What is Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll.?

Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll., on the Protection of Industrial Designs and amending Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on Inventions, Industrial Designs and Improvements, as amended — Act on the Protection of Industrial Designs and Amendment to Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on Inventions, Industrial Designs and Improving Proposals, as amended.

When it became Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll. effectiveness?

Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll. became effective 01.10.2000.

Is Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll. still valid?

Yes, Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll. is still valid and effective.

How many times was it Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll. amended?

Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll. has 12 time versions of the text.

Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll. - Act on the Protection of Industrial Desi...

207

THE LAW

of 21 June 2000

on the protection of industrial designs and amending Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on inventions, designs and improvements, as amended

Parliament has decided on this law of the Czech Republic:

ČÁST PRVNÍ

PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL SAMPLES

HLAVA I

PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL SAMPLES

§ 1

(1) Industrial designs which fulfil the conditions of this Act are registered by the Industrial Property Office (hereinafter the Office).

(2) The provisions of this Act shall be without prejudice to the protection afforded to identical subjects under copyright, civil law, trademark rights or other specific legislation, as appropriate.

§ 2

Definition of terms

For the purposes of this Act:

(a) an industrial model of the appearance of the product or part thereof, consisting mainly of the marks of the lines, contours, colours, shape, structure or materials of the product itself or of its decoration;

(b) an industrial or craft article, including components intended to be assembled into a single composite product, packaging, treatment, graphic symbol and typographic character, with the exception of computer programs;

(c) a composite product consisting of several components which may be replaced and which allow the product to be dismantled and reassembled;

(d) the author of the industrial design who created the industrial design by his own creative activity, the co-author of the industrial design who participated in the creative activity in which the industrial design was created.

§ 3

Conditions of protection

(1) An industrial design is eligible for protection if it is new and individual in nature.

(2) An industrial design applied to a product which constitutes a component of a composite product or an industrial design embodied in such a product shall be considered as new and having an individual character only if:

(a) if the component remains visible even after incorporation into the composite product in normal use of the product; and

(b) if the visible features of the component themselves satisfy the requirement of novelty and individual character.

(3) Current use within the meaning of paragraph 2 (a) means end-user use, with the exception of maintenance, service and repair work.

§ 4

Novost

The design shall be considered new if the same design has not been made available to the public before the filing date or the priority date. Industrial designs shall be considered to be identical if their characteristics differ only impartially.

§ 5

Individual nature

(1) An industrial design shows an individual character if the overall impression it gives to an informed user differs from that of an industrial design which has been made available to the public before the date of application or the date of priority.

(2) When assessing the individual nature of an industrial design, account shall be taken of the degree of freedom enjoyed by the producer in developing the industrial design.

§ 6

Public access

(1) For the purposes of the assessment referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5, an industrial design shall be deemed to have been made available to the public, if it has been published on the basis of registration or issued, used in trade or otherwise made public, except where disclosure could not have been known in professional circles within the European Communities and specialised in the field in question during normal business activities prior to the date of filing of the application or the date of priority. However, an industrial design shall not be considered to be made available to the public if it has been informed by a third party under the express or presumed confidentiality condition.

(2) For the purposes of the assessment of Sections 4 and 5, a case where an industrial design for which protection is sought has been made available to the public by the originator of the industrial design, by his successor in title or by a third party as a result of the information or conduct provided by the originator of the industrial design or by his successor in title, shall not be considered to be made available to the public, within 12 months of the date of filing of the application or the date of priority.

(3) The provisions of paragraph 2 shall also apply where an industrial design has been made available to the public as a result of an abuse of relation to the producer of the industrial design or his legal successor.

§ 7

Industrial models of the technical function and industrial models of interconnections

(1) When assessing the eligibility of an industrial design for registration, the marks which are predetermined by the technical function of the industrial design shall not be taken into account.

(2) When assessing the eligibility of an industrial design for registration, no account shall be taken of signs which must necessarily be reproduced in a precise shape and dimensions so that the product in which the design is incorporated or on which it is applied can be mechanically linked to or placed in another product, around it, so that both products can perform their functions.

(3) The provisions of paragraph 2 shall not apply where the purpose of an industrial design which otherwise fulfils the conditions of Sections 4 and 5 is to enable multiple assembly or combination of interchangeable products within the construction works system.

