"The protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conductive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations."
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Article 7
The protection of industrial property is an inseparable part of the constitutional legal order. Industrial property is protected under § 32 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, providing that the property of every person is inviolable and equally protected. Everyone has the right to freely possess, use, and dispose of his or her property. Restrictions on the right of ownership shall be provided only by law. Property is not allowed to be used contrary to the public interest. Under § 39 of the Constitution, an author has the inalienable right to his or herwork and the state protects the rights of the author.
Estonian legislation regulating the legal protection of industrial property has taken into account the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement) of the World Trade Organization and the agreements administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization as well as the legal acts of the European Union.
Restrictions on the right of ownership can only be prescribed by law. Industrial property rights are protected in court. The court system of the Republic of Estonia consists of courts of three instances. Court cases related to industrial property fall within the jurisdiction of the court in the jurisdiction of which the Estonian Patent Office is located – Harju County Court.
Acts
1992 Trade Marks Act
1994 Patent Act
1994 Utility Model Act
1997 Industrial Design Protection Act
1998 Act on the Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits
1999 Geographical Indication Protection Act
2002 Penal Code
2002 Act on implementing the Convention on the Grant of European Patents
2002 Customs Code (unlawful carriage of goods over the customs frontier)
2004 Principles of Legal Regulation of Industrial Property Act
Accession of the Republic of Estonia to multilateral international treaties in the field of industrial property, which are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization
| Treaty | Estonia acceded |
|---|---|
| Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) | 12 February 1924 |
| Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Stockholm Act, 1967) Remarks: Estonia acceded the Paris Convention (Washington Act, 1911) with effect from 12 February 1924. It lost its independence on 6 August 1940 and regained it on 20 August 1991. Source: WIPO publication No 423 of 5 November 1998. |
24 August 1994 (re-acceded) |
| Convention on Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (Stockholm, 1967) | 5 February 1994 |
| Patent Cooperation Treaty (Washington, 1970) | 24 August 1994 |
| Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of Registration of Marks (1957) | 27 May 1996 |
| Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Microorganisms for the purpose of Patent Procedure (1977) | 14 September 1996 |
| Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs (1968) | 31 October 1996 |
| Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (1971) | 27 February 1997 |
| Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1989) | 18 November 1998 |
| Trademark Law Treaty (1994) | 7 January 2003 |
| Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Design (1999) | 23 December 2003 |
| Patent Law Treaty (2000) | 28 April 2005 |
| Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (2006) | 14 August 2009 |