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Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and a signatory to most of the WIPO-administered treaties, including butnot limited to: The Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trade Marks; The Patent Law Treaty; The WIPO Copyright Treaty; The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; The Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits; The Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs; The Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks; and The WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty.The principal Intellectual Property laws in Ghana are summarized in turn.Geographical Indications ActThe Geographical Indications Act provides for the protection of geographical indications. Any violation under theAct is punishable by a fine not exceeding 2,000 penalty units or up to two years’ imprisonment, or both.The High Court, may order that any goods related to any offense under the Geographical Indications Act should beforfeited to the state. The Registrar of Companies (Registrar) supervises the operation of this law.Trade Marks ActThe Trade Marks Act governs the registration and protection of trade marks in Ghana. Rights conferred byregistration under this Act include the exclusive use of the mark and the right to initiate an action in court againstany person who infringes the mark or performs acts likely to cause an infringement.Whoever infringes a registered mark commits an offense and is liable on summary conviction to a fine notexceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years, or to both.Copyright ActThe Copyright Act provides protection for a bundle of rights, the enjoyment of which prevents the unauthorized useor exploitation of a person’s creative works. Rights accruing to creators exist in two forms: economic rights andmoral rights. Economic rights enable the author to reap the financial benefit of his creative efforts for a reasonableperiod of time; moral rights protect the personality or reputation of the author and exist in perpetuity. A person whocommits an offense under the Copyright Act is liable on summary conviction to to a fine of not more than 1,000penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than three years, or to both.The Copyright Act also provides for civil remedies and entitles a person whose rights are in imminent danger ofbeing infringed to initiate proceedings in court for an injunction, for an order requiring the Customs, Excise, andPreventive Service (CEPS) to detain the infringing goods, and/or for recovery of damages for infringement.

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