After more than 70 years, the Parliament of Fiji on 19 August 2021 tabled and passed the following Bills now referred to as Acts of Parliament:
- Trade Marks Act 2021 (repeals the Trade Marks Act 1933 and the Merchandise Marks Act 1933 and adopts the Nice Classification and makes provisions for the Madrid Protocol).
- Patents Act 2021 (repeals the Patent Act 1879 and its subsidiary legislation).
- Designs Act 2021 (repeals the United Kingdom Designs (Protection) Act 1936.
The passing of these Acts is a giant leap forward for Fiji’s Trade Mark, Patent and Design laws as they become more aligned and compliant to international standards and practices. We take a brief look at the changes in this update, and will continue to provide more updates when the legislation is in force.
At the time of writing this update, the commencement dates of the Acts have yet to be announced, formally referred to as being gazetted but based on recent Acts passed by parliament, the commencement dates for the Acts may be announced/gazetted before the end of August.It is worth noting that the accompanying Regulations for each Act which will also be gazetted have yet to be seen. Amongst other things, the Regulations will provide the procedures, requirements and other matters under the Acts including filing fees and forms.
The full texts of the Acts can be found in the following links:
http://www.parliament.gov.fj/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Act-No.-36-Trademarks02.pdf
http://www.parliament.gov.fj/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Act-No.-37-Patents.pdf
http://www.parliament.gov.fj/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Act-No.-38-Designs.pdf
Points to note:
- The new Acts abolish the recognition of UK based applications for Trade Marks, Patents and Designs, and adopts the International Nice Classification as well as making provisions for the Madrid Protocol applications.
- All registrations under the old Acts shall continue but will be renewed where applicable under the new Acts. For example, this would include following the expiration of any registration of a trademark.
- Any applications received prior to the commencement dates of the new legislation will be processed and examined under the existing Acts.
Further updates
We will issue further updates once the commencement dates for the Acts and Regulations are announced/gazetted.
Disclaimer: This intellectual property law update does not, and is not intended to constitute legal advice and is for general information purpose only. Readers of this update should contact their lawyers to obtain proper legal advice with respect to any particular legal matter. For IP related matters please contact the partner in charge: Mr. Aminiasi Vulaono - Aminiasi@sas.com.fj