– Law on Legal Protection of Industrial Designs, in force since November 13, 2017.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as of December 25, 1991,
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, as of March 1, 1995.
– Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs, as of June 7, 2006.
– Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Geneva Act, as of March 16, 2016.

Applicant: individuals or legal entities.

Foreigners: enjoy the same rights as nationals; must appoint a Turkmen agent.

Kind of protection: patents (15 years validity).

Patentability: designs are examined according to the criteria of novelty, originality and industrial applicability.

Novelty: the essential features of a new design must not be known in word prior to the priority date "international novelty". 

Not registrable: designs resulting from the technical function of the article; which are contrary to the public interest or morality; those related to structural forms, with the exception of minor architectural forms; printing products as such; articles having unstable shape, such as liquid, gaseous or bulk substances.

Priorities: according to the Paris Convention.

Territory covered: Turkmenistan.

Filing requirements for an application(to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney (must bear applicant’s seal or stamp; if not available, the power must be notarized);
2. Photographs and drawings;
3. Specification of the design;
4. Priority document (if any).

Minimum requirements on filing date: photographs and drawings.

Term for filing the missing documents: two months.

Electronic filing: not yet possible. 

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures).

For a change of name or address:
1. Original document confirming the changes, e.g. affidavit or other document executed on the owner's original color letterhead, bearing the owner's seal or stamp;
2. Power of attorney (must bear owner's seal or stamp; if not available, the power must be notarized).

Examination: a formal examination and a complete examination.

The formal examination is carried out three months after the filing date.

The complete examination regarding the criterion of "international novelty" is carried out six to seven months after the filing date. 

Amendments and corrections: possible; voluntary within two months following the filing date, as well as during the examination (if no essential modifications are introduced).

Publication: six months after the registration, in the Patent Office Gazette.

License rights, opposition and invalidation are regulated in the same manner as for “patents“.

Delivery of document: the design patent certificate is issued in paper format only.

Duration/extension: maximum fifteen years from the filing date (initially valid for five years as of the filing date of the application, extendible for two additional terms of five years each, subject to payment of the established renewal fee). 

Annuities: no longer required.