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Intellectual property in Estonia

Intellectual Property

National Organisations
The patents office of Estonia was created on 3rd December 1991. It started functioning in 1992. Among its activities were included the implementation of laws concerning trademarks of manufactured products or business trademarks, the law concerning the copyrights of authors, laws concerning patents and finally the laws concerning utility models.
The principle of priority to the first patent applicant is applied.
Estonia is a member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) since 1994, and is also a member of Paris and Berne Conventions.
Regional Organisations
Estonia has signed several regional conventions on intellectual property. For instance, the Paris and Berne Conventions, Rome convention as well as the Madrid protocol.
 

National Regulation and International Agreements

 
Type of property and law Validity International Agreements Signed
Patent
 
Patent Act, March 16, 1994
20 years
Trademark
 
Trade Marks Act, August 1992 (last amended December 1997)
10 years (renewable) Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design
 
Industrial Design Protection Act, November 18, 1997 (last amended November 25, 1998)
5 years, renewable for two further 5-year periods  
Copyright
 
Copyright Act, November 1992, (last amended February 1999)
The term of protection is the life of the author and seventy years after his or her death irrespective of the date in which work is lawfully made available to the public WIPO Copyright Treaty
Industrial Models
 
Industrial Design Protection Act, November 1997 (last amended in 1998)
5 years from the date in which the application has been duly filled in.  

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Latest Update: March 2024

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