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Intellectual Property Law
 
The Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979, embodies legislation relating to copyright, industrial design, patents, trademarks, trade names and unfair competition. Sri Lanka's Intellectual Property Law, which is based on the WIPO model law for developing countries, has incorporated internationally accepted principles & concepts of intellectual property.
 
All trademarks, designs, patents & copyrights need to be registered with the Registry of Patents & Trade Marks.
 
A patent granted in respect of inventions is valid for a period of 15 years. Registration of a trademark is valid initially for 10 years & can be renewed for consecutive periods of 10 years.
 
Sri Lanka is a signatory to several international conventions & treaties on Intellectual Property. They are:
 
* The Paris Convention for the Protection of industrial property
* The Madrid Agreement for the repression of false or deceptive indication of source on goods
* The Nairobi Treaty
* The Patent Cooperation Treaty
* The Universal Copyright Convention
* The convention establishing the WIPO
* The Agreement on TRIPS
* The Trade Mark Law Treaty
 
A new legal regime for the protection and management of Intellectual Property in Sri Lanka will be introduced shortly, giving due consideration to national requirements and international obligations. Among the new areas to be covered by the Intellectual Property Act (Amendments) are the protection of trade secrets, certification of trademarks and protecting goods originating from a certain geographical area.
 
The proposed amendments would also streamline the enforcement mechanism. In addition, the maximum penalty for unlawful use of Intellectual Property will be increased from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 500,000.
 
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