- Registered Designs Act
- Chapter I. General Provisions
- Chapter II. The Application for Registration and Processing Thereof
- Chapter III. Period of Validity of Registration of a Design and Amendment of a Registered Design
- Chapter IV. Assignments, Licenses, Compulsory Licenses
- Chapter V. Termination of Right to a Design
- Chapter VI. Obligation to Provide Information
- Chapter VII. Responsibility and Obligation to Provide Compensation
- Chapter VIII. Rules Concerning Legal Proceedings
- Chapter IX. Special Provisions
Registered Designs Act
(Unofficial translation)
(Act No. 221 of March 12, 1971, as last amended by Acts Nos. 802 of May 10, 1991, 578 of June 26, 1992, 1035 of November 13, 1992, 1411 of December 18, 1992, 718 of April 21, 1995, 596 of July 12, 2002, 1215 of December 20, 2002 and 685 of July 21, 2006)
Chapter I. General Provisions
Section 1
Anyone who has created a design or his or her successor in title may through registration obtain the exclusive right to the design (the right to a design) in accordance with this Act.
Section 1 a
In this Act: 1) ‘design’ means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation; 2) ‘product’ means any industrial or handicraft item, including parts intended to be assembled into a complex product, and packaging, get-up, graphic symbols and typographic typefaces; 3) ‘complex product’ means a product which is composed of multiple components which can be replaced permitting disassembly and re-assembly of the product. Computer programs are not considered to be products within the meaning of subsection 1(2) above.
Section 2
A design shall be protected by a design right if it is new and has individual character. A design shall be considered new if no identical design has been made available to the public before the date of filing of the application for registration or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority. Designs shall be deemed to be identical if their features differ only in immaterial details. A design shall be considered to have individual character if the overall impression it produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any design which has been made available before the date of filing of the application for registration or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority. In assessing individual character, the degree of freedom of the designer in developing the design shall be taken into consideration. The design of a product which constitutes a component part of a complex product shall only be considered to be new and to have individual character: 1) if the component part remains visible during normal use of the product; and 2) if the visible features of the component part fulfil in themselves the requirements as to novelty and individual character. ‘Normal use’ within the meaning of subsection 4(1) above shall not include maintenance, servicing or repair work.
Section 3
A design shall be deemed to have been made available to the public: 1) if it has been published in the registration procedure or otherwise; or 2) if it has been exhibited or used in trade or it has otherwise become known. A design has not, however, become available to the public if the events referred to in subsection 1 could not reasonably have become known in the normal course of business to the circles specialized in the sector concerned, operating within the European Union, before the date of filing of the application for registration or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority. The design shall not, however, be deemed to have become available to the public for the sole reason that it has been disclosed to a third person under conditions of confidentiality.
Section 3 a
A design shall not be deemed to have become available to the public in the manner referred to in Section 2 if the design for which protection is claimed has during the 12-month period before the date of filing the registration application or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority, been made available to the public: 1) by the designer or a third person as a result of information provided or action taken by the designer; or 2) as a consequence of an abuse in relation to the designer. The provisions of subsection 1 relating to the creator of a design shall also apply to his successor in title.
Section 4
A design shall not be registered: 1) if it is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality; or 2) if it is identical with a prior design which has been made available to the public after the date of filing of the application or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority and which is protected from a date prior to the said date by a design registered for Finland or by an application for such right.
Section 4 a
A design shall not be registered, if it without the proper permission includes: 1) the coat of arms, flag or other emblem or the designation or abbreviation of the designation of a state, municipality or an international intergovernmental organization, or a figure, designation or abbreviation of a designation that may be confused with such emblem, sign, designation or abbreviation of a designation; 2) an official mark or stamp of inspection or guarantee for the same or similar articles as those for which the design is intended; 3) anything that may be understood to be another person’s trade name or a trade symbol or trademark established for another in Finland or the surname, pseudonym or similar name or the portrait of another, unless the name or portrait manifestly refers to a person long since deceased; 4) anything that may be interpreted as the title of another person's protected literary or artistic work, provided such title is distinctive, or anything which infringes another's copyright to such a work or his right to a photographic illustration; 5) anything that does not substantially differ from a design or utility model registered in Finland in the name of another person;
Section 4 b
A design right shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product 1) which are solely dictated by its technical function; or 2) which must be reproduced in their exact form and dimensions in order to permit the product in which the design is incorporated to be mechanically connected to or placed in, around or against another product so that either product may perform its function. Notwithstanding subsection 1(2), a design right shall subsist in a design serving the purpose of allowing multiple assembly or connection of mutually interchangeable products within a modular system.
