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Akrotiri and Dhekelia: IP curiosities?

By Johanna Gibson, David Pearce, Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon.

Getting the planes past Customs into Akrotiri was the easy bit.  Now the lads had to find some cash customers pretty quickly

Have you ever wondered how intellectual property rights work in Cyprus? It's complex enough when you consider that this lovely island is divided between Greek- and Turkish-speaking territories.  The  Greek bit is the Republic of Cyprus, to the south -- that's the bit which is in the European Union and which is part of the single market -- while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north.  At present the island faces prospects of (i) unification, (ii) federalism or (iii) partition, depending on your preferences and the functionality of your crystal ball.  But that's not an end to the political intricacies of Cyprus.  For one thing, Cyprus is still a member of the (formerly "British") Commonwealth of Nations, along with another Mediterranean island, Malta, and no doubt takes a great interest in the use of the Commonwealth circle symbol which is protected under Article 6 ter of the Paris Convention. For another (and this is where it gets interesting), when Cyprus became independent in 1960 the United Kingdom held on to two two Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) at Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the sunny south coast.

While the laws in force in the two SBAs mirror those of the Republic of Cyprus laws, the SBAs will remain where they are, legally, which is outside the European Union. This should cause fun and games for grey goods enthusiasts, to name but a few.

If you want to know more, the UK's Intellectual Property Office has helpfully provided a little information on its Cyprus page here, or you can visit the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver (Intellectual and Industrial Property Section), at the corner of Makarios Avenue & Karpenisiou.

Full post as published by IPKat on December 23, 2010 (boomark / email).