Industrial Property Law

Designs are subject to an international administrative classification established by the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs of 8 October 1968, which comprises thirty-two classes (Locarno Pact). If a filing concerns several designs, the products in which these designs are to be incorporated or to which they are to be applied must come under the sam …

Content

Designs are subject to an international administrative classification established by the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs of 8 October 1968, which comprises thirty-two classes (Locarno Pact). If a filing concerns several designs, the products in which these designs are to be incorporated or to which they are to be applied must come under the same class, within the meaning of that agreement (Art. R. 512-3, para. 1, IP Code) . Failing this, the applicant must make several applications. This condition does not apply when the application concerns ornamentation or if it is made in the simplified form provided for in the fifth paragraph of Article L. 512-2 of the Intellectual Property Code.

The declaration of filing must include, failing which it will be rejected, identification of the applicant and a graphic or photographic reproduction of the designs for which appropriation is sought (Art. L. 512-2, para. 2, IP Code). It may include up to one hundred reproductions. It must also include the number of designs concerned, the number of reproductions relating to each identified design, the usual name of the product in which the design is intended to be incorporated or to which it is intended to be applied, and any indication that publication of the application is to be deferred, that the priority right attached to a previous foreign filing is claimed or that a guarantee certificate has been issued under the Law of 13 April 1908, proof of payment of the requisite fees and, if an agent has been appointed, his or her power of attorney, unless such agent is an industrial property attorney or a lawyer (Art. R. 512-3, para. 2, 1° IP Code). On the other hand, reference to the dimensions of a registered design is not a condition for its validity, since a registration is intended to protect the shape, and not the volume, of the design .

Graphic or photographic reproductions are the main element of the registration application as they define the characteristics of the shape of the registered design. They therefore make it possible to determine the exact scope of the rights conferred, to inform third parties of these features  and to make them enforceable against third parties. Reproductions must be of sufficient quality to enable publication in the BOPI (Art. R. 512-8 IP Code). Each reproduction must relate to a single object and represent only that object, to the exclusion of any other object, accessory, person or animal. Explanatory texts, captions or any other indication not forming an integral part of the design are not permitted on or alongside reproductions. Reproductions may be accompanied by a brief description for documentary purposes only . The final content of the reproduction is, if necessary, formatted by the INPI (Art. R. 512-3, al. 2, 2° IP Code). These requirements, introduced by the Decree of 25 February 2004, are not intended to apply to filings implemented prior to their entry into force .

An applicant who wishes to claim a priority right attached to a previous foreign filing, when filing in France, must send the INPI, within three months of filing in France, an official copy of the previous filing and, if applicable, proof of the right to claim priority. Failing this, the priority claim is declared inadmissible. It is also inadmissible if the date of the earlier filing precedes the date of filing in France by more than six months, or if the reproductions attached to the filing do not correspond to those of the earlier filing (Art. R. 512-5 IP Code).

Until the start of technical preparations for publication, the applicant may be authorized, on request, to rectify material errors in the documents filed. The INPI may require justification of the substance of the material error to be corrected and, where applicable, of the nature of the requested correction (Art. R. 512-3-1 IP Code).

The Proposal for a revised Design Package of 28 November 2022 envisages the abolition of the same-class requirement (Art. 27).

TGI Paris, 27 September 2013, LawLex201400001204JBJ.

CA Paris, 3 December 1997, LawLex202200001176JBJ; 3 June 2004, LawLex202200004619JBJ.

CA Paris, 6 April 2005, LawLex202100003862JBJ; 28 January 2004, LawLex202300009294JBJ.

CA Paris, 23 May 2008, LawLex202300008916JBJ.

Industrial Property Law

458. Content

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

458. Content

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise