Duration of the right is admittedly unclear. The provision was left as it was as there are different types of rights and the period of protection for each right varies in the Copyright Act itself. Before the Copyright Act, authors enjoyed a system of registration, where once a registered work is being used by an unauthorized user, they can initiate legal proceedings. Many stakeholders were concerned as to what would happen to their exiting rights once the Copyright Act came into force. In consultation with the Ministry of Economic Development and the stakeholders, it was decided that original works should enjoy the duration of protection as provided for in the Copyright Act, but the date of protection is to begin on the date that either the work was first registered or when it became available to the public. Bearing in mind the TRIPS national treatment and MFN rules, none of the articles in the Act are solely applicable to Maldivians. Where a foreign author finds that his right has been breached by a local author, the former would be entitled to prove that his right existed first and that includes proof of any registration or the date that a work first became publicly available in the country of the foreign author.

Plant varieties are protected under the regime established by Decree Law No. 291 of 20 November 2011 on the protection of plant varieties, which entered into force on 2 April 2012. The list of species to which this regime applies will enter into effect upon publication in the Official Journal (Gaceta Official). Although Cuba is not a member of the UPOV system, the legislation is based on this system, with regulations modelled on provisions from the Acts of 1978 and 1991. New plant varieties cannot be protected by patents.

See replies in the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement (IP/N/6/CUB/1).

No legislation consistent with the TRIPS Agreement has yet been adopted in this area.

No reply received. As yet, no legislation consistent with the TRIPS Agreement has been adopted in this area.

Decree Law No. 290 of 20 November 2011 on inventions and industrial designs and models, which entered into force on 2 April 2012, grants protection to inventions based on products and processes in all fields of technology. Articles 21 and 22 of the legislation list, respectively, the types of subject-matter not considered to be an invention and non patentable subject-matter.

Articles 44 to 46 establish the scope and content of the rights conferred by the patent and distinguish rights relating to patents on products from rights relating to patents on processes, in accordance with Article 28 of the TRIPS Agreement. Article 46. A patent shall confer on its owner the right to prevent third parties not having the owner's consent from carrying out the following acts: (a) Where the subject-matter of a patent is a product, the making, using, offering for sale or importing for these purposes that product; and (b) where the subject-matter of a patent is a process, the using of that process and the acts of using, offering for sale, selling or importing for these purposes the product obtained directly by that process. Article 143.1 provides for the protection of a product where it is directly obtained by a patented process, provided that the product is new in accordance with Article 34.1(a) of the Agreement.

Importation is a form of working a patent, but does not preclude the granting of compulsory licences in certain circumstances considered in the legislation, such as: (a) The non exploitation or insufficient exploitation of the subject-matter of the patent, which has a negative impact on the market; (b) the setting of high or discriminatory prices when there are offers to supply the market at prices significantly lower than those offered by the patent owner for the same product; (c) where exploitation by the owner has been interrupted for more than one year; (e) if the patent concerns vaccinations or other pharmaceutical products, where these have been made available to the public by being put on sale or offered in insufficient amounts or where they have not been made available at all; (g) for any act constituting the abusive exercise of the rights conferred and for any practice which, as a result of a judicial or administrative process, has been determined anti competitive.

Articles 53 to 57 establish regulations in accordance with the TRIPS Agreement.

Article 42. Patents shall be valid for a period of 20 years from the date of filing of the application.

Yes, this principle is provided for in Article 143.1 and 143.2.

A draft Decree law on unfair industrial and trade practices is currently being examined by the competent authorities. It includes provisions on undisclosed information held by natural and legal persons and the definition thereof. It also includes provisions on undisclosed information concerning pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products that is provided to regulatory bodies.

[No replies received to questions 8 and 9.]

[No replies received to questions 8 and 9.]

Decree Law No. 290 of 20 November 2011 on inventions and industrial designs and models, which entered into force on 2 April 2012, contains provisions to protect public health and nutrition and to promote the public interest in sectors of vital importance to socio economic and technological development. Consideration has been given to the flexibility provided for in Articles 7, 8, 30 and 31 of the TRIPS Agreement, which is supported by the Doha Ministerial Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health.

No replies have been received to questions 2 to 9 above. As yet, no legislation consistent with the TRIPS Agreement has been adopted in this area.

No replies have been received to questions 2 to 9 above. As yet, no legislation consistent with the TRIPS Agreement has been adopted in this area.

No replies have been received to questions 2 to 9 above. As yet, no legislation consistent with the TRIPS Agreement has been adopted in this area.

No replies have been received to questions 2 to 9 above. As yet, no legislation consistent with the TRIPS Agreement has been adopted in this area.

No replies have been received to questions 2 to 9 above. As yet, no legislation consistent with the TRIPS Agreement has been adopted in this area.