THE MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION COMPENDIUM

BILATERAL / REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN
First Update; pages 729-733


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Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Cooperation in the Fields of Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources, Washington, D.C., 1995

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Done at Washington, D.C. 27 March 1995
Entered into force 27 March 1995
Primary source citation: Copy of text provided by the U.S. Department of State


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AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN ON COOPERATION IN THE FIELDS OF PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

The Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, hereinafter referred to as the Parties;

Recognizing that many important environmental problems are global in nature and require the cooperation of all countries and peoples to resolve;

Attaching great significance to the protection and enhancement of the environment and to its preservation from the damage resulting from pollution and overuse;

Bearing in mind that sustainable economic and social development for the benefit of present and future generations already now requires effective measures to be taken for the protection and enhancement of the environment;

Considering the readiness of the Parties to cooperate to enable the Republic of Kazakhstan better to take into account environmental issues and the rational and sustainable use of natural resources in the transition to a market economy and thereafter;

Desiring to facilitate the establishment of closer, longer-term cooperation between interested organizations in the two countries in the field of protection of the environment and natural resources;

Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE I

1. The Parties shall work to develop cooperation in the field of protection of the environment and natural resources on national, regional, and global levels. Their activity shall focus on studying harmful impacts on the environment and jointly developing measures to improve the condition of the environment and to solve problems of the protection and rational and sustainable use of natural resources, including work on the areas of pollution prevention and remediation and preservation and conservation of natural resources.

2. The Parties shall work together to develop mutually agreed-upon policies in the field of protection of the environment and natural resources on a bilateral, regional and global basis.

3. The Parties shall develop cooperation in the field of protection of the environment and natural resources on a basis of equality, reciprocity and mutual benefit.

ARTICLE II

Cooperation may be implemented in the following main areas of mutual interest:

1. atmosphere, and water and soil resources;

2. environmental aspects of agricultural production;

3. preservation, conservation and management of natural resources, including the organization of preserves and other specially protected areas;

4. global environmental issues, including climate change, depletion of the ozone layer and conservation and restoration of the biological diversity of local, regional and global ecological systems, including forest ecosystems; 5. the impact of environmental factors on human health, human activity, and the condition of flora and fauna; 6. energy-saving measures and creation of alternative energy sources;

7. legal and administrative measures relating to the protection of the environment, including legislation, enforcement and access to the administrative and judicial systems;

8. participation of the public, including nongovernmental organizations, in environmental decision making; 9. economics and the management of environmental issues and the use of natural resources;

10. environmental testing and analysis and monitoring;

11. the Caspian and Aral Seas;

12. the effects of radioactive materials and;

13. any other areas of cooperation agreed by the Parties.

ARTICLE III

Cooperation between the Parties may be implemented by the following means:

1. joint scientific and technical projects;

2. exchange of scientific and technical information, documentation and research results, and exchange of information on the condition of the environment; 3. exchange of experience in the area of environmental management and human resources;

4. bilateral meetings, symposia and workshops, and publication of reports, articles, and monographs;

5. exchange of delegations, scientists, experts, research scholars and specialists;

6. participation of specialists of the Parties in international conferences, symposia and exhibitions on the environment and ecology in the two countries;

7. any other means agreed by the Parties.

ARTICLE IV

The Parties shall duly encourage and facilitate the establishment and development of direct contacts and cooperation between governmental, public, and private institutions and organizations of the two countries, and encourage and facilitate the conclusion, where required, of separate agreements and contracts necessary to implement activities under this Agreement.

ARTICLE V

To administer this Agreement, each Party shall name a government agency to act as coordinator of its activities under this Agreement. Each coordinator shall review specific measures and programs of cooperation, coordinate the participation of organizations involved in implementation of these programs, and, as appropriate, shall make recommendations to the Parties on the subject matter of this Agreement. The coordinators may communicate and meet with each other as is necessary to carry out the purposes of this Agreement.

ARTICLE VI

1. Scientific and technological information of a non-proprietary nature resulting from cooperation under this Agreement as a result of commercial or industrial activities, shall be made available, unless otherwise agreed, to the world scientific community through customary channels and in accordance with normal procedures of the participating agencies and entities.

2. The treatment of intellectual property created or furnished in the course of cooperative activities under this Agreement is provided for in the Annex, which is an integral part of this Agreement, and shall apply to all activities conducted under the auspices of this Agreement unless agreed otherwise by the Parties or their designees in writing.

