Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979

Under the law, “trade marks” means any visible sign serving to distinguish the goods of one enterprise from those of other enterprises

Sri Lanka recognises both Trade Marks as well as service marks.

Registration is granted only to the person who has first fulfilled the conditions for valid application or who is the first validly to claim the earliest priority for his application.
Provided that they are not inadmissible under sections 99 and 100 marks may consist, in particular, of arbitrary or fanciful designations, names, pseudonyms, geographical, envelopes, emblems, prints, stamps, seals, vignettes, selvedges, borders and edgings, combinations or arrangements of colours and shapes of goods or containers.

Not all marks are registrable in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Trade Marks Office will reject marks
a. which consists of shapes or forms imposed by the inherent nature of the goods or services or by their industrial function.
b. which consist exclusively of a sign or indication which may serve, in the course of trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, place of origin or time of production, or of supply, of the goods or services concerned.
c. which consist exclusively of a sign or indication which has become, in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade of Sri Lanka, a customary designation of the goods or services concerned.
d. which, for other reasons, is incapable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises.
e. which consist of any scandalous design or is contrary to morality or public order or which, in the opinion of the Registrar or the Court, is likely to offend the religious or racial susceptibilities of any community
f. which is likely to mislead trade circles or the public as to the nature, the source, the manufacturing process, the characteristics, or the suitability for their purpose, of the goods or services concerned.
g. which does not represent in a special or particular manner the name of an individual or enterprise.
h. which is, according to its ordinary signification, a geographical name or surname.
i. which reproduces or imitates armorial bearings, flags or other emblems, initials, names or abbreviated names of any State or any inter-governmental international convention, unless authorized by the competent authority of that State or international organization.
j. which reproduces or imitates official signs or hallmarks of a State, unless authorized by the competent authority of that State.
k. which resembles in such a way as to be likely to mislead the public, a mark or a collective mark the registration of which has expired and has not been renewed or where its renunciation, removal or nullity has been recorded in the register during a period of two years preceding the filing of the mark in question.
l. which consists of any other word or definitions as may be prescribed.

Other than the above, the other grounds for refusal of an application for registration are in respect of marks
a. which resembles, in such a way as to be likely to mislead the public, a mark already validly filed on registered by a third party, or subsequently filed by a person validly claiming priority in respect of the same goods or services in connection with which use of such mark may be likely to mislead the public.
b. which resembles, in such a way as to be likely to mislead the public, an unregistered mark used earlier in Sri Lanka by a third party in connection with identical or similar goods or services, if the applicant is aware, or could not have been unaware, of such use.
c. which resembles, in such a way as to be likely to mislead the public, a trade name already used in Sri Lanka by a third party, if the applicant is aware, or could not have been unaware, of such use.
d. which constitutes a reproduction in whole or in part, an imitation, translation or transcription, likely to mislead the public, of a mark or trade name which is well known in Sri Lanka and belongs to a third party.
e. which infringes other third party rights or to the prevention of unfair competition.
f. which is filed by the agent or representative of a third party who is the owner of such mark in another country, without the authorization justifies his action.

It is possible to file a convention application in Sri Lanka. An applicant for registration of a mark who wishes to avail himself of the priority of an earlier application filed in a Convention must, within six months of the date of such earlier application, append to his application a written declaration indicating the date and number of the earlier application, the name of the applicant and the country in which he or his predecessor in title filed such application and shall, within a period of three months from the date of the later application filed in Sri Lanka, furnish a copy of the earlier application certified as correct by the appropriate authority of the country where such earlier application was filed.

The registered owner of a mark shall have the following exclusive rights in relation to the mark:-
a. to use the mark.
b. to assign or transmit the registration of the mark.
c. to conclude licence contracts.

Without the consent of the registered owner of the mark third parties are precluded from the following acts:-
a. any use of the mark, or of a sign resembling it, in such a way as to be likely to mislead the public, for goods or services in respect of which the mark is registered, or for other goods or services in connection with which the use of the mark or sign is likely to mislead the public; and
b. any other use of the mark, or of a sign or trade name resembling it, without just cause and in conditions likely to be prejudicial to the interests of the registered owner of the mark.

An application for registration or the registration of a mark may be assigned or transmitted independently of the transfer of all or part of the enterprise using the mark, in respect of all or part of the goods or services for which the application was filed or the mark registered.
Such assignment or transmission shall be invalid if the purpose or effect thereof is to mislead the public, in particular in respect of the nature, source, manufacturing process, characteristics or suitability for their purpose of the goods or services to which the mark is applied.
Any person becoming entitled by assignment or transmission to an application for registration or the registration of a mark may apply to the Registrar in the prescribed manner to have such assignment or transmission recorded in the register.
Assignment or transmission must be recorded with the Registrar of Trade Marks and no such assignment or transmission shall have effect against third parties unless so recorded in the register.

