[Inclosure.—Translation.]
thomas estrada palma, president of the
republic of cuba.
To the inhabitants thereof, be it
known:
That on the 4th day of June, 1904, there was concluded and signed in
the city of Habana, by duly authorized plenipotentiaries, a
convention referring to the protection of industrial property
between the Republic of Cuba and the French Republic, to wit:
The President of the Republic of Cuba and the President of the French
Republic, desiring to facilitate the commercial relations between
the two countries, have resolved to conclude a convention referring
to industrial property, and have appointed for that purpose the
following plenipotentiaries:
The President of the Republic of Cuba, Mr. Carlos de Zaldo, and
Beurmann, secretary of state and justice; and
The President of the French Republic, Mr. Francois Edmond Bruwaert,
minister resident of France at Habana, officer of the Legion of
Honor; who, after having communicated to each other their respective
full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the
following articles:
Article I.
The citizens of each of the high contracting parties shall have in
the territory of the other the same rights as the natives in respect
to patents, designs, or industrial models, trade-marks, labels,
samples, and trade names, as well as to names of places and
statements of origin.
Article II.
To enjoy the protection guaranteed by the preceding article the
persons subject to the jurisdiction of one and the other State shall
not be obliged to establish their domicile, their residence, or a
commercial house in the country wherein protection is claimed; but
they shall fulfill the other conditions and formalities prescribed
by the laws and regulations of that country.
Article III.
The present convention shall be applied in Cuba to trade-marks
legally acquired in France by manufacturers and merchants using
them; and reciprocally it shall be applied in France to trade-marks
legally acquired in Cuba by manufacturers and merchants using
them.
It is understood, however, that each of the two States reserves the
right to refuse to register and to prohibit the use of any
trade-mark which is, by its nature, immoral or detrimental to public
order or good manners.
Article IV.
Commercial names, firm names, and samples shall be protected in the
two States even though unregistered.
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Article V.
The act of placing or causing to be placed on an article a false
statement of origin, indicating, directly or indirectly, as country
or place of origin one of the contracting States or a place situated
therein, shall be punished in accordance with the laws of each
country.
If the case is not provided for by any law, it shall be subject to
the regulations existing against the falsification of
trade-marks.
Article VI.
The provisions contained in Articles III and V shall be enforced at
the request of the Government or of the interested party, individual
or firm, in accordance with the legislation of each State.
Every manufacturer, merchant, or producer, occupied in the
manufacture, sale, or production of the article and established in
the city, locality, region, or country falsely given as the place of
origin, shall be considered an interested party.
The authorities shall not be obliged to effect the seizure during
transit.
Article VII.
The present regulations shall not bebar the vender from placing his
name and address on products originating in a different country from
the one in which they are sold, but, in such case, the address or
the name must be accompanied by an exact statement—in large
letters—of the country or of the place of manufacture or
production.
Article VIII.
The courts of each country shall decide what kind of names are, on
account of their generic character, as for instance, brandy,
vermouth, and cologne water, to be excluded from the terms of the
present convention. Statements as to districts of origin of wine
products are not included, however, in the exception prescribed
herein.
Article IX.
The present convention shall be ratified and the ratifications shall
be exchanged in Habana immediately after the fulfillment of the
formalities prescribed by the constitutional laws of the contracting
States.
It shall be declared in force from the date of the aforesaid exchange
and it shall remain in force until one of the two contracting
parties shall have advised the other—six months in advances—of its
intention to terminate same.
In faith whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed and
sealed the present convention.
Done at Habana, in two originals, June 4, 1904.
(Signed) Carlos de Zaldo. [l. s.]
(Signed) Edmond Bruwaert. [l. s.]
The preceding convention was approved by the Senate of the Republic
of Cuba the 15th day of September, 1904.
And the ratifications were exchanged at this capital to-day.
Therefore I order its publication and that it be duly carried
out.
Habana, April 11,
1906.
T. Estrada
Palma.
Juan F. O’Farrill,
Secretary of State and Justice.