Section 5
The scope of the protection conferred by a design shall include any design which does not produce on the informed user a different overall impression. In assessing the scope of protection, the degree of freedom of the designer in developing his design shall be taken into consideration.
Section 5 a
Subject to the exceptions stated below, the right to a design shall imply that no person other than the owner of the design right is entitled to use the design without his consent. The uses shall cover, among other things, the making, offering, putting on the market, using, importing, exporting or stocking for these purposes of a product which matches the design or in which the design is incorporated.
Section 5 b
The rights conferred by a design right do not cover: 1) private use of the design for non-commercial purposes; 2) use of the design for experimental purposes; nor 3) acts of reproduction for the purposes of making citations or of teaching, provided that such acts are compatible with fair trade practice and do not unduly prejudice the normal exploitation of the design, and that mention is made of the source. Neither do the rights conferred by a design right cover the equipment on ships and aircraft registered in another country when these temporarily enter into the country, the importation into the country of spare parts and accessories for the purpose of repairing such craft, nor the execution of repairs on such craft.
Section 5 c
A design right does not give its holder the right to deny the use of a product protected by the design right if the product has been put on the market within the European Economic Area by the owner of the design right or with his consent.
Section 6
Any person who, at the time the application for registration is made, has in the course of trade been using a design in this country, may notwithstanding another's right to the design continue such use while retaining its general character, provided that such use did not entail a manifest abuse with respect to the applicant for registration or to his predecessor in title. Under similar conditions, any person who has taken substantial steps to use the design in the course of trade in this country shall have the same right of use. The right defined in subsection (1) can only be transferred to other parties together with the business in which it has arisen or in which the design was to be used.
Section 7
Deleted (596/02)
Section 8
Any application filed in Finland shall be deemed, for the purposes of Section 2 and 6, to have been filed at the same time as the application in another country, if the design has been the subject of an application for registration of a design or for protection as a utility model which has been filed in a country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Finnish Treaty Series 43/1975) or the Treaty Establishing the World Trade Organization (Finnish Treaty Series 5/1995). Registration in Finland shall be applied for within a period of six months from the date of filing of the application for registration in the Contracting State referred to in subsection 1. The provisions of subsections 1 and 2 shall also apply to an application which has been filed elsewhere and in respect of which the registering authority finds special reasons to equate it with an application filed in a Contracting State. In order to enjoy priority in accordance with the provisions of subsection 1, the applicant shall request it in an application filed in this country, stating where and when the application referred to was made; he must also state, as soon as possible, the number of the application referred to.
Chapter II. The Application for Registration and Processing Thereof
Section 9
The registering authority shall be the National Board of Patents and Registration.
Section 10
Applications for registration of designs shall be made in writing to the registering authority. The application shall mention the creator of the design. Where the applicant is not the creator, he shall produce evidence of his right to the design. In addition the application shall specify the product or products to which the application relates. A representation of the design shall be attached to the application document. Where the applicant, before the application is published in accordance with the provisions of Section 18, also deposits a specimen, the specimen shall be deemed to disclose the design.
Section 10 a
An application for registration of a design shall not be deemed to have been made until the applicant has deposited a representation of the design or a specimen thereof with the registering authority and paid the filing fee. Further provisions on payment of additional fees relating to the application shall be given by government decree.
Section 11
An application may include more than one design where the products stated in the registration application according to the classification established by the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs (Finnish Treaty Series 22/1972) fall in the same class.
Section 12
An applicant who is not domiciled in Finland shall have an agent resident in this country who is empowered to represent him in all matters concerning the application.
Section 13
An application must not be amended in a manner that does not retain the essential features of the overall impression of the design.
