Article 288 of the Intellectual Property Law stipulates that the violation of any of the intellectual property rights established therein shall give rise to the institution of civil and administrative proceedings, without prejudice to any criminal action that may be initiated if the act has been categorized as an offence.
Chapter III of the Intellectual Property Law concerns "offences and sanctions" and Article 319 states that any person shall be punished with imprisonment for three months to three years and a fine of 500 to 5,000 constant value units (UVCs) who, in violation of intellectual property rights, stocks, manufactures, uses for commercial purposes, offers for sale, sells, imports or exports:
(a) A product covered by an invention or utility model patent obtained within the country;
(b) a product manufactured by means of a process covered by a patent obtained within the country;
(c) a product embodying an industrial design registered within the country;
(d) a new plant variety registered within the country, and also its reproductive or vegetative propagating material;
(e) a layout design (topography) registered within the country, a semi-conductor unit incorporating such a layout design (topography) or an article incorporating such a semi-conductor unit;
(f) a product or service that uses an unregistered mark identical or similar to a well-known mark or mark of high renown that is registered within or outside the country;
(g) a product or service that uses an unregistered mark identical or similar to a mark registered within the country;
(h) a product or service that uses an unregistered mark or geographical indication identical or similar to a geographical indication registered within the country.
Article 320 provides that those persons shall be subject to the same sanction as that specified in the preceding Article who, in violation of intellectual property rights:
(a) Disclose, acquire or use trade or industrial secrets or confidential information;
(b) use, in connection with goods or services or business transactions, marks or geographical indications that are not registered within the country and constitute an imitation of well-known distinctive signs or distinctive signs of high renown that are registered within the country or abroad and might reasonably be confused with the original;
(c) use, in connection with goods or services or business transactions, marks or geographical indications constituting an imitation of distinctive signs registered within the country that might reasonably be confused with the original to distinguish goods or services that could be substituted for the protected ones.
Article 321 provides for the punishment with imprisonment for a month to two years and a fine of 250,000 UVCs, due account being taken of the degree of financial prejudice caused, of persons who, in violation of intellectual property rights, use trade names in which they have not acquired rights that are identical to trade names well-known to the public within the country or marks registered within the country, or to well-known marks or marks of high renown registered within the country or abroad.
The sanction specified in the foregoing paragraph is likewise imposed on persons who, in violation of intellectual property rights, use distinctive appearances identical or similar to distinctive appearances that are well-known to the public within the country.
Article 322 provides for the punishment with imprisonment for a month to two years and a fine of 250 to 2,500 UVCs, due account being taken of the degree of financial prejudice caused, of persons who, in violation of intellectual property rights:
(a) Manufacture, market or stock labels, seals or packages that feature marks of high renown or well-known marks registered within the country or abroad;
(b) manufacture, market or stock labels, seals or packages that contain marks or appellations of origin registered within the country;
(c) separate, remove, replace or appropriate labels, seals or packages that contain lawful marks with a view to using them for products of different origin.
The same sanction is imposed on those who stock, manufacture, use for commercial purposes, offer for sale, sell, import or export articles that contain false information on the nature, origin, method of manufacture, quality, characteristics or suitability for use of the goods or services in question, or contain false information concerning awards or other distinctions.
Article 323 provides for the punishment with imprisonment for three months to three years and a fine of 500 to 5,000 UVCs, due account being taken of the degree of financial prejudice caused, of those who stock, manufacture, use for commercial purposes, offer for sale, sell, import or export counterfeit products identified by marks of high renown or well-known marks registered within or outside the country, or with marks registered within the country.
The sanction specified in the foregoing paragraph is likewise imposed on those who fill containers identified by the mark of another person with spurious goods.
Article 324 provides for the punishment with imprisonment for three months to three years and a fine of 500 to 5,000 UVCs, due account being taken of the degree of financial prejudice caused, of persons who, in violation of copyright or related rights:
(a) Alter or mutilate a work, including by the removal or alteration of electronic right management information;
(b) register, publish, distribute, communicate or reproduce another's work, wholly or in part, as being their own;
(c) reproduce a work;
(d) communicate works, videograms or phonograms to the public, either wholly or in part;
(e) bring into the country, stock, offer for sale, sell or hire, or in any other way bring into circulation or make available to third parties, unlawful reproductions of works;
(f) reproduce a phonogram or videogram and generally any protected work, and also the performances of performers, either wholly or in part, and with or without imitation of the outward features of the original, or bring into the country, stock, distribute, offer for sale, sell, hire or in any other way bring such unlawful reproductions into circulation or make them available to third parties;
(g) bring into the country, stock, offer for sale, sell or hire, or in any other way bring into circulation or make available to third parties, reproductions of works, phonograms or videograms in which rights management information has been altered or removed.
Article 325 adds a provision for the punishment with imprisonment for a month to two years and fine of 250 to 2,500 UVCs, due account being taken of the degree of financial prejudice caused, of those who, in violation of copyright or related rights:
(a) Reproduce a number of copies of a work greater than that authorized by the holder;
(b) bring into the country, stock, offer for sale, sell or hire, or in any other way bring into circulation or make available to third parties, reproductions of works in numbers exceeding those authorized by the holder;
(c) retransmit by any means the broadcasts of broadcasting organizations;
(d) bring into the country, store, offer for sale, sell or hire, or in any other way bring into circulation or make available to third parties, apparatus or other devices intended for deciphering or decoding coded signals or in any other way circumventing or disabling technological protection measures applied by the right holder.
Article 326 provides for the punishment with imprisonment for a month to two years and a fine of 250 to 2,500 UVCs of those who obstruct, fail to heed or prevent the implementation of a preventive or precautionary measure.
Article 327 stipulates that the following shall be aggravating circumstances in addition to those provided for in the Criminal Code:
(a) The fact of the infringer having been warned of the violation of rights;
(b) the fact of the infringing goods being a potential health hazard;
(c) the fact of the infringements being committed in respect of unpublished works.