CHAPTER I |
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Article 3 |
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Any person that is a national of a State that is a Contracting Party or of a State member of an intergovernmental organization that is a Contracting Party, or that has a domicile, a habitual residence or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the territory of a Contracting Party, shall be entitled to file an international application.
Article 4 |
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(1) [Direct or Indirect Filing] (a) The international application may be filed, at the option of the applicant, either direct with the International Bureau, or through the intermediary of the Office of the applicant’s Contracting Party.
(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), any Contracting Party may, in a declaration, notify the Director General that international applications may not be filed through the intermediary of its Office.
(2) [Filing Date of the International Application] (a) Where the international application is filed direct with the International Bureau, the filing date shall be the date on which the International Bureau receives the international application.
(b) Where the international application is filed through the intermediary of the Office of the applicant’s Contracting Party, the filing date shall be determined as prescribed.
(3) [Transmittal Fee in Case of Indirect Filing] The Office of any Contracting Party may require that the applicant pay a transmittal fee to it, for its own benefit, in respect of any international application filed through it as intermediary.
Article 5 |
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(1) [Mandatory Contents of the International Application] The international application shall be in the prescribed language or one of the prescribed languages and shall contain or be accompanied by
(i) a request for international registration under this Act;
(ii) the applicant's name and address and the name of the applicant’s Contracting Party, as prescribed;
(iii) the prescribed number of copies of a reproduction or, at the choice of the applicant, of several different reproductions of the industrial design that is the subject of the international application, presented in the prescribed manner; however, where the industrial design is two-dimensional and a request for deferment of publication is made in accordance with paragraph (4), the international application may, instead of reproductions, be accompanied by the prescribed number of specimens of the industrial design;
(iv) an indication of the product or products which constitute the industrial design or in relation to which the industrial design is to be used, as prescribed;
(v) an indication of the designated Contracting Parties;
(vi) the prescribed fees;
[Article 5(1), continued]
(vii) any other prescribed particulars.
(2) [Other Possible Contents of the International Application] The international application may contain or be accompanied by such other elements as are specified in the Regulations.
(3) [Several Industrial Designs in the Same International Application] Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, an international application may relate to two or more industrial designs.
(4) [Request for Deferred Publication] The international application may contain a request for deferment of publication.
Article 6 |
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(1) [Claiming of Priority] (a) The international application may contain a declaration claiming, under Article 4 of the Paris Convention, the priority of one or more earlier applications filed in or for any country party to that Convention or any Member of the World Trade Organization.
(b) The Regulations may provide that the declaration referred to in subparagraph (a) may be made after the filing of the international application. In such case, the Regulations shall prescribe the latest time on which such declaration may be made.
(2) [International Registration Serving as a Basis for Claiming Priority] The international registration shall, as from its registration date, be equivalent to a regular filing within the meaning of Article 4 of the Paris Convention.
Article 7 |
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(1) [Prescribed Designation Fee] The prescribed fees shall include, subject to paragraph (2), a designation fee for each designated Contracting Party.
(2) [Individual Designation Fee] A Contracting Party whose Office is an Examining Office may, in a declaration, notify the Director General that, in connection with any international application in which it is designated, and in connection with the renewal of any international registration resulting from such an international application, the prescribed designation fee referred to in paragraph (1) shall be replaced by an individual designation fee, whose amount shall be indicated in the declaration and can be changed in further declarations. The said amount may be fixed by the said Contracting Party for the initial term of protection and for each term of renewal or for the maximum period of protection allowed by the Contracting Party concerned. However, it may not be higher than the equivalent of the amount which the Office of that Contracting Party would be entitled to receive from an applicant for a grant of protection for an equivalent period to the same number of industrial designs, that amount being diminished by the savings resulting from the international procedure.
(3) [Transfer of Designation Fees] The designation fees referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be transferred by the International Bureau to the Contracting Parties in respect of which those fees were paid.
Article 8 |
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(1) [Examination of the International Application] If the International Bureau finds that the international application does not, at the time of its receipt by the International Bureau, fulfill the requirements of this Act and the Regulations, it shall invite the applicant to make the required corrections within the prescribed time limit.
(2) [Irregularities Not Corrected] (a) If the applicant does not comply with the invitation within the prescribed time limit, the international application shall, subject to subparagraph (b), be considered abandoned.
(b) In the case of an irregularity which relates to Article 17 or to a special requirement notified to the Director General by a Contracting Party in accordance with the Regulations, if the applicant does not comply with the invitation within the prescribed time limit, the international application shall be deemed not to contain the designation of that Contracting Party.
Article 9 |
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(1) [International Registration] The International Bureau shall register each industrial design that is the subject of an international application, whether or not publication is deferred under Article 10. The registration will be effected immediately upon receipt by the International Bureau of the international application or, where corrections are made under Article 8, immediately upon receipt of the required corrections.
(2) [Date of the International Registration] (a) Subject to subparagraph (b), the date of the international registration shall be the filing date of the international application.
