Agreement on the Development and Protection of Intellectual Pro-
perty Rights Between The Republic of China And The Republic of
Nicaragua

In light of the importance of international cooperation on inte-
llectual property in supporting the development of industry, te-
chnology and the economy, the Republic of China and the Republic
of Nicaragua, hereinafter referred to as the "Parties", agree as
follows:

Article 1
Both Parties shall undertake to accord and maintain adequate and
effective protection to either party on intellectual property
rights in accordance with the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (hereinafter referred to as TRI-
PS) of the World Trade Organization, particularly the mutual re-
cognition of priority rights on patents and trademarks through
their respective laws, The intellectual property rights, or IPR
as referred to in this Agreement, shall include any and all tho-
se rights in the categories of patents (invention, utility model
and industrial design), integrated circuit layout, trademarks,
marks (service, certification and collective), geographic indic-
ation, copyrights and trade secrets, and other related fields as
covered in the TRIPS.

Article 2
Both Parties shall exchange data regarding its information syst-
ems. This information will consist mainly of the technical aspe-
cts of the data processing and their applied technology.

Article 3
Both Parties shall exchange technical personnel in order to fac-
ilitate the implementation of this Agreement, through practical
training programs or on-site internships.

Article 4
Both Parties shall exchange information available, in English
when possible, as regard any legal issues pertinent to this Agr-
eement, particularly the evolution of the IPR legislations, reg-
ulations, executive decisions, operational practices and judici-
al judgement. If either Party should require information related
to IPR, but beyond the authority of the other Party, the reques-
ted Party shall do its best to refer such requests to the compe-
tent authority for response.

Article 5
Both parties shall exchange IPR publications which include peri-
odicals, gazettes and pamphlets. The publications to be exchang-
ed should be in English when possible.

Article 6
Each Party to this Agreement shall notify the other Party of the
completion of legal procedures necessary for the implementation
of this Agreement. This Agreement shall come into force on the
day when the final notification is received and shall remain in
force until terminated by either Party upon six months advance
writhen notice to the other Party. This Agreement may be amended
at any time, through the written accord of both Parties.

Article 7
Any disputes that occur between the Parties on either the inter-
pretation or the application of this Agreement shall be resolved
through bilateral consultations or friendly negotiations as much
as possible, and if not solved within a reasonable period of ti-
me after the negotiations, any Party may resolve the disputes in
questions in pursuance with provisions as stipulated under the
TRIPS.

In witness whereof, the representatives of both governments, be-
ing duly authorized, have signed this Agreement.

Done in Taipei, Republic of China, on 13 March 2003, in duplica-
te each in the Chinese, Spanish and English languages, the three
texts being equally authentic. In case of any divergence in int-
erpretation, the English text shall govern.


For the Republic of China For the Republic of Nicaragua
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Yi-Fu Lin Mario Jose Arana Sevilla
Minister of Economic Affairs Minister of Development,
Industry and Commerce
Republic of China Republic of Nicaragua