No. 4907
Government Gazette 23 March 2012
Act No. 1, 2012
57
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ACT, 2012
(2)
A design for an article which is not intended to be multiplied for
commercial purposes is not registrable under this Act.
(3)
No feature of an article insofar as it is necessitated solely by the function
which the article is intended to perform, or no method or principle of construction may
afford the registered owner of the design any rights under the registration.
(4)
A design which is contrary to public order or morality may not be
registered, as contemplated in section 18 as if the design is an invention.
Definition of novelty
94.
(1)
A design is new if it has not been disclosed to the public
anywhere in the world, by publication in any form, or by use or in any other way, prior to
the filing date or, where applicable, the priority date of the application for registration.
(2)
For the purposes of subsection (1) disclosure to the public of the design
may not be taken into consideration if it occurred within 12 months preceding the filing
date or, where applicable, the priority date of the application, and if it was by reason or
in consequence of –
(a)
acts committed by the applicant or his or her predecessor in title, or of
an unauthorised disclosure; or
(b)
an abuse committed by a third party with regard to the applicant or his
or her predecessor in title.
PART 2
RIGHT TO LEGAL PROTECTION
Right to legal protection
95.
(1)
Designs registered under this Act are entitled to protection
as provided for in this Chapter but such protection does not exclude any other rights
provided for in law, in particular rights derived from copyright.
(2)
Subject to this section and section 97, the right to apply for the
registration of a design belongs to the creator of the design.
(3)
Where two or more persons have jointly created a design, the right to
apply for registration belongs to them jointly.
(4)
Where two or more persons have created the same design independently
of each other, the person whose application has the earliest filing date or, if priority is
claimed, the earliest validly claimed priority date and which application leads to the
registration of a design has the right to the design registration for the duration of the
registration.
(5)
The right to apply for the registration of a design may be assigned, or
may be transferred by succession or otherwise by operation of law.