Section 14
When examining an application for registration of a design, the registering authority shall, to the extent decreed by the Government, establish whether the conditions for registration of the design have been satisfied. Where the applicant has not observed the prescribed requirements regarding the application, or where the authority finds that there are other objections to acceptance of the application, the applicant shall be invited by an Office action to answer the objections or to make a correction within a prescribed period. Where the applicant fails within the prescribed period to submit a statement or to take steps to remedy a defect to which attention has been drawn, the application shall be dismissed. A warning to this effect shall be included in the Office action. However, the application shall be reinstated if, within two months from the expiration of the prescribed period, the applicant so requests and makes a reply to the Office action or takes steps to remedy the defect and within the same period pays the prescribed reinstatement fee. Reinstatement may not be granted more than once.
Section 15
If there is still any objection to acceptance after the applicant's answer to the Office action and provided that the applicant has had an opportunity to answer the objection, the application shall be rejected unless there are grounds for delivering a further Office action to the applicant.
Section 16
Where anyone claims before the registering authority to have a better right to the design than the applicant, and where the matter is found to be unclear, the authority may instruct him to institute legal proceedings within a certain period, failing which his claim will be disregarded when the application is further examined. Where a dispute concerning a better right to a design is pending before a court of law, the application for registration may be suspended until the case is finally settled.
Section 17
Where anyone proves to the registering authority that he has a better right to the design than the applicant, the authority shall transfer the application to him if he so requests. The transferee shall pay a new application fee. Where transfer is requested, the application must not be amended, dismissed, rejected or accepted until the request for transfer has been finally decided
Section 18
Where the application documents are in the prescribed form and no objection has been found to registration, the registering authority shall publish the application in order to give the public an opportunity to enter any opposition. On the applicant's request, publication may however be deferred for a period of up to six months counted from the filing date or the date from which priority is claimed under Section 8. Requests for deferment shall be made on the application form. Subsection 3 is deleted.
Section 18 a
Opposition shall be made in writing to the registering authority within two months from the date of publication of the application. If registration has been applied for by a person not entitled to it under subsection 1, opposition may be lodged by anyone who considers himself to be entitled to the design. If a design without proper permission includes a symbol or mark referred to in Section 4 a (1) and (2), opposition may be lodged by the person whose right is infringed by the registration. If a design is in conflict with Section 4(1)(2) or Section 4 a (3-5), the opposition may be lodged by the applicant for or the holder of the conflicting right. In cases other than those stated in subsections 2 to 4, the opposition may be lodged by anyone.
Section 19
Unless the application documents are to be kept secret following the applicant's request for deferment under Section 18, they shall be available to the public. Where deferment of publication has been requested, the application documents shall be available to the public on the expiration of the prescribed period, not later however than six months counted from the filing date or the date from which priority is claimed under Section 8. If, during the prescribed period, the authority decides to dismiss or reject the application, the documents shall not be available to the public unless the applicant requests reinstatement of the application for examination or lodges an appeal.
Section 20
After the expiration of the period for lodging an opposition prescribed in Section 18 a (1), a further examination of the application shall be carried out. Sections 14 to 17 shall be applicable to such examination. In the case of opposition the applicant shall be informed thereof. Where the opposition is not manifestly unjustified, the applicant shall also be given an opportunity to answer the opposition.
Section 21
An applicant for registration of a design may appeal against a final decision of the registering authority which has gone against him. A person who has duly lodged an opposition may appeal against a decision accepting the application. Where the opponent withdraws his appeal, the case may nevertheless be considered if there are special reasons for doing so. An applicant may appeal against the rejection of a request for reinstatement, provided for in Section 14(3), and against the acceptance of a request for transfer, provided for in Section 17. The person making a request for transfer may appeal against the rejection of his request.
Section 22
Appeals from the decisions by the registering authority under this Act shall be lodged with the Board of Appeals of the National Board of Patents and Registration. Special regulations shall apply to the appeal procedure and hearing of cases by the Board of Appeals.
Section 23
Where an application for registration of a design is accepted by a decision having force of law, the design shall be entered in the Register of Designs and the registration shall be published. A decision to dismiss or to reject an application that has been published in the manner provided for in Section 18 shall be published after the decision has force of law.
Chapter III. Period of Validity of Registration of a Design and Amendment of a Registered Design
Section 24
Registration of a design shall be valid for five years, dating from the day on which the application for registration was made. Registration may, on request, be renewed for four further periods of five years, each such period running from the expiration of the preceding period. The maximum term of protection shall nevertheless be 15 years, if the design is a component part of a complex product and is used to restore the original appearance of the complex product.
