filed by the holder with the Ministry responsible for industrial property or with the
Organization within the time limit referred to in Article 2(2); or
(b) on the filing date allocated to the application for registration of the layout-design
filed by the holder if the layout-design has not been the subject of prior commercial
exploitation anywhere in the world.
(2) The protection afforded a layout-design under this Annex shall cease at the end of
the tenth calendar year following the date on which it took effect.
Article 8
Filing an Application
(1) A separate application shall be filed for each layout-design.
(2) Any person wishing to obtain a certificate of registration of a layout-design shall
file with the Organization or with the Ministry responsible for industrial property, or send to it
by registered mail with a request for acknowledgement of receipt, a file containing
(a) a request for registration of the layout-design in the Register of Layout-Designs in a
sufficient number of copies;
(b) a document proving payment to the Organization of the filing and publication fees;
(c) a short and precise description of the layout-design;
(d) the applicant’s name, address, nationality and, where the nationality is different
from the address given, the address of habitual residence;
(e) the powers of the applicant’s representative, where appropriate, a copy or a drawing
of the layout-design, together with information defining the electronic function that the
integrated circuit is intended to perform; however, the applicant may omit from the copy or
from the drawing those parts that concern the method of manufacturing the integrated circuit,
on condition that the parts submitted are sufficient to permit identification of the layoutdesign;
(f) the date of the first commercial exploitation of the layout-design anywhere in the
world or a statement that exploitation has not yet begun;
(g) particulars establishing the entitlement to protection under Article 4.
Article 9
Unacceptability Due to Non-Payment
No application for registration shall be acceptable if it is not accompanied by a
document attesting payment of the application and publication fees.
Article 10
Filing Date
The Organization shall grant as the filing date the date of receipt of the application,
written in one of its working languages, by the Ministry responsible for industrial property or
by the Organization, provided that, at the time of receipt, the application contains
(a) an express or implicit indication that registration of a layout-design is requested;
(b) information whereby the identity of the applicant may be established;
(c) a copy or drawing of the layout-design;