Any mark may be licensed in Sri Lanka and the use of the mark by the licensee shall be deemed to be use of the mark by the registered owner. A licence contract shall be in writing signed by or on behalf of the contracting parties.

An application for a declaration of nullity based on any grounds shall be made within five years from the date of registration of the mark.

An application for the removal of a registered mark must be made before a court of law. The grounds for removal inter alia are:-
a. if the registered owner has, without valid grounds, failed to use the mark within Sri Lanka or cause it to be used within Sri Lanka by virtue of a licence, during five consecutive years immediately preceding the date of application to Court.
In this scenario, the Court may take into account the fact that non-use of the mark was due to circumstances beyond the control of the registered owner. The Court shall not take into account the lack of funds of the registered owner as a ground for non-use of the mark.
b. if the registered owner has caused, provoked or tolerated the transformation of the mark into a generic name for one or mare of the goods or services in respect of which the mark of registered so that in trade circles and in the eyes of the public its significance as a mark has been lost.

The following will not be a ground for the removal of the mark. The use of a mark-
a. in a form differing, in elements which do not alter the distinctive character of the mark, from the form in which it was registered,
b. in connection with one or more of the goods or services belonging to any given class in respect of which the mark is registered.

A name or designation shall not be admissible as a trade name if, by reason of its nature or the uses to which it may be put, it is contrary to morality or public order or is likely to offend the religious or racial susceptibilities of any community or is likely to mislead trade circles or the public as to the nature of the enterprise identified by that name.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law providing for the registration of a trade name, such name shall be protected, even prior to or without registration, against any unlawful act committed by a third party.
Any subsequent use of a trade name by a third party, whether as a trade name or as a trade marks, service mark or collective mark or any such use of a similar trade name, trade marks, service mark or collective mark likely to mislead the public shall be deemed unlawful.

Any act of competition contrary to honest practices in industrial or commercial matters shall constitute an act of unfair competition. Acts of unfair competition shall include the following:-
a. all acts of such a nature as to create confusion by any means whatsoever with the establishment, the goods, services or the industrial or commercial activities of a competitor.
b. a false allegation in the course of trade of such a nature as to discredit the establishment, the goods, services or the industrial or commercial activities of a competitor.
c. any indication of source or appellation of origin the use of which in the course of trade is liable to mislead the public as to the nature, manufacturing process, characteristics, suitability for their purpose or the quantity of goods.
d. making direct or indirect use of a false or deceptive indication of the source of goods or services or of the identity of their producer, manufacturer or supplier
e. making direct or indirect use of a false or deceptive appellation of origin or imitating an appellation of origin even if the true origin of the product is indicated, or using the appellation in translated form or accompanied by terms such as “kind”, “type”, “mark”, “imitation” or the like.
e. making direct or indirect use of a false or deceptive appellation of origin or imitating an appellation of origin even if the true origin of the product is indicated, or using the appellation in translated form or accompanied by terms such as “kind”, “type”, “mark”, “imitation” or the like.

An application for registration of a mark must be made to the Registrar in the prescribed from and must contain -

Arequest for the registration of the mark.

The name, address and description of the applicant and, if he is resident outside Sri Lanka, a postal address for service in Sri Lanka.

Four copies of a representation of the mark.

A clear and complete list of the particular goods or services in respect of which registration of the mark is requested, with an indication of the corresponding class or classes in the international classification.

Where the application is field through an agent, it shall be accompanied by a power of attorney granted to such agent by the applicant. No legalization or certification of the applicant’s signature is necessary.

Pursuant to the filing of the application, The Registrar examines whether the application for registration complies with all the provisions of the law and accepts it absolutely or subject to conditions, amendments or modifications, or to such limitations, if any, as to the mode or place of user or otherwise as he may think fit to impose, he may request the applicant to pay within a period of two months the prescribed fee for publication of the application.
If the fee for publication is paid within the prescribed period the Registrar shall proceed to publish the application setting out the date of publication.
Any person may oppose the application within a period of three months from the date of publication of the application. The Applicant is given a period of three months to submit his counterstatement.

On receipt of the counter statement of the applicant the Registrar shall after hearing the parties, if he considers such hearing necessary, decide, as expeditiously as possible, whether or not the mark is registrable he shall accordingly register such mark.
Where notice of opposition has not been received by the Registrar, or the opposition has been finally decided in favour of the Applicant, the Registrar shall register the mark.

Where by reason of default on the part of the applicant, registration of a mark is not completed within twelve months from the date of receipt by the Registrar of the application, the registrar may, after giving notice of non-completion to the applicant in writing in the prescribed from, treat the application as abandoned, unless it is completed within the time specified in that behalf in such notice.

