Registered IP Rights – No Longer A Valid Defense Against Infringement Claims

Current Legislation

The Decree Laws No. 556 for Trademarks and 554 for Industrial Design does not have any provision in this respect whereas the Decree Law No. 551 for Patents, regulates this matter under the heading of "Effects of Patents of Prior Date" in Article 78, by stating that the holder of a Patent, cannot invoke the Patent registration in his defense in infringement actions instituted against him based on other Patents that have an earlier date of priority.

Proposed Changes by the Draft IP Law

Article 155 of the Draft states that, the owner of a Trademark, Patent or Industrial Design right cannot invoke these Industrial registration rights as a defense against an infringement action filed by parties, who own a prior right or prior application date.