Section 25
A registration may be renewed at the earliest one year before and at the latest within six months from the expiration of any current period of registration. Applications shall be made in writing to the registering authority, if the applicant wishes to have an amendment made to the register entries. Otherwise a registration shall be deemed to have been renewed once the renewal fee has been paid. Renewal of a registration shall be published.
Section 25 a
A registered design may be amended at the written request of the holder, if the design has been registered contrary to provisions of Section 1, 1a, 2, 3, 3a, 4, 4a or 4b. In the amended form the design shall, however, comply with the requirements prescribed in this Act for registration, and the essential features of the overall impression of the design must not be changed. A fee for amendment of a design is payable in respect of the application. Any amendment to a registration shall be published.
Chapter IV. Assignments, Licenses, Compulsory Licenses
Section 26
The right to a design may be transferred. Where the registered owner of a design has given another person the right to use the design in the course of trade (license), the licensee may not assign his right in the absence of an agreement to that effect. A license included with a business may however be assigned, when the business is assigned, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary. In such a case the assignor shall remain responsible for ensuring the fulfillment of the license agreement.
Section 27
In the case of the transfer of the right to a design or a license, a note to that effect shall - on request and in return for a prescribed fee - be entered in the Register of Designs. The same shall apply to a mortgage on the right to a design. If it is proved that a license or mortgage that has been entered in the Register has ceased to be valid, the entry shall be removed. Subsection (1) shall correspondingly apply to a compulsory license and to the right referred to in Section 32(2). In the case of multiple registration, a transfer of the right to a design may be entered only with respect to all of the designs. In legal proceedings or other cases regarding the right to a design, the person whose name has last been entered in the Register of Designs as registered owner of the design shall be deemed to be the registered owner thereof. Any person requesting entry in the Register of an assignment of the right to a design or a license or a mortgage relating to such right shall, provided that he was acting in good faith at the time of such request, be unaffected by an earlier assignment of the right to a design or right relating thereto which had not previously been the object of a request for entry.
Section 28
Any person who had, in the course of trade, been using a design, the subject of an application for registration, in this country when a document disclosing the design became available to the public, may - where the application leads to registration - obtain a compulsory license to use the design, provided that extraordinary reasons exist and that such person had no knowledge of the application and could not reasonably have obtained knowledge of it. In the same circumstances, any person who has taken substantial steps to use the design in the course of trade in this country shall have a right to such compulsory license. A compulsory license may also relate to a period before the design was registered.
Section 29
A compulsory license may not be granted to any person who appears unable to use the design in an acceptable way and in accordance with the terms of the license. A compulsory license shall not prevent the registered owner of the design from using the design himself or from granting a license. A compulsory license may be transferred only together with the business in which it is used or in which it is intended to be used.
Section 30
A compulsory license shall be issued by the Court, which shall also decide the extent to which the design may be used and determine the compensation and other terms of the license. When a substantial change in circumstances so demands, the Court may, if so requested by the person concerned revoke the license or stipulate new terms.
Chapter V. Termination of Right to a Design
Section 31
Where a design has been registered contrary to Section 1, 1 a, 2, 3, 3 a, 4, 4 a or 4 b and an obstacle to registration still remains, the Court shall, if an action is brought to that end, cancel the registration in whole or in part. However, registration may not be cancelled on the ground that the person in whose name the registration was made is only a part-owner of the design right. Where registration has been granted to a person who is not the rightful owner of the design as defined in Section 1, an action to cancel the registration may be brought by the person who claims to be entitled to the design. Where registration has been granted contrary to provisions of Section 4 a (1) or (2), an action to cancel the registration may be brought by the person whose right is infringed by the registration. Where registration has been granted contrary to provisions of Section 4(2) or Section 4 a (3 to 5), an action to cancel the registration may be brought by the applicant for or the holder of the conflicting right. An action for cancellation of registration may also be brought the Public Prosecutor if the action is based on a provision of Section 4(1) or Section 4 a (1) or (2). In cases other than those stated in subsections 2 to 5, an action may be brought by anyone who sustains damage as a result of the registration.
Section 31 a
An action must be brought within one year after the plaintiff has had knowledge of the registration and of the other circumstances on which the action is based. Where the registered owner of the design right acted in good faith when the design was registered or when the right to the design was transferred to him, the action may not be instituted later than three years after the registration.
