The Culture Committee deliberated for the II reading the Draft Law on Design and the Draft Law on Copyright and Related Rights and unanimously approved them.

The legal initiative of the Government - amendments to the Law on Design - was introduced by Vakhtang Bachiashvili, the Parliamentary Secretary of the Government.

The Draft regulates the disclosure of designs, the refusal of registration, re-expertise, submission of international applications via Sakpatenti, the annulment of design registration and its retroactive force.

After the I reading, the Draft also determines the term “advance search service”.

“The decision was made as a result of the consultations with the reporter and the Sakpatenti; the decision envisages the introduction of the term “advance search service” to the Law. Any person willing to register the draft design shall enjoy the opportunity to inquire about information from the Sakpatenti about the availability of a similar design in Georgia or abroad to prevent vain expenses. Correspondingly, the applicant will be able to in advance estimate the related risks of the design registration”, - Giorgi Gabunia, Chair of the Committee, elucidated.

According to V. Bachiashvili, the legal initiative ensures the creation of an effective legal and administrative framework for the parties of the legal relations on the design for its proper and optimal conduction.

“The advance search service provides the party with information on the likelihood of a design application being accepted and protected under the relevant rights. It also prevents the administrative body from incurring excessive costs in the subsequent stages by ensuring the design meets the necessary defensive criteria in advance”, - he elucidated.

The Committee deliberated for the II reading the Draft Law on Copyrights and Related Rights.

The amendments introduce a rapid response mechanism against the violation of copyrights and related rights. At that, it establishes respective responsibilities for the intermediate service providers.

According to V. Bachiashvili, the remarks of the Committee concerning the rights of the database producer independently from the copyrights and related rights were considered upon the I reading.