ARTICLE VII

This Agreement supersedes, as between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection of May 23, 1972. ARTICLE VIII

1. This Agreement enters into force upon signature and shall remain in force for five years, after which it shall be extended for successive five-year periods. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by providing written notification to the other Party through the diplomatic channel, such termination to take effect six months from the date of the notification.

2. Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the implementation of activities under this Agreement that are not fully completed upon the termination hereof.

ARTICLE IX

All activities under this Agreement shall be conducted in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and procedures of the United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan and shall be subject to the availability of funds and personnel.

In Witness Whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

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Done at Washington, this twenty-seventh day of March 1995, in duplicate, in the English, Kazakh, and Russian languages, all texts being equally authentic.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: [Signature]

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN: [Signature]

ANNEX INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Pursuant to Article VI of this Agreement:

The Parties shall endure adequate and effective protection of intellectual property created or furnished under this Agreement and relevant implementing arrangements thereto. The Parties agree to notify one another in a timely fashion of any inventions or copyrighted works arising under this Agreement and to seek protection for such intellectual property in a timely fashion. Rights to such intellectual property shall be allocated as provided in this Annex.

1. SCOPE

A. This Annex is applicable to all cooperative activities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement, except as otherwise specifically agreed to by the Parties or their designees.

B. For purposes of this Agreement, "intellectual property" shall have the meaning found in Article 2 of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, done at Stockholm, July 14, 1967. C. This Annex addresses the allocation of rights, interests, and royalties between the Parties. Each Party shall ensure that the other Party can obtain the rights to intellectual property allocated in accordance with the Annex, by obtaining those rights from its own participants through contracts or other legal means, if necessary. This Annex does not otherwise alter or prejudice the allocation between a Party and its nationals, which shall be determined by that Party's laws and practices.

D. Disputes concerning intellectual property arising under this Agreement shall be resolved through discussions between the concerned participating institutions or, if necessary, the Parties or their designees. Upon mutual agreement of the Parties, a dispute shall be submitted to an arbitral tribunal for binding arbitration in accordance with the applicable rules of international law. Unless the Parties or their designees agree otherwise in writing, the arbitration rules of the UNCITRAL shall govern.

E. Termination or expiration of this Agreement shall not affect rights or obligations under this Annex.

2. ALLOCATION OF RIGHTS

A. Each Party shall be entitled to a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in all countries to translate, reproduce, and publicly distribute scientific and technical journal articles, reports, and books directly arising from cooperation under this Agreement. All publicly distributed copies of a copyrighted work prepared under this provision shall indicate the names of the authors of the work unless an author explicitly declines to be named.

B. Rights to all forms of intellectual property, other than those rights described in Part A of Section 2 above, shall be allocated as follows:

1. Researchers and scientists visiting in furtherance of their education shall receive intellectual property rights under the existing rules of the host institution. In addition, each visiting researcher named as an inventor or author shall have the right to national treatment regarding awards, benefits or other compensation, including royalties, in accordance with the existing rules of the host institution.

2. (a) For intellectual property created by the participants during joint research, for example, when the Parties, participating institutions, or participating personnel have agreed in advance on the scope of work, each Party shall be entitled to obtain all rights and interests in its own territory. The allocation of rights and interests in third countries will be determined in implementing arrangements. The rights to intellectual property shall be allocated with due regard for the economic, scientific, and technological contributions from each Party to the creation of intellectual property. If research is not designated as "joint research" in the relevant implementing arrangement, rights to intellectual property arising from the research shall be allocated in accordance with Part 3, paragraph 1 of Section 2. In addition, each person named as an inventor or author shall have the right to national treatment regarding awards, benefits and other compensation, including royalties, in accordance with the existing rules of the host institution.

(b) Notwithstanding Part B, paragraph 2(a) of Section 2, if a type of intellectual property is available under the laws of one Party but not the other Party, the Party whose laws provide for this type of protection shall be entitled to all rights and interests in all countries which provide rights in such intellectual property. Persons named as inventors or authors of the property shall nonetheless be entitled to national treatment in regard to awards, benefits, or other compensations, including royalties, in accordance with the rules as provided in Part B, paragraph 2(a) of Section 2. 3. BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

In the event that information identified in a timely fashion as business-confidential is furnished or created under the Agreement, each Party and its participants shall protect such information in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and administrative practice. Information may be identified as "business-confidential" if a person having the information may derive an economic benefit from it or may obtain a competitive advantage over those who do not have it, the information is not generally known or publicly available from other sources, and the owner has not previously made the information available without imposing in a timely manner an obligation to keep it confidential.