Section 31 b
The registration of a design may be cancelled in part only if the design after the cancellation still complies with the requirements for registration prescribed in this Act and the essential features of the overall impression of the design do not change. In any matter concerning partial cancellation of a design, the Court must obtain a statement from the registering authority.
Section 31 c
(Act No. 221 of March 12, 1971, as last amended by Acts Nos. 802 of May 10, 1991, 578 of June 26, 1992, 1035 of November 13, 1992, 1411 of December 18, 1992, 718 of April 21, 1995, 596 of July 12, 2002, 1215 of December 20, 2002 and 685 of July 21, 2006)
Chapter I. General Provisions
Section 1
Anyone who has created a design or his or her successor in title may through registration obtain the exclusive right to the design (the right to a design) in accordance with this Act.
Section 1 a
In this Act: 1) ‘design’ means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product itself or its ornamentation; 2) ‘product’ means any industrial or handicraft item, including parts intended to be assembled into a complex product, and packaging, get-up, graphic symbols and typographic typefaces; 3) ‘complex product’ means a product which is composed of multiple components which can be replaced permitting disassembly and re-assembly of the product. Computer programs are not considered to be products within the meaning of subsection 1(2) above.
Section 2
A design shall be protected by a design right if it is new and has individual character. A design shall be considered new if no identical design has been made available to the public before the date of filing of the application for registration or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority. Designs shall be deemed to be identical if their features differ only in immaterial details. A design shall be considered to have individual character if the overall impression it produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any design which has been made available before the date of filing of the application for registration or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority. In assessing individual character, the degree of freedom of the designer in developing the design shall be taken into consideration. The design of a product which constitutes a component part of a complex product shall only be considered to be new and to have individual character: 1) if the component part remains visible during normal use of the product; and 2) if the visible features of the component part fulfil in themselves the requirements as to novelty and individual character. ‘Normal use’ within the meaning of subsection 4(1) above shall not include maintenance, servicing or repair work.
Section 3
A design shall be deemed to have been made available to the public: 1) if it has been published in the registration procedure or otherwise; or 2) if it has been exhibited or used in trade or it has otherwise become known. A design has not, however, become available to the public if the events referred to in subsection 1 could not reasonably have become known in the normal course of business to the circles specialized in the sector concerned, operating within the European Union, before the date of filing of the application for registration or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority. The design shall not, however, be deemed to have become available to the public for the sole reason that it has been disclosed to a third person under conditions of confidentiality.
Section 3 a
A design shall not be deemed to have become available to the public in the manner referred to in Section 2 if the design for which protection is claimed has during the 12-month period before the date of filing the registration application or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority, been made available to the public: 1) by the designer or a third person as a result of information provided or action taken by the designer; or 2) as a consequence of an abuse in relation to the designer. The provisions of subsection 1 relating to the creator of a design shall also apply to his successor in title.
Section 4
A design shall not be registered: 1) if it is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality; or 2) if it is identical with a prior design which has been made available to the public after the date of filing of the application or, if priority is claimed, the date of priority and which is protected from a date prior to the said date by a design registered for Finland or by an application for such right.
Section 4 a
A design shall not be registered, if it without the proper permission includes: 1) the coat of arms, flag or other emblem or the designation or abbreviation of the designation of a state, municipality or an international intergovernmental organization, or a figure, designation or abbreviation of a designation that may be confused with such emblem, sign, designation or abbreviation of a designation; 2) an official mark or stamp of inspection or guarantee for the same or similar articles as those for which the design is intended; 3) anything that may be understood to be another person’s trade name or a trade symbol or trademark established for another in Finland or the surname, pseudonym or similar name or the portrait of another, unless the name or portrait manifestly refers to a person long since deceased; 4) anything that may be interpreted as the title of another person's protected literary or artistic work, provided such title is distinctive, or anything which infringes another's copyright to such a work or his right to a photographic illustration; 5) anything that does not substantially differ from a design or utility model registered in Finland in the name of another person;
Section 4 b
A design right shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product 1) which are solely dictated by its technical function; or 2) which must be reproduced in their exact form and dimensions in order to permit the product in which the design is incorporated to be mechanically connected to or placed in, around or against another product so that either product may perform its function. Notwithstanding subsection 1(2), a design right shall subsist in a design serving the purpose of allowing multiple assembly or connection of mutually interchangeable products within a modular system.
