IP OVERVIEW OF KYRGYZSTAN

IP laws and regulations of Kyrgyzstan mainly include the Civil Code, Copyright and Related Right Law, Law of Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin, Patent Law and Protection Law of Computer Programs and Databases. In 1994, Kyrgyzstan joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) when it became a party to several treaties under the jurisdiction of WIPO; on December 20, 1998, Kyrgyzstan became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), therefore IP protection and implementation of law provisions in Kyrgyzstan conform to the TRIPs requirements.

The National IP and Innovation Service Center of Kyrgyzstan, also known as the Kyrgyz IP Office (Kyrgyz patent), exercises power as a national organization in all the IP affairs and implements unified national policies in the protection of industrial property, copyright and related rights, breeding achievements and integrated circuit layout design chips. All the documents submitted to the Center shall be in the official language, which is Kirghiz or Russian.    

IP laws of this country mainly apply to such four categories as patents, trademarks and geographical indications, copyright and other IP.

Patent

The Patent Law of Kyrgyzstan came into effect in 1998 and was modified on January 25, 2013, with the intent of protecting inventions, utility models and appearance designs. Invention patent can be protected for 20 years from the date of application. A drug patent’s term of protection can be extended for a period of no more than 5 years in Kyrgyzstan at the request of the patentee. The term of protection of utility model patent is 5 years from the application date and can be extended for no more than 3 years at the request of the patentee. The term of protection of industrial design patent is 10 years from the application date and can be extended for no more than 5 years at the request of the patentee. In Kyrgyzstan, the patentee is entitled to exclusive implementation right of technical plans under the protection of patents in industries. Nobody is permitted to use patents without authorization (except for the non-infringement as specified by law).

Trademark and Geographical Indication

The Law of Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin of Kyrgyzstan was put into implementation as of January 1998 to standardize the legal, economic and organizational relationships arising from the registration, use and protection of trademarks, service marks and appellations of origin in Kyrgyzstan.

In Kyrgyzstan, trademarks and service marks refer to texts, visual symbols, 3D graphics and other descriptive elements and combinations that are used to differentiate between similar commodities or service origins and can be registered as trademarks. Texts include words and phrases; visual symbols include graphics and symbols, letters, numbers and their combinations; 3D graphics are of three-dimensional shape; a trademark can be registered for any color or combination of more than one color. The trademark owner is entitled to exclusive use of its trademark and has the right to pledge the trademark. The term of protection of trademarks is 10 years from the application date and can be renewed for 10 years for unlimited times.

The appellations of origin, also known as geographical indication, are the name of a city, population centers, region or other geographical location used to indicate that products from one area have some properties completely or mainly depending on natural conditions or human factors of that area. A geographical name can also be historical name of one area. Once the registration of a geographical indication, the ownership certificate will be issued, on which the marked term of protection is 10 years. Given the principle of reciprocity, Kyrgyzstan’s Trademark Law and other relevant laws and regulations also apply to foreign legal persons and individuals.

Copyright and Related Right

The Copyright and Related Right Law of Kyrgyzstan is issued to standardize all the acts of creation and protect scientific and literary works, artificial works, audiovisual works, performance and broadcasting. Source and object codes of computer programs are also protected by the law as literary works.   

Whether published/released or not, works are protected by the copyright law. However, this kind of protection does not apply to ideas, procedures, methods, concepts, principles, frames, decisions and discoveries of objective existence. Material carriers of works are not protected by the copyright law either. The ownership transfer of physical carriers will not necessarily cause the transfer of copyright. The term of protection of the copyright covers the whole life of the author and 50 years after his death.

Trade Secret

 In Kyrgyzstan, the Civil Code specifies the protection of trade secrets, in addition to which the Law of Trade Secrets is specially formulated to protect trade secrets and forbid unfair competitions. Any act committed in violation of the protection of trade secrets and confidential information shall bear corresponding civil or criminal responsibilities according to law in Kyrgyzstan. Based on the Law of Trade Secrets, any employee, national department and any person that gains access to or control of any trade secret shall compensate the owner of the trade secret for any losses incurred.