TITLE V: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS ON INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY
CHAPTER ONE: PROVISIONS RELATING TO
REGISTRATION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY TITLES
APPLICATION
AND
Article 186: Industrial property titles
For the purposes of this Law “industrial property title” means:
1° the patent of invention;
2° the utility model certificate;
3° the registration certificate for an industrial design or model;
4° the registration certificate for a mark or certification sign;
5° the registration certificate for a geographical indication;
6° the registration certificate for a layout-design of integrated circuit.
Article 187: Application for an industrial property title
The industrial property titles shall be granted in order to confer the rights defined by this Law.
Until proof is provided to the contrary, it shall be presumed that the first applicant is also the
true rightful claimant.
For each filing, a filing report, a copy of which shall be sent to the applicant, shall be drawn
up by the empowered authority with a record of each filing, and stating the day and time when
the documents were submitted.
Any application or request relating to the titles defined by this Law shall be made in the two
official languages, French or English, with an official translation in the other language.
Applications may also be submitted in Kinyarwanda.
Article 188: Agent
The applicant whose habitual residence or principal place of business is located outside the
Republic of Rwanda, or any other person so wishing, shall be represented by an industrial
property agent authorized to carry out its profession in the Republic of Rwanda.
In order to carry out, in relation to the empowered authority, any procedure provided for by
this Law, industrial property agents shall receive prior authorization, owing to their
respectability, morality and competence in intellectual property.
Where an application or a request is filed by an agent’s intermediary, the agent shall be duly
accredited in a separate communication known as a “power of attorney” bearing the applicant
or owner’s signature.