Section 5
The scope of the protection conferred by a design shall include any design which does not produce on the informed user a different overall impression. In assessing the scope of protection, the degree of freedom of the designer in developing his design shall be taken into consideration.
Section 5 a
Subject to the exceptions stated below, the right to a design shall imply that no person other than the owner of the design right is entitled to use the design without his consent. The uses shall cover, among other things, the making, offering, putting on the market, using, importing, exporting or stocking for these purposes of a product which matches the design or in which the design is incorporated.
Section 5 b
The rights conferred by a design right do not cover: 1) private use of the design for non-commercial purposes; 2) use of the design for experimental purposes; nor 3) acts of reproduction for the purposes of making citations or of teaching, provided that such acts are compatible with fair trade practice and do not unduly prejudice the normal exploitation of the design, and that mention is made of the source. Neither do the rights conferred by a design right cover the equipment on ships and aircraft registered in another country when these temporarily enter into the country, the importation into the country of spare parts and accessories for the purpose of repairing such craft, nor the execution of repairs on such craft.
Section 5 c
A design right does not give its holder the right to deny the use of a product protected by the design right if the product has been put on the market within the European Economic Area by the owner of the design right or with his consent.
Section 6
Any person who, at the time the application for registration is made, has in the course of trade been using a design in this country, may notwithstanding another's right to the design continue such use while retaining its general character, provided that such use did not entail a manifest abuse with respect to the applicant for registration or to his predecessor in title. Under similar conditions, any person who has taken substantial steps to use the design in the course of trade in this country shall have the same right of use. The right defined in subsection (1) can only be transferred to other parties together with the business in which it has arisen or in which the design was to be used.
Section 7
Deleted (596/02)
Section 8
Any application filed in Finland shall be deemed, for the purposes of Section 2 and 6, to have been filed at the same time as the application in another country, if the design has been the subject of an application for registration of a design or for protection as a utility model which has been filed in a country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Finnish Treaty Series 43/1975) or the Treaty Establishing the World Trade Organization (Finnish Treaty Series 5/1995). Registration in Finland shall be applied for within a period of six months from the date of filing of the application for registration in the Contracting State referred to in subsection 1. The provisions of subsections 1 and 2 shall also apply to an application which has been filed elsewhere and in respect of which the registering authority finds special reasons to equate it with an application filed in a Contracting State. In order to enjoy priority in accordance with the provisions of subsection 1, the applicant shall request it in an application filed in this country, stating where and when the application referred to was made; he must also state, as soon as possible, the number of the application referred to.
Chapter II. The Application for Registration and Processing Thereof
Section 9
The registering authority shall be the National Board of Patents and Registration.
Section 10
Applications for registration of designs shall be made in writing to the registering authority. The application shall mention the creator of the design. Where the applicant is not the creator, he shall produce evidence of his right to the design. In addition the application shall specify the product or products to which the application relates. A representation of the design shall be attached to the application document. Where the applicant, before the application is published in accordance with the provisions of Section 18, also deposits a specimen, the specimen shall be deemed to disclose the design.
Section 10 a
An application for registration of a design shall not be deemed to have been made until the applicant has deposited a representation of the design or a specimen thereof with the registering authority and paid the filing fee. Further provisions on payment of additional fees relating to the application shall be given by government decree.
Section 11
An application may include more than one design where the products stated in the registration application according to the classification established by the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs (Finnish Treaty Series 22/1972) fall in the same class.
Section 12
An applicant who is not domiciled in Finland shall have an agent resident in this country who is empowered to represent him in all matters concerning the application.
Section 13
An application must not be amended in a manner that does not retain the essential features of the overall impression of the design.
Section 14
When examining an application for registration of a design, the registering authority shall, to the extent decreed by the Government, establish whether the conditions for registration of the design have been satisfied. Where the applicant has not observed the prescribed requirements regarding the application, or where the authority finds that there are other objections to acceptance of the application, the applicant shall be invited by an Office action to answer the objections or to make a correction within a prescribed period. Where the applicant fails within the prescribed period to submit a statement or to take steps to remedy a defect to which attention has been drawn, the application shall be dismissed. A warning to this effect shall be included in the Office action. However, the application shall be reinstated if, within two months from the expiration of the prescribed period, the applicant so requests and makes a reply to the Office action or takes steps to remedy the defect and within the same period pays the prescribed reinstatement fee. Reinstatement may not be granted more than once.
