Offices & Countries / Latvia

The Patent System of Latvia

During the first period of independence of the Republic of Latvia (1918-1940) Patent Office was established on February 5, 1920, and the system of industrial property protection functioned until June 17, 1940. After the renewal of Latvia's independence in 1991 the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia on November 26 adopted a decision on the "Reestablishment of the Patent Office of Latvia". On March 2, 1992, the Patent Office started to function.

Republic of Latvia Laws for industrial property protection:

• Law on Trademarks and Indications of Geographical Origin (entered into force July 15, 1999) The changes of 21.10.2004 are not yet incorporated in this text.
• Law on Industrial Design Protection (lapsed April 15, 2004) The text of the new Law on Industrial Designs (adopted on 28 October 2004, entered into force on 18 November 2004) is only available in Latvian at present.
• Patent Law (entered into force April 20, 1995)
• Law on Protection of Topographies of Semiconductor Products (entered into force April 30, 1998)
• Plant Varieties Protection Law (entered into force May 31, 2002)

Latvia is a member of the following treaties and conventions:

• Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) (since February 10, 1999) - Annex 1C of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization
• The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (since September 7, 1993)
• The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (since January 1, 1993)
• The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (since January 1,1995)
• The Protocol Related to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (since January 5, 2000)
• The Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (since January 1, 1995)
• Trademark Law Treaty (since December 28, 1999)
• Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs (since April 14, 2005)
• International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification)
• The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (since September 7, 1993)
• The Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedures (since December 29,1994)
• Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the European Patent Organization on the Cooperation in the Field of Patents (Cooperation Agreement) (Latvia becomes the associated member of the European Patent Organization) (signed January 25, 1994; entered into force March 1, 1994)
• International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) (since August 30, 2002)