her cessionary: Provided that no application shall be made by virtue of
this section after the expiry of six months from the date of the
application for protection in a convention country or, where more than
one such application for protection has been made, from the date of
the first application: Provided further that if after the filing of the first
application for protection in a convention country in respect of any
design or similar right, a subsequent application is filed in that country
in respect of the same design or similar right, such subsequent
application shall be regarded as the first application in that country in
respect of that design or similar right, if at the time of filing thereof—
(a)
the previous applications had been withdrawn, abandoned or
refused without having been open to public inspection; and
(b)
no priority rights have been claimed on the strength of such
previous applications; and
(c)
no rights are outstanding in the convention country in question
in connection with such previous applications.
[Sub-s. (1) amended by s. 79 of Act No. 38 of 1997.]
(2)
An application which has been withdrawn, abandoned or refused shall
not after the filing of the subsequent application be capable of
supporting a claim for priority rights under this section.
(3)
A design registered on an application made under this section shall
be registered as of the date of the application or, where more than one
such application for protection has been made, the date of the first
such application or, as the case may be, the date of the application
which is regarded as the first such application: Provided that no
proceedings shall be instituted in respect of any infringement
committed before the date on which the certificate of registration of the
design under this Act is issued.
(4)
Where a person has applied for protection for a design by an
application which—
(a)
in accordance with the terms of a treaty subsisting between
two or more convention countries, is equivalent to an
application duly made in any one of those convention
countries; or
(b)
in accordance with the laws of any convention country, is
equivalent to an application duly made in that convention
country,
he shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to have applied in
that convention country.
45.
Extension of time for applications in certain cases.
(1)
If the Minister is satisfied that provision substantially equivalent to the
provision to be made by or under this section has been made or will
be made under the law of any convention country, he may, by notice
in the Gazette, make regulations empowering the registrar to extend