§ 8

Opposition with public policy or good manners

The Office shall not register an industrial design contrary to the principles of public policy or to good manners.

§ 9

The Office will not register an industrial design if the same industrial design is already registered in the Czech Republic with the former right of priority.

§ 10

Scope of protection

(1) The scope of protection is determined by the representation of the industrial design as recorded in the Register (§ 38), except for the characteristics which are predetermined by the technical function of the industrial design, or by the characteristics which must necessarily be reproduced in a precise form and dimensions, so that the product in which the industrial design is incorporated or on which it is applied can be mechanically linked to another product or placed in another product, around it or against it so that both products can perform their functions. The scope of protection resulting from the registration of an industrial design shall include any industrial design which does not give a different overall impression to the informed user.

(2) When assessing the scope of protection, account shall be taken of the degree of freedom enjoyed by its originator in the development of an industrial design.

§ 11

Start and duration of protection

(1) The protection of the registered industrial design lasts 5 years from the date of filing of the application.

(2) The owner of the registered industrial design may renew that period of protection repeatedly, by 5 years each, up to a total period of 25 years from the date of filing of the industrial design application.

(3) An application for renewal may be lodged during the last year of the five-year period concerned, at the latest on the date which corresponds to the date of filing of the application for an industrial design. With the application, the owner of the industrial design shall be obliged to pay an administrative fee in accordance with a specific legislation. 1) If the fee is not paid, the application has not been lodged.

(4) In the absence of an application pursuant to paragraph 3, the owner shall be entitled to submit it within 6 months of the date on which it was to be submitted at the latest. In such a case, he shall be required to pay the applicable fee for the application at twice the amount. Where an application is not submitted within that additional period, or where the administrative fee is not paid at the amount requested, the protection of the design shall cease on the date on which the application was to be lodged at the latest in accordance with paragraph 3.

(5) The rights of third parties who, after the expiry of the period for the application for renewal of the industrial design referred to in paragraph 3, have entered into good faith with or have made serious and effective preparations for the use of the industrial design shall not be affected by the renewal carried out on the basis of an additional application for renewal.

HLAVA II

RIGHT TO INDUSTRIAL SAMPLING

§ 12

Right to an industrial design

(1) The right to an industrial design is conferred on the originator or his successor in title. The co-producer shall have the right to an industrial design within the scope of his or her share in the creation of an industrial design.

(2) An application for an industrial design is entitled to be filed by the right holder (the applicant).

Employee industrial design

§ 13

(1) Where the originator has created an industrial design for the performance of a task arising from an employment relationship, from a Member State or from another similar relationship (hereinafter referred to as "employment relationship"), the right to an industrial design shall pass on to the originator of the creation of an industrial design (hereinafter referred to as "contracting authority") unless otherwise provided by the contract. This is without prejudice to the right to originality.

(2) The originator who has created an industrial design under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 must immediately inform the contracting authority in writing of this fact and transmit to him the documents necessary for the assessment of the industrial design.

(3) If, within 3 months of notification of the creation of an industrial design against the originator, the contracting authority does not exercise the right to an industrial design, that right shall be transferred back to the originator. The contracting authority and the originator shall, within that period, maintain confidentiality regarding the industrial design vis-à-vis third parties. The contracting authority shall maintain confidentiality regarding the industrial design for one month from the date on which the right to the industrial design was transferred to the originator.

(4) The originator who has created an industrial design in an employment relationship to which the contracting authority has claimed entitlement has the right to an appropriate remuneration against the contracting authority. When determining the level of remuneration, the benefit obtained by the use of an industrial design or other application thereof shall be taken into account, taking into account the material contribution of the contracting authority to the creation of an industrial design and the extent of the award by the originator. If the remuneration already paid is placed in a manifest disagreement with the benefit achieved by subsequent use or other application of the industrial design, the originator shall be entitled to an additional settlement.

§ 14

The rights and obligations arising from the provisions of Paragraph 13 shall remain unaffected after the termination of the contract between the originator and the contracting authority.

§ 15

Disputes over the right to an industrial design

(1) Disputes concerning the determination of the right to an industrial design are decided by the courts. (2)

(2) An action for the designation of an authorised applicant or owner of a registered industrial design may be brought within 2 years of the registration of the industrial design; This does not apply if the applicant has not acted in good faith.

