringement occurs when a person uses the entire or part of the protected work without the owner's consent. By applying to the courts, the owner of the respective right can stop a person from further use of the material, claim damages and even require the infringing party to remove or destroy the material.

The general principles of enforcement of industrial property rights shall include the following:

• The procedures concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights shall be fair and equitable.
• The procedures shall not impose overly burdensome requirements concerning mandatory personal appearances.
• Parties to a legal proceeding shall be allowed to be represented by independent legal counsel.
• Infringement claims shall be substantiated with relevant evidence.
• Measures or remedies against infringement shall be effective to prevent and deter infringement and adequate to redress the harm done.

Remedies against infringements of rights:

• Provisional measures
• A temporary restraining order to prevent commitment and continuation of infringing activity
• Civil remedies
• The owner of the IP right shall be entitled to payment and recovery of profits by the infringer.
• Criminal remedies
• The person committing the offence of infringement shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment or with a fine, based on the number of offences