Slovakia: changes to IP laws

Changes have been introduced with effect from 1 March 2007 to the Copyright Act and other statutes regulating intellectual property rights, to comply with EU legislation.

The changes primarily affect copyright, designs, trademarks, patents and other industrial property rights in Slovakia. Their aim is to strengthen the position of holders of intellectual property rights to enforce and protect their rights, and to speed up the enforcement process.

Key changes introduced by the amended laws include:

• giving copyright and other IP right holders the right to damage compensation in all cases of IP infringement involving damage whereas previously it was only available where other means of compensation were insufficient (as well monetary compensation for personal injury where the award of other types of compensation is insufficient)

• giving IP right holders the right to enforce rights protected under exclusive licence agreements including against third parties

• requiring dealers to pay a royalty fee to the artist on any resale of an original artwork through the relevant organisation supervising the IP right

• amending the Code of Civil Court Procedure to simplify the procedure for enforcing IP rights. Slovak law has specific rules on obtaining evidence in IP cases, which have been changed to make it easier to obtain evidence before the main proceedings

• extending the range of actions authorised by a court which are permitted under the Execution Code including actions to secure evidence such as goods, or samples of goods, materials and tools or documentation to goods which have been used to infringe IP rights or put such rights at risk

• introducing a new form of interim injunction which can be sought by a plaintiff in his statement of claim to stop the actual or threatened breach of an IP right or to post bail with the court to cover any damage incurred through his actual or threatened breach of the IP right

• setting out the extent to which IP rights are regulated by the Civil Code where not regulated by other statutes

• changing the Civil Code rules governing compensation for actual or threatened infringement of IP rights, consisting of actual damage, lost profit, unjust enrichment and monetary compensation for personal injury where the award of other types of compensation is insufficient

• introducing a new means of calculating compensation by reference to the amount of compensation customary for licence awards at the time of the infringement in circumstances where other methods of calculating compensation are not applicable

• amending the Commercial Code to change the way trade names are regulated, for bringing claims to protect trade names against actual or threatened breach and to set out the range of remedies available to protect trade names including the award of a right to information.