§ 16

Withdrawal of protection and transcription

(1) The Office shall, on application, withdraw the protection of the owner of the registered industrial design if it finds by decision of the court that the right to an industrial design within the meaning of Article 12 was not in its place.

(2) An application for the withdrawal of protection referred to in paragraph 1 shall be entitled to lodge only the person who, under the decision of the court, has the right to an industrial design or its successor in title.

(3) At the request of a person who is entitled to the right to protection of an industrial design pursuant to Article 12, the Office shall register that person as the owner of an industrial design. The application for a transcript of the owner of the industrial design shall be supported by a decision of the court.

(4) In the absence of an application for a transcription of the owner of the industrial design referred to in paragraph 3, the Office shall carry out an ex officio removal of the industrial design.

§ 17

Effects of the judgment in the dispute over the right to an industrial design

(1) Following registration in accordance with Article 16 (3) of the licence and other rights granted by the originally registered owner of the industrial design, they shall cease to exist.

(2) Where the registered owner of an industrial design or a third party who has obtained a licence from him for the use of an industrial design has used or made serious preparations for the use of an industrial design before bringing an action pursuant to Article 15 (2), they may continue to use the industrial design if they so request within 2 months of the date on which the authorised owner of the industrial design informs him of the change in the registration of the owner of the industrial design, the conclusion of a non-exclusive licence under normal conditions. This does not apply if the originally registered owner of the industrial design or, where appropriate, the third party who obtained a licence to use it did not act in good faith.

§ 18

The owner of the industrial design shall have the right to appear on the application for an industrial design and to be registered.

HLAVA III

REACTIONS OF THE INDUSTRIAL SAMPLED

§ 19

Rights deriving from registration

(1) The registration of an industrial design provides its owner with the exclusive right to use an industrial design, to prevent third parties from using it without its consent, to give consent to or to transfer the right to an industrial design to other persons. The use of an industrial design shall mean, in particular, the manufacture, offering, placing on the market, import, export or use of the product in which the design is embodied or applied, or the storage of such a product for those purposes.

(2) The rights of the registered industrial design shall apply from the date of filing of the application. If the design has not been published, its owner may exercise the rights of registration against third parties only if the design is not used in good faith.

§ 23

Restrictions on rights deriving from a registered industrial design

(1) Rights deriving from a registered industrial design do not apply to:

(a) negotiations by third parties for non-commercial purposes;

(b) conduct of third parties for experimental purposes;

(c) acts of third parties consisting of reproduction for the purpose of citation or teaching, provided that such acts are compatible with fair commercial practice and are not disproportionate to the detriment of the proper use of the industrial design and that the source is indicated.

(2) Furthermore, the rights deriving from the registered industrial design do not apply to:

(a) the equipment of ships and aircraft registered in another country, if it is temporarily acquired in the Czech Republic,

(b) the importation into the Czech Republic of spare parts and accessories to repair such means of transport;

(c) repair of this means of transport.

§ 24

Exhaust of rights

(1) The rights deriving from the registered industrial design do not apply to the treatment of a product in which the industrial design falling within the scope of protection is embodied or applied when the product has been placed on the market in the Czech Republic by the owner of the registered industrial design or with its consent.

(2) The rights deriving from the registered industrial design shall not apply to the treatment of a product in which the industrial design falling within the scope of protection is embodied or applied when the product has been placed on the market in the European Communities or in another State constituting the European Economic Area by the owner of the registered industrial design or with its consent.

§ 25

Right of the previous user

(1) The rights of the registered industrial design do not affect third parties who can demonstrate that they have started in the territory of the Czech Republic before the date of filing of the application or the date of priority, using an industrial design falling within the scope of protection of the registered industrial design, if the industrial design used has been created independently of the registered industrial design or have made serious preparations for that purpose. Such persons shall be entitled to use an industrial design in their business activities where the previous use has been made or prepared.

(2) The right of the previous user cannot be transferred separately from the undertaking or part thereof to which it relates.

