REGISTRATION OF DESIGNS

What is a Design? 

 

A design is defined by the Patents and Designs Act (Act XVII of 2000 – Chapter 417 of The Laws of Malta) to be the appearance of the whole or part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and, or materials of the product itself and, or its ornamentation. A design is protected by a design right under the Act to the extent that it is new and has individual character. A design is considered novel if no identical design has been made available to the public before the date of filing of the design or from the date of priority, where applicable. A design has individual character if the overall impression it produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such user by any design which has been made available to the public before the date of application or date of priority. 

 

Documents Required 

 

An application for the registration of a new design should be accompanied by: 

 

(i) the design which is the subject of the application which could include drawings which the applicant considers useful for the proper comprehension of his invention; 

 

(ii) a short description of the design, showing shortly, but with precision, its main characteristics; and 

 

(iii) where the applicant is not present in Malta, a Power of Attorney issued into our favour with the signatures thereon attested by a notary and then duly legalised with the Apostille on the reverse side according to the Hague Convention, or duly legalised by a Diplomatic or Consular Representative of Malta. 

 

Duration of Registration 

 

The term of protection of a registered design is of 5 years which start to run from the date of filing of the application in Malta. The right holder may have the term of protection renewed for one or more periods of 5 years each, up to a total term of 25 years from the filing date.