The old Copyright Law (Law No. 19 of 2002) specifically recognised logos as works for which copyright protection was available (article 12(1)(f)). An equivalent provision has been included in the new Copyright Law (Law No. 28 of 2014, at article 40(1)(f)). But, the new Copyright Law also includes a specific exclusion preventing recordal of copyright in logos (artlcle 65). So, in effect, copyright in logos is recognised but cannot be recorded in the General Register of Copyrighted Works (note, it is not compulsory to register copyright).
The inclusion of article 65 in the new law is curious. It’s unclear what legislators were intending to achieve. It may be that the change anticipates the introduction of plans for better communication between the various IP offices (i.e. checking the General Register of Trademarks before recording copyrighted logos).
Copyright protection for logos will continue to feature in IP prosecution strategies, as well as an issue for enforcement. Infringers sometimes refer to copyright in logos to defend enforcement actions.
The provisions of the new law will apply from the date it comes into force (article 126), which means applications to record copyright in logos filed before this time should be accepted.
