BAGHDAD - The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) has issued Orders No. 81 amending the Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits, Plant Variety and No. 83 amending Copyright Laws.
The purpose of these Orders is to amend the Patent and Industrial Designs Laws and Regulations (No. 65 of 1970) and the Copyright Law No. 3 of 1971. The Orders, which entered into force April 26, 2004 were signed by the CPA Administrator Paul Bremer.
It is “acknowledging the Governing Council’s desire to bring about significant change to the Iraqi intellectual property system as necessary to improve the economic condition of the people of Iraq,” the statement signed by Bremer stated.
In addition, the statement noted that the Orders are being enacted to emphasize that “companies, lenders and entrepreneurs require a fair, efficient, and predictable environment for protection of their intellectual property, and noting that several provisions of the current Iraqi Patent and Industrial Design Law and related legislation do not meet current internationally-recognized standards of protection.”
The Orders also ensure that “Iraqi Copyright Law meets current internationally -recognized standards of protection, and to incorporate the modern standards of the World Trade Organization into the Iraqi law.”
