Ciprian Raul Romițan*
Abstract
As part of the International Conference for the Protection of Industrial Property, held in Paris between November 4 and 20, 1880 and attended by the representatives of 21 states, a draft document, drawn up by the French legal adviser M. Jagerschmidt, which laid the basis of the future unionist regime and, first and foremost, it guaranteed the national treatment in all states that were going to adhere to the future international convention. In his opening speech at the International Conference of 1880, the French minister of agriculture and trade said, quoting his predecessor: “Industrial property will only be truly protected when there are simple, uniform and precise rules everywhere, establishing among the States some sort of conventional regime, some sort of mutual assurance against plagiarism and counterfeiting”.
In order to also facilitate the access to the protection of industrial property rights abroad, outside the country of origin, on March 20, 1883, a number of 11 states signed the “Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property”. The Convention, which, in my opinion is a “Magna Carta of industrial property rights” at an international level, is aimed at ensuring the legal protection of industrial property rights, which encompasses inventions, utility models, industrial designs and models, factory, trade and service marks, designations of origin and geographical indications, the tradename and the prevention of unfair competition. The International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property (the Paris Union), headquartered in Geneva starting 1960, was also established pursuant to the Paris Convention.
* Lector univ. dr., Universitatea „Româno-Americană” București – Facultatea de drept, avocat partener „Roș și asociații” București, E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.