(b) Where the international application has, at the date on which it is received by the International Bureau, an irregularity which relates to Article 17 or which is prescribed as an irregularity entailing a postponement of the date of international registration, the date of the international registration shall be the date on which the correction of such irregularity is received by the International Bureau.
(3) [Publication] (a) The international registration shall be published by the International Bureau. Such publication shall be deemed in all Contracting Parties to be sufficient publicity, and no other publicity may be required of the holder.
(b) The International Bureau shall send a copy of the publication of the international registration to each designated Office.
[Article 9, continued]
(4) [Maintenance of Confidentiality Before Publication] Subject to Articles 10(4)(b) and 19, the International Bureau shall keep in confidence each international application and each international registration until publication.
Article 10 |
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(1) [Provisions of the Contracting Parties Concerning Deferment of Publication] (a) Where the law of a Contracting Party provides that an applicant may request the deferment of the publication of an industrial design for a period which is less than the prescribed period, that Contracting Party shall, in a declaration, notify the Director General of the allowable period of deferment.
(b) Where the law of a Contracting Party does not provide that an applicant may request the deferment of the publication of an industrial design, the Contracting Party shall, in a declaration, notify the Director General of that fact.
(2) [Deferment of Publication] Where the international application contains a request for deferment of publication, the publication shall take place,
(i) where none of the Contracting Parties designated in the international application has made a declaration under paragraph (1), at the expiry of the prescribed period;
(ii) where any of the Contracting Parties designated in the international application has made a declaration under paragraph (1)(a), at the expiry of the period notified in such declaration or, where there is more than one such designated Contracting Party, at the expiry of the shortest period notified in their declarations.
[Article 10, continued]
(3) [Treatment of Requests for Deferment Where Deferment Is Not Possible Under Applicable Law] Where deferment of publication has been requested and any of the Contracting Parties designated in the international application has made a declaration under paragraph (1)(b) that deferment of publication is not possible under its law,
(i) subject to item (ii), the International Bureau shall notify the applicant accordingly; if, within the prescribed period, the applicant does not, by notice in writing to the International Bureau, withdraw the designation of the said Contracting Party, the International Bureau shall disregard the request for deferment of publication;
(ii) where, instead of being accompanied by reproductions of the industrial design, the international application was accompanied by specimens of the industrial design, the International Bureau shall disregard the designation of the said Contracting Party and shall notify the applicant accordingly.
(4) [Request for Earlier Publication or for Special Access to the International Registration] (a) At any time during the period of deferment applicable under paragraph (2), the holder may request publication of any or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration, in which case the period of deferment in respect of such industrial design or designs shall be considered to have expired on the date of receipt of such request by the International Bureau.
[Article 10(4), continued]
(b) The holder may also, at any time during the period of deferment applicable under paragraph (2), request the International Bureau to provide a third party specified by the holder with an extract from, or to allow such a party access to, any or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration.
(5) [Renunciation and Limitation] (a) If, at any time during the period of deferment applicable under paragraph (2), the holder renounces the international registration in respect of all the designated Contracting Parties, the industrial design or designs that are the subject of the international registration shall not be published.
(b) If, at any time during the period of deferment applicable under paragraph (2), the holder limits the international registration, in respect of all of the designated Contracting Parties, to one or some of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration, the other industrial design or designs that are the subject of the international registration shall not be published.
(6) [Publication and Furnishing of Reproductions] (a) At the expiration of any period of deferment applicable under the provisions of this Article, the International Bureau shall, subject to the payment of the prescribed fees, publish the international registration. If such fees are not paid as prescribed, the international registration shall be canceled and publication shall not take place.
[Article 10(6), continued]
(b) Where the international application was accompanied by one or more specimens of the industrial design in accordance with Article 5(1)(iii), the holder shall submit the prescribed number of copies of a reproduction of each industrial design that is the subject of that application to the International Bureau within the prescribed time limit. To the extent that the holder does not do so, the international registration shall be canceled and publication shall not take place.
Article 11 |
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(1) [Refusal of Effects] The Office of any designated Contracting Party may, where the conditions for the grant of protection under the law of that Contracting Party are not met in respect of any or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of an international registration, refuse the effects, in part or in whole, of the international registration, provided that no Office may refuse the effects, in part or in whole, of any international registration on the ground that requirements relating to the form or contents of the international application that are additional to, or different from, those which are provided for in this Act and the Regulations have not been satisfied under the law of the Contracting Party concerned.
(2) [Notification of Refusal] (a) The refusal of the effects of an international registration shall be communicated by the Office to the International Bureau in a notification of refusal within the prescribed period.
(b) Any notification of refusal shall state all the grounds on which the refusal that is the subject of the notification is based.
(c) Any notification of refusal may be withdrawn at any time by the Office that has made it.
[Article 11, continued]
(3) [Transmission of Notification of Refusal; Remedies] (a) The International Bureau shall, without delay, transmit a copy of the notification of refusal to the holder.
