ZIMBABWE
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Design
Forms part of
- ARIPO
- OAPI
- PARIS CONVENTION
- ZIMBABWE
- ARIPO
- OAPI
Paris Convention;
ARIPO (Harare Protocol); and
WTO/TRIPS.
Industrial design means features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation applied to an article by any industrial process or means, being features which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye, but does not include a method or principle of construction or features of shape or configuration which are dictated solely by the function which the article to be made in that shape or configuration has to perform.
No provisions.
In order to be registrable, a design must be new or original. A design is deemed
to be new or original if, before the effective date, the design was not –
- known or used in Zimbabwe by any other person (secret knowledge or use being excluded);
- described or illustrated in a publication inside or outside Zimbabwe;
- registered in Zimbabwe; and
- the subject of a pending application with an earlier effective date and subsequently registered in Zimbabwe.
Novelty is not destroyed by confidential disclosure of the design by the proprietor, by disclosure in bad faith by a third party, by acceptance of a first confidential order for goods bearing the design, or by communication of the design to authorised government personnel. Display of the design at an officially recognised exhibition does not destroy novelty, provided the applicant notifies the Registrar in advance and application is made before or within six months of the opening date of the exhibition.
Design applications are examined as to compliance with formal requirements and substantive examination may be conducted in respect of novelty and originality of the design.
An industrial design endures for an initial period of ten years and may be renewed (on application) for one further five-year term.
Designs must be worked – may be subjected to compulsory licencing if not worked.