HLAVA IV

ENFORCEMENT AND EXEMPTION OF INDUSTRIAL SAMPLES

§ 26

Termination of the right from a registered industrial design

The right of registered industrial design shall cease if:

(a) the period of protection expires;

(b) the owner of the industrial design renounces it; in that case, the right shall cease to exist on the date on which that fact was indicated in the register. If the industrial design is linked to third party law, the Office shall indicate the demise of the industrial design only after it has received proof from the owner of the industrial design that the third party has been informed of the design owner's intention.

Removal of industrial design

§ 27

(1) The registered industrial model shall be deleted from the Register by the Office,

(a) where the design does not comply with the concept of an industrial design as set out in Article 2;

(b) if the design does not comply with the requirements laid down in Sections 3 to 8 of this Act,

(c) where its owner is not entitled to an industrial design in accordance with § 12;

(d) where an industrial design is already registered or protected with effects in the Czech Republic as an earlier industrial design, but has been made available to the public after the date of priority of the contested industrial design,

(e) where a distinguishing mark is used in an industrial design which, prior to the existence of the right of priority of the industrial design, confers on the proprietor the right to prohibit such use;

(f) where the industrial design constitutes an unjustified use of a work protected under copyright;

(g) where the industrial design constitutes an abuse of one of the elements referred to in Article 6ter of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (hereinafter referred to as the Paris Convention) 3 or of other symbolic features, flags, coats of arms not covered by Article 6ter of the Paris Convention, which, however, constitute a particular public interest in the Member State concerned.

(2) Application for deletion under paragraph 1 (b) (c) be entitled to lodge only a person who, by decision of the court, has the right to lodge an application for an industrial design in accordance with § 12.

(3) An application for erasure referred to in paragraph 1 (d) to (f) may be made only by the person whose rights are affected.

(4) The reasons referred to in paragraph 1 (g) may be invoked only by the natural or legal person affected by the use.

(5) If the registered design is to be deleted in accordance with paragraph 1 (b) or (e) to (g), it may also be partially deleted.

(6) If the appellant demonstrates a legal interest, the removal of an industrial design from the register may be carried out even after its disappearance.

§ 28

The removal of a registered industrial design from the register has the effect that the industrial design is not registered.

§ 29

(1) An application for the removal of a registered industrial design from the Register shall be submitted to the Office in writing. The application for erasure must be substantiated in substance and the evidence on which it is based must be presented at the same time. The reasons for the deletion, including the indication of the evidence invoked by the application, cannot be amended retrospectively.

(2) The Office shall invite the owner of the industrial design to comment on the application within the prescribed time limit.

(3) If the owner of the industrial design does not comment on the proposal for deletion, this shall not prevent the decision on the proposal for deletion.

HLAVA V

INDUSTRIAL MODEL INCLUDED AS A SUBJECT-MATTER

§ 30

Transfer of rights to the registered industrial design

(1) Industrial design rights shall be transferred by a written contract which shall take effect against third parties by registration in the Register of Industrial Designs.

(2) Until such time as the transfer is registered, the successor may not rely on the rights of the registered industrial design against third parties.

§ 31

(1) The registered industrial design may be subject to lien. The lien shall be established by registration.

(2) The registered industrial design may be the subject of enforcement.

§ 32

Licences

(1) The consent (licence) to use the registered industrial design is granted by a licence contract.

(2) Licences may be exclusive or non-exclusive.

(3) The licence contract shall take effect with respect to third parties by registration in the Register of Industrial Designs.

(4) The provisions of the Commercial Code shall apply to licensing agreements and relationships arising therefrom.

§ 33

Co-ownership of an industrial design

(1) Where the rights of a registered industrial design belong to several persons ("joint owners'), the relationships between them shall be governed by the general rules on joint ownership.

(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the joint owners, each of them has the right to use the industrial design.

(3) The agreement of all joint owners shall, unless otherwise agreed, be required to conclude the licence agreement in force; each of the joint owners shall be entitled to exercise claims on infringement or threat of industrial design rights separately.

(4) The transfer of rights to the registered industrial design requires the consent of all joint owners. The co-owner shall be entitled, without the consent of the others, to transfer his share only to one of the co-owners; it may transfer its share to a third party only if no co-owner has accepted a written offer of transfer within one month.

HLAVA VI

INDUSTRIAL SAMPLING PROCEDURE

§ 34

(1) The application for an industrial design shall be submitted in writing to the Office.