Section 15
If there is still any objection to acceptance after the applicant's answer to the Office action and provided that the applicant has had an opportunity to answer the objection, the application shall be rejected unless there are grounds for delivering a further Office action to the applicant.
Section 16
Where anyone claims before the registering authority to have a better right to the design than the applicant, and where the matter is found to be unclear, the authority may instruct him to institute legal proceedings within a certain period, failing which his claim will be disregarded when the application is further examined. Where a dispute concerning a better right to a design is pending before a court of law, the application for registration may be suspended until the case is finally settled.
Section 17
Where anyone proves to the registering authority that he has a better right to the design than the applicant, the authority shall transfer the application to him if he so requests. The transferee shall pay a new application fee. Where transfer is requested, the application must not be amended, dismissed, rejected or accepted until the request for transfer has been finally decided
Section 18
Where the application documents are in the prescribed form and no objection has been found to registration, the registering authority shall publish the application in order to give the public an opportunity to enter any opposition. On the applicant's request, publication may however be deferred for a period of up to six months counted from the filing date or the date from which priority is claimed under Section 8. Requests for deferment shall be made on the application form. Subsection 3 is deleted.
Section 18 a
Opposition shall be made in writing to the registering authority within two months from the date of publication of the application. If registration has been applied for by a person not entitled to it under subsection 1, opposition may be lodged by anyone who considers himself to be entitled to the design. If a design without proper permission includes a symbol or mark referred to in Section 4 a (1) and (2), opposition may be lodged by the person whose right is infringed by the registration. If a design is in conflict with Section 4(1)(2) or Section 4 a (3-5), the opposition may be lodged by the applicant for or the holder of the conflicting right. In cases other than those stated in subsections 2 to 4, the opposition may be lodged by anyone.
Section 19
Unless the application documents are to be kept secret following the applicant's request for deferment under Section 18, they shall be available to the public. Where deferment of publication has been requested, the application documents shall be available to the public on the expiration of the prescribed period, not later however than six months counted from the filing date or the date from which priority is claimed under Section 8. If, during the prescribed period, the authority decides to dismiss or reject the application, the documents shall not be available to the public unless the applicant requests reinstatement of the application for examination or lodges an appeal.
Section 20
After the expiration of the period for lodging an opposition prescribed in Section 18 a (1), a further examination of the application shall be carried out. Sections 14 to 17 shall be applicable to such examination. In the case of opposition the applicant shall be informed thereof. Where the opposition is not manifestly unjustified, the applicant shall also be given an opportunity to answer the opposition.
Section 21
An applicant for registration of a design may appeal against a final decision of the registering authority which has gone against him. A person who has duly lodged an opposition may appeal against a decision accepting the application. Where the opponent withdraws his appeal, the case may nevertheless be considered if there are special reasons for doing so. An applicant may appeal against the rejection of a request for reinstatement, provided for in Section 14(3), and against the acceptance of a request for transfer, provided for in Section 17. The person making a request for transfer may appeal against the rejection of his request.
Section 22
Appeals from the decisions by the registering authority under this Act shall be lodged with the Board of Appeals of the National Board of Patents and Registration. Special regulations shall apply to the appeal procedure and hearing of cases by the Board of Appeals.
Section 23
Where an application for registration of a design is accepted by a decision having force of law, the design shall be entered in the Register of Designs and the registration shall be published. A decision to dismiss or to reject an application that has been published in the manner provided for in Section 18 shall be published after the decision has force of law.
Chapter III. Period of Validity of Registration of a Design and Amendment of a Registered Design
Section 24
Registration of a design shall be valid for five years, dating from the day on which the application for registration was made. Registration may, on request, be renewed for four further periods of five years, each such period running from the expiration of the preceding period. The maximum term of protection shall nevertheless be 15 years, if the design is a component part of a complex product and is used to restore the original appearance of the complex product.
Section 25
A registration may be renewed at the earliest one year before and at the latest within six months from the expiration of any current period of registration. Applications shall be made in writing to the registering authority, if the applicant wishes to have an amendment made to the register entries. Otherwise a registration shall be deemed to have been renewed once the renewal fee has been paid. Renewal of a registration shall be published.
