Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Finland

NATIONAL LAW IMPLEMENTING THE ENFORCEMENT DIRECTIVE A. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LAW The Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004, the “Enforcement Directive”, is implemented into Finnish legislation with amendments to the following Finnish acts: – the Copyright Act 404/1961, as amended, – the Trademarks Act 7/1964, as amended, – the Registered Designs Act 221/1971, as amended, – the Company Names Act 128/1979, as amended, – the Patents Act 550/1967, as amended, – the Act on Utility Model Rights 800/1991, as amended, – the Act on the Exclusive Right in the Layout-Design of an Integrated Circuit 32/1991, as amended, – the Plant Breeder's Right Act 1279/2009, as amended, – the Act to Safeguard the Evidence in Civil Actions Concerning Intellectual Property Rights 344/2000, as amended. B. TRANSPOSITION ISSUES When the amendments required by the Enforcement Directive were prepared in Finland, the adopted legislative starting point was minimum implementation. According to the Government Bill 2006/26, the Enforcement Directive should have a practical impact on the Finnish legislation only to the extent that the provisions of the Enforcement Directive extend beyond the scope of the TRIPS Agreement implemented in Finland. The Government Bill 2006/26 contained only moderately minor amendments to the Finnish intellectual property right, “IPR”, legislation at that time. The central amendments necessitated by the Enforcement Directive concern 1) orders to provide the necessary information on the origin and distribution network of the infringing goods or services in civil IPR cases, 2) orders against an intermediary, i.e. teleoperator, to block access to infringing content and 3) publication of IPR related decisions. The amendments entered into force on 29 April 2009, as required by the Enforcement Directive. However, the amendments included several transitional provisions, which are not explained in detail here. C. ASSESSMENT REPORTS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION The Constitutional Law Committee, as well as the Law Committee, published reports 15/2006 and 6/2006 concerning the Government Bill 2006/26 implementing the Enforcement Directive before the amendments were enacted. No authoritative assessment reports have been published aft er the implementation. No significant external reports concerning the implementation of the Enforcement Directive exist in Finland. JURISDICTION AND COMPETENCE A. COMPETENCE OF LOCAL COURTS The Market Court is a special court located in Helsinki that has exclusive jurisdiction in IPR cases. In addition, the Market Court hears market law, competition law and public procurement matters in Finland.