Essential Facts about Design

1. Why is it necessary to protect a design?
2. What is a design?
3. To which products does industrial design apply?
4. How can an industrial design be protected?
5. How can industrial design be internationally protected?

Design Registration Procedure

1. Who can file an application for design registration?
2. Is it mandatory to appoint an attorney for the filing of the application?
3. When does the procedure for design registration begin?
4. What is a priority right?
5. Which elements should a duly filed application for design registration comprise?
a) A request for design registration
b) A design description
c) A photograph or a drawing of the design
d) A power of attorney
6. What are the stages and duration of the design registration procedure?
7. When has a design been created and how long is its validity period?
8. How to renew the validity of a design?

Other Relevant Questions

1. Can the appearance of a design be subsequently changed in the course of the design registration procedure?
2. What should the applicant do if the name of the applicant is changed, or his address, that is, his name and address, or if the right from the application is assigned to another natural or legal person, during the procedure for design registration?

3. Which applications are examined in an expedited procedure?
As a rule, applications are examined on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the dates of their filing with the Intellectual Property Office. Certain applications, however, may be examined in an expedited procedure, i.e., they can be fast-tracked, but only if the statutory requirements for that have been met.

- Applications for international registration of designs are also examined in an expedited procedure. In such a case, the applicant has to pay an additional fee in the amount of RSD 1,500 for international registration of his design, with mandatory submission of a separate request for international registration.

- Also examined in an expedited procedure are applications which are litigated or with respect to which an inspection supervision procedure has been initiated, at the request of the court or a competent body of the market inspection service. For a request for application examination in an expedited procedure, a special fee has to be paid in the amount of RSD 1,500, with mandatory submission of proof that the fee has been paid.