Section 25 a
A registered design may be amended at the written request of the holder, if the design has been registered contrary to provisions of Section 1, 1a, 2, 3, 3a, 4, 4a or 4b. In the amended form the design shall, however, comply with the requirements prescribed in this Act for registration, and the essential features of the overall impression of the design must not be changed. A fee for amendment of a design is payable in respect of the application. Any amendment to a registration shall be published.
Chapter IV. Assignments, Licenses, Compulsory Licenses
Section 26
The right to a design may be transferred. Where the registered owner of a design has given another person the right to use the design in the course of trade (license), the licensee may not assign his right in the absence of an agreement to that effect. A license included with a business may however be assigned, when the business is assigned, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary. In such a case the assignor shall remain responsible for ensuring the fulfillment of the license agreement.
Section 27
In the case of the transfer of the right to a design or a license, a note to that effect shall - on request and in return for a prescribed fee - be entered in the Register of Designs. The same shall apply to a mortgage on the right to a design. If it is proved that a license or mortgage that has been entered in the Register has ceased to be valid, the entry shall be removed. Subsection (1) shall correspondingly apply to a compulsory license and to the right referred to in Section 32(2). In the case of multiple registration, a transfer of the right to a design may be entered only with respect to all of the designs. In legal proceedings or other cases regarding the right to a design, the person whose name has last been entered in the Register of Designs as registered owner of the design shall be deemed to be the registered owner thereof. Any person requesting entry in the Register of an assignment of the right to a design or a license or a mortgage relating to such right shall, provided that he was acting in good faith at the time of such request, be unaffected by an earlier assignment of the right to a design or right relating thereto which had not previously been the object of a request for entry.
Section 28
Any person who had, in the course of trade, been using a design, the subject of an application for registration, in this country when a document disclosing the design became available to the public, may - where the application leads to registration - obtain a compulsory license to use the design, provided that extraordinary reasons exist and that such person had no knowledge of the application and could not reasonably have obtained knowledge of it. In the same circumstances, any person who has taken substantial steps to use the design in the course of trade in this country shall have a right to such compulsory license. A compulsory license may also relate to a period before the design was registered.
Section 29
A compulsory license may not be granted to any person who appears unable to use the design in an acceptable way and in accordance with the terms of the license. A compulsory license shall not prevent the registered owner of the design from using the design himself or from granting a license. A compulsory license may be transferred only together with the business in which it is used or in which it is intended to be used.
Section 30
A compulsory license shall be issued by the Court, which shall also decide the extent to which the design may be used and determine the compensation and other terms of the license. When a substantial change in circumstances so demands, the Court may, if so requested by the person concerned revoke the license or stipulate new terms.
Chapter V. Termination of Right to a Design
Section 31
Where a design has been registered contrary to Section 1, 1 a, 2, 3, 3 a, 4, 4 a or 4 b and an obstacle to registration still remains, the Court shall, if an action is brought to that end, cancel the registration in whole or in part. However, registration may not be cancelled on the ground that the person in whose name the registration was made is only a part-owner of the design right. Where registration has been granted to a person who is not the rightful owner of the design as defined in Section 1, an action to cancel the registration may be brought by the person who claims to be entitled to the design. Where registration has been granted contrary to provisions of Section 4 a (1) or (2), an action to cancel the registration may be brought by the person whose right is infringed by the registration. Where registration has been granted contrary to provisions of Section 4(2) or Section 4 a (3 to 5), an action to cancel the registration may be brought by the applicant for or the holder of the conflicting right. An action for cancellation of registration may also be brought the Public Prosecutor if the action is based on a provision of Section 4(1) or Section 4 a (1) or (2). In cases other than those stated in subsections 2 to 5, an action may be brought by anyone who sustains damage as a result of the registration.
Section 31 a
An action must be brought within one year after the plaintiff has had knowledge of the registration and of the other circumstances on which the action is based. Where the registered owner of the design right acted in good faith when the design was registered or when the right to the design was transferred to him, the action may not be instituted later than three years after the registration.
Section 31 b
The registration of a design may be cancelled in part only if the design after the cancellation still complies with the requirements for registration prescribed in this Act and the essential features of the overall impression of the design do not change. In any matter concerning partial cancellation of a design, the Court must obtain a statement from the registering authority.
Section 31 c