Intellectual Properties
MCIL oversees various aspects of intellectual property rights, including copyright, trademarks, design, patents, geographical indications, plant breeders’ rights, and integrated circuit rights. Copyright protection is provided for original literary, artistic, and scientific works, while trademarks safeguard distinctive signs used to identify goods or services. Design rights protect the visual appearance of products, while patents grant exclusive rights to inventors over their inventions. Geographical indications ensure that products originating from a specific geographical area possess certain qualities or reputation. Plant breeders’ rights safeguard new plant varieties, and integrated circuit rights protect the layout designs of integrated circuits. Through regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms, the Intellectual Property division aims to promote innovation, creativity, and economic growth while protecting the rights of creators and innovators in Samoa.
Copyright
Copyright is the area of IP laws that provides protection to original works of authorship such as books, paintings, architecture, musical compositions and computer software.
Trademark
A trade mark is a distinctive sign or symbol that is used by an individual, company, or organisation to distinguish and differentiate its products and/or services from others in the market. A trade mark is a form of intellectual property, and can be an invaluable tool in terms of advertising, marketing and branding activities.
Design
A design is the overall appearance of a product. The visual characteristics that form the design include the shape, pattern and configuration which, when applied to the product, gives it a unique appearance. The following are examples of the designs over the years, of a telephone.
Patent
A Patent is an exclusive legal right granted for the protection of an invention. An invention may be a new product or a process that provides a new way of doing things or provides a new technical solution to a problem.
Geographical Indication
A GI identifies goods originating from a particular region, territory or locality where a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic of the goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. Famous GIs include Tequila and Champagne. An example of a Samoan GI is the SROS’ Pure Samoa Virgin Avocado Oil where its origin, quality and characteristics are attributable to its geographical origin in Samoa.
Plant Breeders Rights
Plants breeders’ rights are the exclusive commercial rights granted to the owner of a registered plant variety, such as commercial and agricultural varieties.
Integrated Circuit Rights
An “integrated circuit” is defined in section 103 of the Intellectual Property Act 2011 (‘the Act’) as a “product, in its final form or an intermediate form in which the elements, at least one of which is an active element, and some or all of the interconnections are integrally formed in and on a piece of material and which is intended to perform an electronic function”.
