Legislative Implementation of Flexibilities - Seychelles
| Title: | Sections 118 (1) and 119 of the Industrial Property Act, Act No. 7 of 2014 |
| Field of IP: | Patents |
| Type of flexibility: | Criminal sanctions for patent infringement |
| Summary table: |  |
Provisions of Law
Offence 118.
(1) Any person who, except under justifiable circumstances provided under this Act, without the consent of a patent or utility model rightsholder, willfully and on a commercial scale-
(a) manufactures the product that is protected by a patent or utility model certificate;
(b) uses a process invention or minor invention that is patented or protected by utility model certificate;
(c) exports, sells, displays or offers for sale, has in stock, conceals or receives, a product manufactured using a patented invention or minor invention protected by utility model certificate, or a product obtained by a patented process invention; or
(d) imports a product that is the object of an invention or minor invention protected by patent or utility model certificate, or obtained by a process invention patented into Seychelles that has not been placed on the foreign market directly by the rightsholder or by a person authorised by the rightsholder, commits an offence.
Penalties 119 .
(1) Whoever intentionally commits an offence under section 118, shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or a fine not exceeding SCR 500,000
or with both such imprisonment and fine.
(2) Except where higher penalty is provided in any other written law, whoever by negligence violates a right protected under this Act shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding SCR 500,000 or with both such imprisonment and fine.
(3) In determining the penalties under subsections (1) to (2), the court shall take into account the-
(a) severity of the damage caused to the rightsholder, consumers, the general public or the country;
(b) the value of the infringing products;
(c) degree and scope of the infringing activity and the size of the infringing products;
(d) frequency of the offence committed by the infringer; and
(e) other relevant matters, such as sufficiency of the penalty to provide a deterrent to future infringements.
(4) The penalty, where appropriate, shall include the seizure, forfeiture and destruction of infringing goods and of any materials and implements used in the commission of the offence.
(5) The seizure, forfeiture and destruction referred to in subsection (4) shall be without compensation of any kind to the offender.