Upon the registration of a mark the Registrar issues to the registered owner thereof a certificate of registration.

Once the Registration certificate has been issued, the Registrar shall publish the factum of registration in the Gazette.

The registration is granted for a period of ten years from the date of registration and can be renewed in perpetuity for a period of 10 years each. The renewal fee shall be paid within the twelve months preceding the date of expiration of the period of registration:
Provided, however, that a period of grace of six months shall be allowed for the payment of the fee after the date of such expiration, upon payment of the fee after the date of such expiration, upon payment of such surcharge as may be prescribed.

The law defines the remedy for “infringement” as: Any person who willfully infringes any of the rights protected under the law (Part II of the Code) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable for conviction after trial before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction the above fine or term of imprisonment or both may be doubled.
The Magistrate may, whether the alleged offender is convicted or not, order that all copies of the work and all implements used for the infringement, or all plates in the possession of the alleged offender, which appear to him to be infringing copies, shall be destroyed or delivered up to the owner of the copyright, or otherwise dealt with as the Magistrate may think fit.
Other offences under the Law include

False representations regarding marks: Any person who, for industrial or commercial purposes, makes a representation-
a. with respect to a mark not being a registered mark to the effect that it is a registered mark.
b. to the effect that a registered mark is registered in respect of any goods or services in respect of which it is not registered; or
c. to the effect that the registration of a mark gives an exclusive right to the use thereof in any circumstances in which, having regard to limitation recorded in the register, the registration does not give that right,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction after trial before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

A person shall be deemed to represent that a mark is registered if he uses in connection with the mark the mark the word “registered”, or any word or words expressing or implying that registration has been obtained for the mark.

Forgery of Mark

False application to goods of any mark or marks so nearly resembling a registered mark as to be likely to mislead; or

Making of any die, block, machine, or other instrument for the purpose of forging, or being used for forging, a mark; or

Application of any false trade description to goods; or

Imports infringing goods

All offences under this Part are “cognizable” and “bailable”, within the meaning of those terms as defined in the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979.

Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979

Protection applies only to new industrial design;

Protection does not apply to an industrial design which consist of any scandalous design or is contrary to morality or public order or which, in the opinion of the Registrar or the Court, is likely to offend the religious or racial susceptibilities of any community.

The law defines an Industrial design as any composition of lines or colours or any three dimensional form, whether or not associated with lines or colours, that gives a special appearance to a product of industry of handicraft and is capable of serving as a pattern for a product of industry or handicraft:
Provided that anything in an industrial design which serves solely to obtain a technical result shall not be protected under the law.

The law defines Novelty as a new industrial design which has not been made available to the public anywhere and at any time whatsoever through description, use or in any other manner before the date of an application for registration of such industrial design or before the priority date validly claimed in respect thereof.
An industrial design shall not be deemed to have been made available to the public solely by reason of the fact that, within the period of six months preceding the filing of an application, it had appeared in an official or officially recognized international exhibition.
An industrial design shall not be considered a new industrial design solely by reason of the fact that it differs from an earlier industrial design in minor respects or that it concerns a type of product different from a product embodying an earlier industrial design.

The right to obtain protection of an industrial design belongs to its owner. The owner of an industrial design is its creator or his successor in title. Where two or more persons have jointly created an industrial design, the right to obtain protection shall belong to them jointly:

Provided that a person who has merely assisted in the creation of an industrial design but has made no contribution of a creative nature shall not be deemed to be the creator or a co-creator of such industrial design.

Subject to the other provisions of the Act, the person who makes the first application for the registration of an industrial design or the person who first validly claims the earliest priority for his application shall be deemed to be the creator of such industrial design.

Infringement: Where the essential elements of an industrial design, the subject of an application, have been unlawfully derived from an industrial design for which the right of protection belongs to another person, such other person may apply to Court for an order that the said application or registration be assigned to him:

Provided that where, after an application for the registration of an industrial design has been filed, the person whom the right to protection belongs gives him consent to the filing of the said application, such consent shall, for all purposes, be deemed to have been effective from the date of filing of such application.

Any person who wilfully infringes the rights of any registered owner, assignee or licensee of an industrial design shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction after trial before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction the above fine or term of imprisonment or both may be doubled.

Any person who, for industrial or commercial purposes, makes a representation-
a. with respect to an industrial design not being a registered industrial design to the effect that it is a registered industrial design;
b. to the effect that a registered industrial design is registered in respect of any product s in respect of any products in respect of which it is not registered; or
c. to the effect that the registration of an industrial design gives an exclusive right to the use thereof in any circumstances in which, having regard to limitations recorded in the register, the registration does not give that right, shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction after a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

A person shall be deemed to represent that an industrial design is registered if he uses in connection with the industrial design the word “registered”, or any word or words expressing or implying that registration has been obtained for the industrial design.

