ANNEX IV
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
TITLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Definition
(1) For the purposes of this Annex, any arrangement of lines or colors shall be
considered a design, and any three-dimensional shape, whether or not associated with lines or
colors, shall be considered a model, provided that the said arrangement or shape gives a
special appearance to an industrial or craft product and may serve as a pattern for the
manufacture of such a product.
(2) If the object can at the same time be considered a new design and a patentable
invention and if the elements constituting the novelty of the design are inseparable from those
of the invention, the said object may only be protected under the provisions of Annex I on
Patents or Annex II on Utility Models.
(3) The protection accorded by this Annex shall not exclude any rights deriving from
other legislative provisions of member States, in particular those concerning literary and
artistic property.
Article 2
Industrial Designs Eligible for Registration
(1) An industrial design may be registered if it is new.
(2) An industrial design is new if it has not been disclosed anywhere in the world by
publication in tangible form, by use or by any other means before the filing date or, where
applicable, before the priority date of the application for registration.
(3) The novelty referred to in paragraph (1) above shall not be denied if, during the 12
months preceding the date specified in the said paragraph, the industrial design was the
subject of disclosure resulting from
(a) an obvious violation in relation to the applicant or his predecessor in title; or
(b) the fact that the applicant or his predecessor in title has displayed it at an official or
officially recognized international exhibition.
(4) Industrial designs the exploitation of which is contrary to public policy or morality
may not be registered, on the understanding that the commercial exploitation of the said
designs is not considered contrary to public policy or morality merely on account of its being
prohibited by a legal or regulatory provision.
Article 3
Rights Conferred by Registration
Any creator of an industrial design and his successors in title shall have the exclusive
right to exploit the said design and to sell or cause to be sold for industrial or commercial
purposes the goods in which the design is incorporated, subject to the conditions of this
Annex, without prejudice to the rights conferred by other legal provisions.