WORLD BRANDS DO NOT RESPOND TO OFFERS TO CONTROL THE SALES OF FORGERY OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN ARMENIA

ArmInfo
2010-04-15 16:51:00

ArmInfo. The well-known brands do not respond to the offers to control
the sales of forgery of their products in Armenia, Armen Azizyan,
Director of the Intellectual Property Agency under the Armenian Economy
Ministry, said at today’s press conference dedicated to enhancement of
awareness of copyright protection. The conference started in Yerevan
on Thursday.

"We have repeatedly offered the well-known brand owners to control
the sales of their products in Armenia, but received no response. The
only exception is the Microsoft Armenia Office. As regards the rest,
as a rule, they explain to us that Armenia is a too small market,
and it is more profitable to direct the control efforts to larger
markets",- said Azizyan. He pointed out that several laws on copyright
protection have been adopted in Armenia, however, the law-enforcement
practice leaves much to be desired.

"In 2005 a special department for combating copyright violations
was set up in the Armenian Police, however, one should confess that
over 5 years of its operation this structure has not achieved the
desired efficiency. Piracy in the republic has not declined and may
have even increased",- said Azizyan. He recalled that since 2009 an
interdepartmental group for copyright protection headed by Economy
Minister Nerses Yeritsyan has been operating in Armenia. "I hope this
group’s steps will lead to certain progress",- he added.

To recall, the sphere of intellectual rights protection in Armenia
is represented by the following laws: "On trademarks, service marks,
names of places of origin of the commodities", "On inventions, useful
models and production samples", "On legal protection of topologies of
integral microchips", "On copyright and allied rights", "On company
names". The intellectual rights are also protected by Section 14 of the
Armenian Customs Code, Section 10 of Civil Code, Law "On protection of
economic competition", as well as by several provisions of the Armenian
Law "On state dues" and Articles 158, 159 and 197 of the Criminal Code.