Industrial design created by an employee or pursuant to a commission: In the absence of any provision to the contrary in any contract of employment or for the execution of work, the ownership of an industrial design created in the performance of such contract or in the execution of such work shall be deemed to the employer, or the person who commissioned the work, as the case may be;
Provided that where the industrial design acquires an economic value much greater than the parties could reasonably have foreseen at the time of concluding the contract of employment or for the execution of work, as the case may be, fixed by the Court in the absence of agreement between the parties.
Where an employee whose contract of employment does not require him to engage in any creative activity creates, in the field of activities of his employer, an industrial design using data or means placed at his disposal by his employer, the ownership of such industrial design shall be deemed to accrue to his employer in the absence of any provision to the contrary in the contract of employment:
Provided that the employee shall be entitled to equitable remuneration which, in the absence of agreement between the parties, may be fixed by the Court taking into account his emoluments, the economic value of the industrial design and any benefit derived from it by the employer.
The above mentioned rights conferred on the creator of an industrial design can not be restricted by contract.

Naming of creator of an industrial design: The creator of an industrial design shall be named as such in the registration, unless by a declaration in writing signed by him or on his behalf and submitted to the Registrar by him or on his behalf and submitted to the Registrar he indicates that he does not wish to be so named.

The date of the application shall be the date of its Registry, property that, Where the fees in respect of such application is received on a date later than the date of receipt of the application then that later date shall be the date of the application.

It is possible to claim convention priority in Sri Lanka. Where the earlier application referred to in the declaration claiming priority is in a language other than the language of the registration of the industrial design a translation of the said earlier application in the language of the application for the registration of the industrial designs in Sri Lanka.

The registration of an industrial design may be renewed by the Registrar upon a written request made in that behalf by the registered owner or his authorised agent on payment of the prescribed fee. Every renewal of a registration of an industrial design is published in the Gazette.

Any application under the Regulations, to the Registrar requesting him to record
in the Register of Industrial Designs the assignment or transmission of an application for registration, or the registration, of any industrial design or designs, shall be made on a prescribed form. It shall be signed by the assignee or transferee and shall be forwarded to the Registrar together with the fee. Where the provisions of paragraph (a) have been complied with the Registrar shall record such assignment or transmission in the Register of Industrial Design.

The application for the regulation for the registration of one or more industrial designs must be made on the appropriate form set out in the first Schedule of the Regulations and must be signed by the applicant or his authorized agent.

The application must be accompanied in respect of each industrial design by either one specimen or by the following :-
i. If the industrial design is two- dimensional, by one photographic or graphic representation or one drawing or tracing ;
ii. If the industrial design is three dimensional, by two photographic or graphic representation or two drawing or tracings, each showing a different aspect of the industrial design.

Each specimen should be of a size not exceeding 20 centimeters X 20 centimeters X 20 centimeters.

No photographic or graphic representation, drawing or tracing of the industrial design shall exceed 10 centimeters X 20 centimeters. Where there is one or two of such representations, drawings or tracings, they shall be affixed on one sheet of paper of A4 size. Photographic and graphic representation may be in colour. Drawings and tracing shall be in black ink.

The indication of the kind of products for which industrial designs are to be used shall be the same for all the industrial designs to which the application relates.

Power of Attorney will be required.

Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979

The Applicant: Application for Grant of Patent in certain cases
a. Where the inventor or the person having title to the invention is dead, the legal representative of such inventor or such person having title to the invention may apply for and obtain the patent.
b. Where the applicant dies during the time intervening between the filing of his application and the granting of a patent thereon, the patent may be granted to the legal representative upon proper intervention by him
c. Where the inventor or the person having title to the invention is insane or otherwise legally incapacitated the legal representative of such inventor or person may apply for and obtain the patent.
d. In the cases referred to in paragraph (a), (b) and (c) proof of the power or authority of the legal representative shall be filed with the Registrar. The Registrar may, before the grant of the patent, call for such further evidence as he may require.
e. Where an invention has been assigned the assignee shall make an application for the grant of a patent and such application shall be accompanied by a statement specifying the basis of the applicant’s right to the patent.
f. Where two or more persons have jointly made an invention the application for the grant of a patent shall, be made by them jointly.

Description of Invention
The description of invention shall first state the title of the invention as appearing in the request and must –
i. specify the technical field to which in invention relates;
ii. indicate the background art which, as far as known to the applicant, can be regarded as useful for the under standing, searching and examination of the invention, and preferable, cite the documents reflecting such art;
iii. disclose the invention in such terms that it can be understood and in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for the invention to be evaluated and to be carried out by a person having ordinary skill in the art, and state the advantageous effects, if any, of the invention with reference to the background art;
iv. briefly describe the figures in the drawings, if any;
v. set forth at least the best mode contemplated by the applicant for carrying out the invention; this shall be done in terms of examples, where appropriate, and with reference to the drawings, if any;
vi. indicate explicitly, when it is not obvious from the description of nature of the invention, the way in which the invention is industrially applicable and the way in which it can be made and used, or, if it can only be used, the way in which in can be used.

