Notes on Article 8
107. Ad paragraph (1): As mentioned above, a Contracting Party that did not require either commercial exploitation, or an application for registration or registration of a layout-design, would be required, by virtue of Article 3, to grant protection to original layout-designs from their creation. Paragraph (1) provides that, in such circumstances, a Contracting Party shall be obliged to provide protection for a period of at least 15 years from the creation of the layout-design. Protection for such a period is a minimum requirement. Thus, a Contracting Party would be free to provide protection for a longer period.
108. Ad paragraph (2): Alternative versions of paragraph (2) are provided in Article 8. According to Alternative M, Contracting Parties that required either commercial exploitation or registration would be obliged to grant a minimum term of protection of at least 10 years. According to Alternative N, Contracting Parties that required either exploitation or registration would be obliged to provide a minimum term of protection of at least five years, as well as a possible extension of the term for a further period of either 30 months (Alternative N1) or five years (Alternative N2), where the layout-design retains a commercial value at the expiration of the initial term of five years.
109. The Alternatives mentioned in the preceding paragraph reflect the differing views expressed during previous meetings on the draft Treaty, according to which either a minimum term of 10 years was strongly favored, or a shorter term of varying duration was strongly advocated.
110. Under Alternative M, the minimum term must last at least 10 years from the date of first commercial exploitation, the filing date of an application, or the earlier of the date of first commercial exploitation or the filing date, depending on the requirements in respect of commercial exploitation or registration laid down in the applicable law of a Contracting Party.
111. Under Alternative N, the minimum term under subparagraph (2) (a) must last at least five years from any of the dates mentioned in the preceding paragraph.
112. It is to be noted that, under Alternative N, Contracting Parties would be obliged to grant an extension, under subparagraph (2)(b), of the minimum term of five years on the request of the holder of the right, provided that the layout-design in question had a commercial value at the expiration of the minimum term of five years.
113. It may also be noted that, since both Alternative M and Alternative N establish obligations in respect of the minimum duration of protection, a Contracting Party would be free to grant a longer term of protection than that contemplated under either of the Alternatives.
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