1.
Members
may require, as a
condition of the
acquisition or
maintenance of the
intellectual property rights provided for under Sections 2 through 6
of Part II,
compliance with
reasonable procedures and
formalities. Such
procedures and
formalities shall be consistent
with the
provisions of this
Agreement.
2. Where
the
acquisition of an
intellectual property right is
subject to the
right being
granted or
registered,
Members shall ensure that the
procedures for
grant or
registration,
subject to
compliance with the
substantive
conditions for
acquisition of the
right,
permit the
granting or
registration of the
right within a
reasonable period of
time so as to
avoid unwarranted curtailment of the
period of
protection.
3. Article 4
of the
Paris Convention (1967) shall apply
mutatis mutandis to
service marks.
4.
Procedures
concerning the
acquisition or
maintenance of
intellectual property
rights and, where a
Member's
law provides for such
procedures,
administrative revocation and inter partes
procedures
such as
opposition, revocation and cancellation, shall be
governed by
the
general principles set out in paragraphs 2 and 3 of
Article
41.
5. Final
administrative decisions in any of the
procedures referred to under
paragraph 4 shall be
subject to
review by a
judicial or
quasi-
judicial authority. However, there shall be no
obligation to
provide an
opportunity for such
review of decisions in
cases of
unsuccessful opposition or
administrative revocation, provided that
the grounds for such
procedures can be the
subject of invalidation
procedures.