Claims
a. The number of the claims shall be reasonable in consideration of the nature of the invention.
b. If there are several claims, they shall be numbered consecutively in arabic numerals.
c. Any claim submitted after the filing date of the application and which is not identified with the claims previously appearing in the application shall, at the choice of the applicant, be submitted either –
i. as an amended claim, in which case, it shall bear the same number as the previous claim it amends; or
ii. as a new claim, in which case, it shall bear the next number after the highest previously numbered claim.
d. The deletion of any claim previously appearing in the application must be made by indicating the number of the previous claim followed by the word “cancelled”.
e. Where the application contains drawings, the technical features mentioned in the claims shall preferably be followed by the reference signs relating to such features. When used, the reference signs shall preferably be placed between parentheses. If inclusion of reference signs does not particularly facilitate quicker understanding of a claim, it should not be made.
f. The definition of the inventor shall be in terms of the technical features of the invention.
g. Wherever appropriate, the title should have -
i. a statement indicating these technical features of the invention which are necessary for the definition of the claimed subject matter but which, in combination, are part of the prior art;
ii. a characterizing portion - preceded by the words “characterized in that” “characterized by,” “wherein the improvement comprises,” or any other words to the same effect – stating concisely the technical features which in combination with the features stated under (i), it is desired to protect.
h. Any claim which includes all the features of one or more other claims (claim in dependent form, herein after referred to as “dependent claim”) shall do so by a reference, if possible at the beginning, to the other claims and shall then state the additional features claimed. Any dependent claim which refers to more than one other claim (“multiple dependent claim”) shall refer to such claims in the alternative only. Multiple dependent claims shall not serve as a basis for any other multiple dependent claims.
i. Any dependent claim shall be construed as including all the limitations contained in the claims to which it refers or, if the dependent claim is a multiple dependent claim, all the limitations contained in the particular claim in relation to which it is considered.
j. All dependent claims referring back to a single previous claim as well as all dependent claims referring back to several previous claims shall be grouped together to the extent and in the most practical way possible.

The Drawings :
a. Subject to other provisions of the Regulations, drawings shall be required when they are necessary for the understanding of the invention.
b. Where, without being necessary for the understanding of the invention, the nature of the invention admits of illustration by drawings –
i. the applicant may include drawings in the application when filed;
ii. the Registrar may require that the applicant file such drawings with him and within a time limit specified by him.
c. Where drawings are supplied, a reduction of the most illustrative drawing shall be furnished by the applicant in the size and within the time limit specified by the Registrar.
d. Flow sheets and diagrams are considered drawings.

The Abstract :
a. The abstract shall consist of the following: -
i. a summary of the disclosure as contained in the description, the claims, and any drawings; the summary shall indicate the technical field to which the invention pertains and shall be drafted in a way which allows the clear understanding of the technical problems, the gist of the solutions of that problem through the invention, and the principal use or uses of the invention;
ii. where applicable, the chemical formula which, among all the formulae contained in the application, best characterizes the invention.
b. The abstract shall be as concise as the disclosure permits (preferably 50 to 150 words).
c. The abstract shall not contain statements on the alleged merits or value of the invention or on its speculative application.
d. Each main technical feature mentioned in the abstract and illustrated by a drawing in the application shall be following by a reference sign placed between parentheses.
e. The abstract shall be accompanied by the most illustrative of drawing furnished by the application.

Unity of Invention
a. Section 71 of the Code shall be construed as permitting, in particular, either of the following two possibilities :-
i. in addition to independent claim for a given product, the inclusion in the same application of one independent claim for one process specially adapted for the manufacture of the said product, and the inclusion in the same application of one independent claim for one use of the said product ; or
ii. in addition to an independent claim for a given process, the inclusion in the same application of one independent claim of one apparatus or means specifically designed for carrying out the said process.
b. Subject to the provisions of the Regulations, it shall be permitted to include in the same application two or more independent claims of the same category which cannot readily be covered as constituting in themselves an invention.
c. Subject to the provisions of the Regulations, it shall be permitted to include in the same application a reasonable number of dependent claims, claiming specific forms of the invention claimed in an independent claim, even where the feature of any dependent claim could be considered as constituting in themselves an invention.

Divisional Applications
a. All divisional application shall contain a reference to the initial application.
b. If the application wishes a divisional application to benefit from any priority claimed for the initial application, the divisional application shall contain a request to that affect. In such a case, the declaration of priority and the documents furnished in accordance with the Regulations for the initial application shall be deemed to relate also to the divisional application.
c. Where the priorities of two or more earlier applications are claimed for the initial, application, a divisional application may benefit only from the priority or priorities that are applicable to it.

