Law No. 2001-21 of February 6, 2001
on the Protection of Industrial Designs 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Articles
Chapter I:
Chapter II:
Chapter III:
Chapter IV:
Chapter V:
Chapter VI:
General..........................................................................
Deposit Procedures .......................................................
Appeals .........................................................................
Infringements and Penalties ..........................................
Border Measures ...........................................................
Miscellaneous ...............................................................
1-6
7 - 16
17 - 23
24 - 30
31 - 40
41 - 42
On behalf of the people,
The Chamber of Deputies having adopted it,
The President of the Republic enacts the law whose content is as follows:
Chapter I
General
1. The aim of this Law is to establish the rules relating to the protection of industrial
designs.
2. The provisions of this Law shall apply to any new design, any new
three-dimensional form, or any industrial product which differs from those similar to it, either
in terms of a distinct and recognizable configuration conferring on it a character of novelty, or
by one or more external effects providing it with a specific and novel appearance.
However, even if the same subject matter has been considered to be a novel industrial
design and a patentable invention, and the components of the novelty of the design cannot be
separated from those of the invention, said subject matter can be protected only in accordance
with the provisions of the Law on Patents.
3. The deposit of an industrial design shall be declared void by means of a court
decision where the depositor is not the author of the design.
An action for annulment of the deposit shall be brought by any interested party during
the period of protection of the industrial design.
Where a deposit has been declared void by means of a court decision which has
acquired the force of res judicata, a copy of this decision shall be communicated to the body
responsible for industrial property by the interested party.
The decision to annul the deposit of an industrial design shall have absolute effect.
4. Any creator of an industrial design or his beneficiaries shall have the exclusive right
to use or sell this design, without prejudice to such rights as they may have from other legal
provisions, in particular the legislation relating to literary and artistic property.
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