Civil Protection For Patents And Trade Secrets (Comparative Study)

The study addressed the issue of civil protection of patents and commercials secrets through a comparative approach in which comparison was made between the Jordanian and Egyptian legislations and the Palestinian Industrial Property Law project. The study came in light of the Palestinian National Authority’s efforts to join the World Trade Organization, and its approach toward the enforcement of new laws that go in accordance with TRIPS Agreement. The study was divided into three chapters. In the first chapter, the researcher talked about the aspects of the legal system of patents and commercial secrets in addition to the protections means that were provided by the legislations for both types of intellectual property. The researcher also explained the scale of close connection between the two types and their relationship with the international contract for technology transfer. In the second chapter, the researcher addressed the elements of civil protection with respect to the necessity of having a patent or a commercial secret that meet the legal conditions for protection, the scope of right for the owners of patents and commercial secrets and the exceptions in this case, in addition to the types of offence that require protection. The researcher has found that the Egyptian legislator has provided a better protection for invention secrets during the temporary protection period than the Jordanian one. At the same time, it also stated a number of exceptions for the owners of patents and commercial secrets for the purpose of reducing exclusive, monopoly kind of protection for the patent owner and the actual protection for the owner of the commercial secret. In the third chapter, the researcher talked about the means of civil protection that have been provided by the general rules and the special protection which is represented in the illegal competition case. The researcher has found that this case can replenish the shortage that occurred in the protection system for patents and commercial secrets. At the end of his study, the researcher stated that it is important for the Palestinian legislator to focus on developing the legislations that are related to intellectual property in general, to pay attention to the registration offices related to it, as well as to be concerned with the importance of having these laws committed to with the Palestinian legislative system without being literally limited to the TRIPS Agreement which was affected by the Anglo-Saxony system in general, and the American system in particular.