Declaration of Priority
a. The declaration of priority must indicate-
i. the date of each earlier application ;
ii. the number of each earlier application;
iii. the symbol, if any, of the international Patent Classification which has been allocated to each earlier application;
iv. the name of the State in which each earlier application was filed or, where the earlier application is a regional or an international application, the name of the State or State for which it is field ;
v. where the earlier application is a regional or an international application, the Office with which it was filed.
b. Where at the time of filing the declaration, the number of any earlier application is not known, that number shall be furnished within three months from the date on which the application containing the declaration was filed.
c. Where a symbol of the International Patent Classification has not been allocated to the earlier application, or had not yet been allocated at the time of filing the declaration, the application shall thus fact in the said declaration.
d. Where the priorities of two or more earlier applications are claimed, the indication relating to those earlier application may be included in a single declaration.
e. The applicant may, at time before the grant of the patent, amend the contents of the declaration referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Copy and Translation of Earlier Application
a. The period for furnishing the certified copy of each earlier application shall be three months from the date of the Registrar’s request.
b. Where the certified copy has already been furnished for another application, the applicant may respond to the registrar by making a reference to that other application.
c. Where the earlier application is in language other than the language of the application for grant of a patent in Sri Lanka, the Registrar may require the language if the applicant to furnish him, within three months, with a translation of the earlier application in the language of the application for the grant of such patent in Sri Lanka. The Registrar may extend the time limit for such period as he deems appropriate.

Corrections
If the Registrar finds that requirements of the Regulations and the Code have not been complied with, he shall invite the applicant to file the required correction within three months from the date of the Registrar’s invitation. The Registrar may extend that time limit for such period as he deems appropriate. If the applicant does not comply with the said invitation, the declaration shall be deemed to be null and void.

Withdrawal of Application The application or his authorized agent, if so authorized in that behalf by the applicant, may withdraw the application at any time during its pendency. The withdrawal of the application shall be affected by a written declaration addressed by the applicants

Filing Date
a. The date of receipt of the application shall be recorded as the filing date of such application.
b. If the registrar finds that at the time of receipt of the application, the requirements of the Code were not complied with, he shall invite the applicant to file the required correction within three months from the date of the Registrar’s invitation. The Registrar may extend that time limit for such period appropriate.
c. If the applicant complies with the above mentioned invitation, the Registrar shall record as the filing date, the date of receipt of required correction.
d. Where the application refers to drawings, which in fact are not included in the application, the Registrar shall invite the applicant to furnish the missing drawings within three months from the date of the Registrar’s invitation. The Registrar may extend that time limit for such period as he deems appropriate. If the applicant complies with the said invitation, the Registrar shall record as the filing date of the application, the date of the receipt of the missing drawings. Otherwise, the Registrar shall record as the filing date of the application the date of the receipt of the application and shall treat any reference to said drawings as non-existent.

International Type Search Report
a. The applicant shall furnish such Registrar within three months from the date of issue of the international-type search report, two copies of that report.
b. The international-type search report prescribed for the purpose of law shall be a report issued by any national industrial property office or any inter-governmental organization appointed as an International Searching Authority under the PCT.
c. For the purpose of the law, the translation in the English language of the International-type search report shall extend to the text of the report as such, but need not include the text of any document cited in that report unless the Registrar, after an examination of the translation accompanying that report, requires that the application furnish a translation of the text of any given document so cited of any portion of that document.

Report of Local Examiner
The prescribed period referred to in the Code for the furnishing by the local examiner of his report on examination as to relevant prior art shall be not later than three months from the date of reference to him by the Registrar.

Certificate of Grant of Patent
The certificate of the grant of a patent, as defined under the Code shall, inter alia, contain the number of the patent, the name and address of the owner of the patent, the filing date and the priority date, if any, of the application, the date of the grant of the patent and the title of the invention. The certificate of the patent shall be signed by the Registrar.

Contents of the Patent
The patent granted shall, in addition to containing a copy of the description, the claims, all the drawing, if any, and the abstract, include the following particulars: -
a. the name and address of the inventor, except where the inventor has indicated that he wishes not to be named in the patent;
b. the name and address of the agent, if any;
c. the title of the invention;
d. the symbol of the International Patent Classification;
e. the date and, if any, the number of the international-type search report and the name of the institution issuing the report.

Assignment or Transmission
Any application under the provisions of the Code, to the Registrar, requesting him to record in the Register of Patents the assignment or transmission of an application for the grant of a patent or the grant of a patent, shall be made on a prescribed form. It shall be forwarded to the Registrar together with the fee.

Where the above mentioned provisions have been complied with, the Registrar shall record such assignment or transmission in the Register of Patents.

