Industrial Designs
Legal Basis
– Patent Law of July 25, 1997.
Membership in International Conventions
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since December 25, 1995.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since December 25, 1995.
– Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Design, since October 14, 2003.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since March 2, 2005.
– Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Geneva Act, since December 8, 2010.
– Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention, since March 17, 2021.
Protection
Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney (notarization required only in absence of the applicant’s seal; no legalization);
2. Specification (if not in Russian, preferably in English; to be translated into Azeri);
3. Photographs and drawings;
4. Priority document, if any.
Electronic filing: the Patent Office accepts full electronic filing with electronic version of the PoA and for any other signed documents, but within one month all the electronically filed documents should also be filed in hard paper form.
Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures).
For a change of name or address:
1. Power of attorney reflecting the new name or address (notarization required only in absence of the company seal; no legalization);
2. Certified copy of the change of name or address document.
Applicant: owner or his legal successor.
Foreigners: must appoint a local agent in Azerbaijan.
Protection of foreigners: they enjoy the same rights as Azeri nationals.
Scope of protection: a patent can be granted for an artistic and structural embodiment of an article of manufacture which determines its exteriors.
Patentability: a patent is granted for an industrial design which is new, original and industrially applicable.
Novelty: the claimed industrial design should not have been made available in Azerbaijan and abroad. The originality requirement for industrial design is assessed by reference to the aesthetic characteristics of the article in which it is embodied.
Delivery of document: the industrial design patent certificate is issued in paper format.
Duration: ten years from the filing date; can be extended for additional five years.
Annuities: are due each year starting three years from the filing date.