(b) The holder shall enjoy the same remedies as if any industrial design that is the subject of the international registration had been the subject of an application for the grant of protection under the law applicable to the Office that has notified the refusal. Such remedies shall at least consist of the possibility of a re-examination or a review of the refusal or an appeal against the refusal.
Article 12 |
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(1) [Effect as Application Under Applicable Law] The international registration shall, from the date of the international registration, have at least the same effect in each designated Contracting Party as a regularly-filed application for the grant of protection of the industrial design under the law of that Contracting Party.
(2) [Effect as Grant of Protection Under Applicable Law] (a) In each designated Contracting Party the Office of which has not communicated a notification of refusal in accordance with Article 11, the international registration shall have the same effect as a grant of protection for the industrial design under the law of that Contracting Party at the latest from the date of expiration of the period allowed for it to communicate a notification of refusal or, where a Contracting Party has made a corresponding declaration under the Regulations, at the latest at the time specified in that declaration.
(b) Where the Office of a designated Contracting Party has communicated a notification of refusal and has subsequently withdrawn, in part or in whole, that notification, the international registration shall, to the extent that the notification of refusal is withdrawn, have the same effect in that Contracting Party as a grant of protection for the industrial design under the law of the said Contracting Party at the latest from the date on which the notification was withdrawn.
[Article 12(2), continued]
(c) The effect given to the international registration under this paragraph shall apply to the industrial design or designs that are the subject of that registration as received from the International Bureau by the designated Office and, where applicable, as amended in the procedure before that Office.
Article 13 |
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(1) [Requirement of Opportunity of Defense] Invalidation, by the competent authorities of a designated Contracting Party, of the effects, in part or in whole, in the territory of that Contracting Party, of the international registration may not be pronounced without the holder having, in good time, been afforded the opportunity of defending his rights.
(2) [Notification of Invalidation] Invalidation shall be notified to the International Bureau by the Office of the Contracting Party in whose territory the effects of the international registration have been invalidated.
Article 14 |
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(1) [Recording of Changes and Other Matters] The International Bureau shall, as prescribed, record in the International Register
(i) any change in ownership of the international registration, in respect of any or all of the designated Contracting Parties and in respect of any or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration, provided that the new owner is entitled to file an international application under Article 3,
(ii) any change in the name or address of the holder,
(iii) the appointment of a representative of the applicant or holder and any other relevant fact concerning such representative,
(iv) any renunciation, by the holder, of the international registration, in respect of any or all of the designated Contracting Parties,
(v) any limitation, by the holder, of the international registration, in respect of any or all of the designated Contracting Parties, to one or some of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration,
[Article 14(1), continued]
(vi) any invalidation, by the competent authorities of a designated Contracting Party, of the effects, in the territory of that Contracting Party, of the international registration in respect of any or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration,
(vii) any other relevant fact, identified in the Regulations, concerning the rights in any or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration.
(2) [Effect of Recording in International Register] Any recording referred to in items (i), (ii), (iv), (v), (vi) and, if so provided in the Regulations, (vii) of paragraph (1) shall have the same effect as if it had been made in the Register of the Office of each of the Contracting Parties concerned.
(3) [Fees] Any recording made under paragraph (1) may be subject to the payment of a fee.
(4) [Publication] The International Bureau shall publish a notice concerning any recording made under paragraph (1). It shall send a copy of the publication of the notice to the Office of each of the Contracting Parties concerned.
Article 15 |
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(1) [Term of International Registration] The international registration shall be effected for five years counted from the date of the international registration.
(2) [Renewal of International Registration] The international registration may be renewed for additional terms of five years, in accordance with the prescribed procedure and subject to the payment of the prescribed fees.
(3) [Minimum and Maximum Period of Protection in Designated Contracting Parties] (a) Provided that the international registration is renewed, the period of protection shall not terminate, in each of the designated Contracting Parties, before the expiration of 15 years counted from the date of the international registration.
(b) Where the law of a designated Contracting Party provides for a period of protection of more than 15 years for an industrial design for which protection has been granted under that law, the period of protection shall, provided that the international registration is renewed, be the same as the one provided for by the law of that Contracting Party.
(c) Any Contracting Party shall, in a declaration, notify the Director General of the maximum period of protection provided for by its law.
[Article 15, continued]
(4) [Possibility of a Limited Renewal] The renewal of the international registration may be effected for any or all of the designated Contracting Parties and for any or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration.
(5) [Recording and Publication of Renewal] The International Bureau shall record renewals in the International Register and publish a notice to that effect. It shall send a copy of the publication of the notice to the Office of each of the Contracting Parties concerned.
Article 16 |
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(1) [Information Concerning International Registrations] The International Bureau shall supply to any person applying therefor, upon the payment of the prescribed fee, information on or copies of entries in the International Register in respect of any published international registration.
(2) [Legalization] Copies of entries in the International Register supplied by the International Bureau shall be exempt from any requirement of legalization in each Contracting Party.