Lapse of a Patent
The Registrar may record in the Register of Patents the lapse of a patent.

Infringement of a Patent
Any person who wilfully infringes the rights of any registered owner, assignee or licensee of a patent shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction after trial before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, and in the case of a second or subsequent conviction the above fine or term of imprisonment or both may be double.

False representations regarding patents:
Any person who, for industrial or commercial purposes, makes a representation-
a. with respect to a patent not being a registered patent to the effect that it is a representation-
b. to the effect that a registered patent is registered in respect of any product or process in respect of which it is not registered; or
c. to the effect that the registration of a patent gives an exclusive right to the use thereof in any circumstances in which, having regard to limitations recorded in the register, the registration does not give that right,
shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction after trial before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

A person shall be deemed to represent that a patent is registered if he uses in connection with the patent the word “registered”, or any word or words expressing or implying that registration has been obtained for the patent.

Unlawful disclosure of information relating to patents:
Any person who being or having been employed in or at the Registry, communicates any information relating to patents or matters connected therewith obtained by him during the course of his employment in or at the Registry to any person not entitled or authorized to receive such information, or discloses such information to the public or makes any other unlawful use of such information shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction after trial before a Magistrate to a fine not exceeding twenty thousand rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

An application for the grant of a patent under the Regulations must be made on a prescribed form duly signed by the applicant or his authorised agent.

Priority document. In case the priority document is in any other language than English, then a translation must be filed.

A Power of Attorney, duly executed must be filed.

Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979

The rights protected under the law shall be owned in the first instance by the author or authors who created the work. The authors of a work of joint authorship shall be co-owners of the said rights. In the absence of proof to the contrary, the author of a work is the person under whose name the work is disclosed. In the case of a work created by an author for any person or body of persons corporate or unincorporated in the course of his employment under a contract of service, or of a work commission from the author by such person or body of persons, shall in the absence of contractual provisions to the contrary, be deemed to be transferred to the employer or to the person commissioning the work.

Works protected:
Authors of original literary, artistic and scientific works shall be entitled to protection of their works. Literary, artistic and scientific works shall include in particular –
a. books, pamphlets and other writings;
b. lectures, addresses, sermons and other works of the same nature;
c. dramatic and dramatico-musical works;
d. musical works, whether or not they are in written form and whether or not they include accompanying words;
e. choreographic, works and pantomimes;
f. cinematographic, radiophonic and audio-visual works;
g. works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, lithography and tapestry;
h. photographic works, including works expressed by processes analogous to photography;
i. works of applied art, whether handicraft or produced on an industrial scale;
j. illustrations, maps, plans, sketches and three-dimensional works relative to geography, topography, architecture or science.

Works shall be protected irrespective of their quality and the purpose for which they were created.

Derivative Works:
In addition to the above, the following are also protected as original works –
a. translations, adaptations, arrangements and other transformations of literary, artistic or scientific works;
b. collections of literary, artistic or scientific works, such as encyclopaedias and anthologies which, by reason of the selection and arrangement of their contents, constitute intellectual creations; and
c. works derived from Sri Lanka folklore.
d. The protection of any work referred to in subsection (1) shall be without prejudice to any protection of a pre-existing work utilized for the making of such work.

Works not Protected:
include laws and decisions of courts and administrative bodies, as well as to official translation thereof; and news of the day published, broadcast or publicly communicated by any other means.

Rights of the owner:
The author of a protected work shall have the exclusive right to do or authorise any other person to do the following acts in relation to the whole work or a part thereof –
a. reproduce the work;
b. make a translation, adaptation, arrangement, or other transformation of the work;
c. Communicate the work to be public by performance, broadcasting, television or any other means.
d. to claim authorship of his work, in particular that his authorship be indicated in connection with any of the acts referred to above, except when the work is included incidentally or accidentally when reporting current events by means of broadcasting or televisions
e. to object to and to seek relief in connection with, any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, and any other derogatory action in relation to, his work, where such action would be or is prejudicial to his honour or reputation.

TERM OF COPYRIGHT:
The rights shall subsist for the life of the author and fifty years thereafter. In the case of a work of joint authorship the rights shall be protected during the life of the last surviving author and for fifty years after his death.
In the case of a work published anonymously or under a pseudonym, the rights shall be protected until the expiration of fifty years from the date on which such work was first lawfully published :
Provided that where, before the expiration of the said period, the author or the author’s identity is revealed or is no longer in doubt, the provisions mentioned herein above shall apply as the case may be.
In the case of a cinematographic, radiophonic or audiovisual work, rights shall be protected until the expiration of fifty years from the making of the work or, if the work is made available to the public during such period with the consent of the author, fifty years from the date of its communication to the public.
In the case of a photographic work or a work of applied art, the rights shall be protected until the expiration of twenty-five years from the making of the work.
Every period under the preceding provisions of this section shall run to the end of the calendar year in which it would otherwise expire.

