Under s. 6 of the Protection of Layout Designs (topographies) of Integrated Circuits Act makes it unlawful to perform certain acts without the authorisation of the right holder. This includes: (a) the reproduction, whether by incorporation in an integrated circuit or otherwise, of the protected layout-design in its entirety or any part thereof, except the reproduction of any part that does not comply with the requirement of originality defined in section 4; (b) the importation, sale or other distribution, for commercial purposes, of the protected layout-design, an integrated circuit in which the protected layout-design is incorporated, or an article incorporating such an integrated circuit in so far as it continues to contain an unlawfully reproduced layout-design. Where an infringement has occurred it is open to the right holder to apply to the Court for relief including an injunction, damages, an order for the seizure, forfeiture or destruction of the infringing goods or any other remedy provided for in law. Section 7 provides that the term of protection is for ten years after the date of commencement. Protection commences: (a) on the date of the first commercial exploitation, anywhere in the world, of the layout-design by, or with the consent of, the right holder, provided that an application for protection is filed by the right holder with the Registrar within the time limit referred to in section 8(3); or (b) on the filing date accorded the application for the registration of the layout-design filed by the right holder if the layout-design has not been previously exploited commercially anywhere in the world.

There is currently no legislation dealing with undisclosed information therefore no further response can be given to questions 17 to 19.

There is currently no legislation dealing with undisclosed information therefore no further response can be given to questions 17 to 19.

There is currently no legislation dealing with undisclosed information therefore no further response can be given to questions 17 to 19.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

Please refer to the responses to the Checklist on Issues of Enforcement.

In accordance with Art. 6 of the Berne Convention, Sections 145 and 146 of the Saint. Kitts and Nevis Copyright Act enable the Minister, by Order, to restrict or allow protection to works and nationals of any country specified therein. Section 145 allows the Minister to order that the provisions of the Copyright Act can apply on bases including nationality/ habitual residence, place of incorporation for bodies corporate, nature of the works and place of publication or performance. Section 146 confers a power on the Minister to restrict protection to countries that do not provide adequate protection to works of Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN).

In keeping with Arts 22 to 24 of the TRIPS provisions on geographical indications, the Act provides protection • to an indication which identifies any goods as originating in the territory of a country or a region or locality in that territory where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the particular goods is essentially attributable to its geographical indication; (section 2) • to a geographical indication even if it has not been registered, however registration of a GI offers a higher level of protection; (section 3) • Against a geographical indication which gives a false representation to the public that the goods originate in another territory than the one it actually derives from. This provision shall be enforceable even if the GI is literally true as to the territory, region or locality in which the goods originate; (section 3) and • In respect of homonymous geographical indications for wines, protection shall be given to each indication. Where necessary, the Registrar shall determine practical conditions for differentiating homonymous indications from each other. The Registrar shall be guided in such cases by the need to ensure equitable treatment of the producers concerned and to ensure that consumers are not misled. The right of use of a geographical indication shall be restricted to a producer carrying on activity in the geographical area specified in the Register, in the course of trade and only in respect of the products specified in the Register where such products possess the quality, reputation or other characteristic set out in the Register. Under section 12 of the Act, the level of protection extends to the possibility of • invalidating the registration of a GI on the ground that the GI does not qualify for protection, • rectifying the registration of a GI on the ground that; • the geographical area specified in the registration does not correspond to the geographical indication; and • the indication of the products for which the geographical indication is used or the indication of the quality, reputation or other characteristic of such products is missing or unsatisfactory. Section 13 allows proceedings to prevent the unlawful use of geographical indications or to prevent a use which constitutes an act of unfair competition within the meaning of Article 10bis of the Paris Convention. The Registrar also has power to refuse or invalidate the registration of a trademark which contains or consists of a geographical indication with respect to goods not originating in the territory indicated, if use of the indication in the trademark for such goods in Saint Kitts and Nevis is of such a nature as to mislead the public as to the true place or origin of such goods (s. 14). The Registrar additionally has power to invalidate or refuse a mark that conflicts with a GI for wines and spirits.

There are limitations on the enjoyment of patent rights. Section 10(1) of the Patents Act provides that anything which consists of the following characteristics shall be excluded from patentability (a) discovery, scientific theory or mathematical method; (b) a scheme, rule or method for doing business, performing a mental act of playing a game; and; (c) methods for the treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy as well as diagnostic methods practiced on the human or animal body. Additionally, section 10 subsection 3 of the Patents Act provides that a patent shall not be granted in respect of an invention if the commercial exploitation of the invention in Saint Christopher and Nevis would be contrary to public order or morality. The section goes on to provide in subsection 4 that the refusal to grant such a patent would not be based solely on the ground that the commercial exploitation is prohibited by a law in force in Saint Christopher and Nevis. The language seems to imply that the basic threshold that would be looked at would be the law but leaves it open as to other considerations that might influence the decision to deny the patent. Section 10 subsection (1) paragraph (c) - cited earlier, provides that anything that consists of methods for the treatment of the human or animal body by surgery, therapy in addition to diagnostic methods that are practiced on either human or animal, shall be excluded from patentability. However, subsection 2 under the same section shows restricts the exclusion only to the methods and does not extend the bar to the products that might be used in any of those methods.

Section 32(2)(a)(ii) of the Patents Act expressly provides that exploitation of a product patent includes importation of said product. Section 37 which deals with the grant of non-voluntary licenses provides that a third party can apply to the court for such a license where the patent has not been exploited, sufficiently exploited or imported into Saint Kitts and Nevis after four years after the grant or three years after filing, whichever later. Additionally, where the Minister is satisfied that the right holder's exploitation of the patent (which includes importation) is anti-competitive, s. 34 confers the right on him to grant a compulsory licence to a Government agency or a third party designated by the Government.