(2) An application for a Community design may also be lodged with the Office; (2a) The Office shall indicate on such an application the date of its filing and shall forward it to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (stamps and designs) within 14 days. The applicant is obliged to pay for the transfer of the application the costs associated with the acceptance and transfer of the application in the amount of CZK 500.

§ 35

Application for an industrial design

(1) If an application for an industrial design is to establish a right of priority, it must contain:

(a) an application for registration of an industrial design;

(b) the name and surname or business name of the applicant and the address of the permanent residence or place of business, if the applicant is a natural person, and the business name or registered office, if the applicant is a legal person;

(c) a representation of each industrial design from which registration is requested in the application, from which the nature of the industrial design can be clearly recognised and which can be reproduced.

(2) The application shall also contain:

(a) the name of the industrial design;

(b) the designation of the product in which the design is embodied or applied, including its classification according to the relevant classes of the international classification of designs, 4)

(c) the name and surname of the originator of the industrial design and, where appropriate, the declaration by the applicant that the originator is waived the right to be indicated.

(3) The application may also contain:

(a) a description which explains the picture,

(b) a request for a deferral of publication of an industrial design pursuant to Paragraph 38 (4).

(4) The application may contain an application for registration of one industrial design (simple application for industrial design) or an application for registration of several industrial designs (multiple application for industrial design). With the exception of industrial designs consisting of decoration, a collective application for an industrial design may cover only industrial designs belonging to one class of international industrial design classification.

(5) The aggregate application for an industrial design must contain a list of the industrial designs to be registered.

(6) The information contained in the application for an industrial design referred to in paragraph 2 (a) and (b) and paragraph 3 (a) does not affect the scope of protection resulting from the industrial design itself.

§ 36

Right of priority

(1) The date on which the application for an industrial design is lodged shall give the applicant the right of priority provided that the application contains the particulars referred to in Article 35 (1).

(2) The right of priority resulting from the Paris Convention (3) must be exercised by the applicant within one month of the filing of the application and at the request of the Office within the time limit laid down by it, otherwise the Office shall disregard it.

(3) The right of priority referred to in paragraph 2 may be exercised from an application for industrial design requiring protection in a Member State of the Paris Convention (3) or in a State which is a member of the World Trade Organisation; where the State in which the first industrial design application is filed is not a Contracting Party to the Paris Convention3) or a member of the World Trade Organisation, the right of priority from such submission may be granted only on condition of reciprocity.

§ 37

Examination of industrial design application

(1) The Office shall submit a survey application.

(2) If the application does not contain the particulars referred to in Article 35 (1) and (2), the Office shall invite the applicant to remedy the deficiencies within the prescribed time limit.

(3) Where the deficiencies relate to the formalities referred to in Paragraph 35 (1) which have been removed by the applicant within the prescribed time limit, the date on which the correction was received shall be deemed to be the date on which it was lodged. Otherwise, such an application shall be deemed not to have been filed.

(4) If the applicant does not remedy the deficiencies referred to in Article 35 (2) within the prescribed period, the Office will terminate the application procedure for an industrial design.

(5) The applicant shall be entitled, pending the registration, to distribute a collective application for an industrial design. The right of priority of the original application shall also be maintained for the applications split if they contain only the designs specified in the original application.

(6) If the application does not have an industrial design in accordance with § 2 or if the industrial design which is the subject of the application does not meet the requirements of § 3 to 5 and § 7 to 9, the Office shall reject the application. The application for an industrial design will also be rejected because of a collision with an older identical industrial design with effects on the territory of the Czech Republic, which was made available to the public after the date of filing of the application, or after the date of priority of the application. Before rejecting the application, the applicant shall be allowed to comment on the grounds on which the application is to be rejected.

Citation	Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll., on the Protection of Industrial Designs and amending Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on Inventions, Industrial Designs and Improvements, as amended
Regulation Type	Law
Author	-
Collection	Code of Laws

Date of Promulgation	21.07.2000
Effective from	01.10.2000
Effective until	-
Status	Valid

Act No. 207 / 2000 Coll.

Act on the Protection of Industrial Designs and Amendment to Act No. 527 / 1990 Coll., on Inventions, Industrial Designs and Improving Proposals, as amended

Contents