Fair use:
Some forms of usage of protected works, either in the original languages or in translation, are permissible without the author’s consent –
a. in the case of any work that has been lawfully published –
i. the reproduction, translation, adaptation, arrangement or other transformation of such work exclusively for the user’s own personal and private use;
ii. the inclusion, subject to mention of the source and the name of the author, of quotations from such work in another work, provided that such quotations are compatible with fair practice and their extent does not exceed that justified by the purpose, including quotations from newspaper articles and periodicals in the form of press summaries;
iii. the utilization of the work by way of illustration in publications, broadcasts or sound or visual recordings for teaching to the extent justified by the purpose, or the communication for teaching purposes of the work broadcast or televised for use in schools, education, universities and professional training;
Provided that such use is compatible with fair practice and that the source and the name of the author are mentioned in the publication, broadcast, television broadcast or recording;
b. In the case of any article published in newspapers or periodicals on current economic, political or religious topics, and in the case of any broadcast or televised work of the same character, the reproduction of such article or such work in the press, or the communication of it to the public, unless the said article when first published, or the said broadcast or televised work when broadcast or televised, was accompanied by an express condition prohibiting such use, and that the source of the work when used in the said manner is clearly indicated;
c. for the purposes of reporting on a current event by means of photography, cinematography or communication to the public, the reproduction or making available to the public, to the extent justified by the informatory purpose of any work that can be seen or heard in the course of the said current event;
d. the reproduction of works of art and of architecture in a film or television broadcast, and the communication to the public of the works so reproduced, if the said works are permanently located in a place where they can be viewed by the public or are included in the film or as incidental to the essential matters represented;
e. the reproduction, by sound recording, photographic or similar process, by public libraries, non commercial documentation centers, scientific institutions and educational establishments, of literary, artistic or scientific works which have already been lawfully made available to the public:
Provided that such reproduction and the number of copies made are limited to the needs of their activities, do not conflict with the normal exploitation of the work and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author;
f. the reproduction in the press of –
i. any political speech delivered in public or any speech delivered during legal proceedings, or
ii.

any lecture, address, sermon or other work of the same nature delivered in public, provided that the use is exclusively for the purposes of current information,

the author retaining the right to publish a collection of such works.

Ephemeral recordings:
Any broadcasting or television organisation may make, for the purpose of its own broadcasts or television broadcasts and by means or its own facilities, an ephemeral recording, in one or several copies, of any work which it is authorised to broadcast or televise. All copies of such recording shall be destroyed within six months of the marking thereof or within any longer period as agreed to by the author:
Provided, however, that where such recording has an exceptional documentary character, one copy of it may be preserved in official archives.

Special Provision for some translations:
Where any work has not been published in Sinhala or Tamil within ten years from its having been published for the first time in its original language, it shall be lawful to translate the said work into Shinala or Tamil, as the case may be, and to publish such translation, even without the authorization of, and without any payment to, the owner of the copyright of the work.

Limitation of right of sound recording and broadcasting:
Where the owner of the copyright in a musical work has already authorized a person to make a sound recording of the performance of the work, any other person may, he cannot agree with the owner to make a sound recording of a performance of the same work, make a new sound recording of a performance of the said work without the authorization of the owner, provided that such other person pays to the owner an equitable remuneration which amount shall be fixed by the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister in charge of the subject of Culture. The foregoing provisions shall apply also to any words accompanying the music.
Where any public broadcasting or television organization operating in and from Sri Lanka cannot agree with the owner of the copyright in any work which it wishes to transmit by broadcasting or television on the conditions on which the work may be broadcast or televised, it shall be entitled to proceed to such broadcasting or television even without authorization of the owner of the Copyright, provided that it pays to the owner an equitable remuneration which amount shall be fixed by the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister in charge of the subject of Culture.

Transfer of copyright:
The rights shall be transferable in whole or in part. Any transfer, other than by operation of law, of a right shall be in writing signed by the transferor. A transfer, in whole or in part of any right, shall not include or be deemed to include the transfer of any other rights referred to therein. When a contract provides for the total transfer of one of the rights, the scope of such contract shall be limited to the exercise of such rights as are provided for in the contract. The transfer of ownership of the only copy or of one or several copies of a work shall not imply or be deemed to imply the transfer of the copyright in the work.

Sound Recording:
The lawful maker of any sound recording shall, for a period of fifty years from the first publication of the sound recording, have the exclusive right to reproduce or authorize the reproduction of the sound recording.

Infringements and sanctions:
Any person who infringes any of the rights protected under this Part may be prohibited by injunction from continuing such infringement and may also be liable in damages.