Industrial Designs

– Law on Industrial Designs, effective as of July 1, 2021.

Membership in International Conventions

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since April 22, 1993.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since May 17, 1994.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), party since August 14, 1994.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since February 5, 2003.
– Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs, since July 13, 2007.
– Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Geneva Act, since July 13, 2007.
– Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention, since March 17, 2021.

Filing

Applicant: natural persons or legal entities.

Foreigners: enjoy the same rights as nationals; must appoint an Armenian agent.

Kinds of designs: industrial designs (or combinations thereof) which are new, original and industrially applicable.

Novelty: the essential features of a design must not be known in Armenia or abroad prior to the priority date.

Novelty grace period: twelve months.

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 liquids, gaseous or bulk substance.

Priorities: according to the Paris Convention.

Territory covered: the Republic of Armenia.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney, signed by director/president/CEO of the company and certified with the company seal/stamp (if available). If signed by another authorized person, his/her authority must be notarized;
2. Photographs and drawings;
3. Specification of the design;
4. Priority document (if any).

Electronic filing: available, however filing fees are not reduced. 

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures). Further, any original signed document must either be filed with the application or later within two months from the official notification date.

For a change of name:
1. A certified document (such as an extract from the Companies Register);
2. Power of attorney.

For a change of address:
1. Power of attorney with the new address. It must be signed by director/president/CEO of the company and certified with the company seal/stamp (if available). If signed by another authorized person the document must be notarized. Please note that the Notary Public must certify both the authenticity of the signer and his power to sign the document on behalf of the company according the Statute of the company. Legalization is not required.

Examination Procedure

Examination: includes formal examination to establish priority date; preliminary examination to check the accuracy of the application and all documents; and substantial examination according to the information available to the Examiner.

Amendments and corrections: possible; voluntary during the whole examination or within two months following the receipt of inquiry from examination (if no essential modifications are introduced).

Conversion into a patent: impossible.

Publication: after registration, in the Patent Office “Industrial Property” Official Gazette.

Granting and Duration

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

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

Duration: up to twenty-five years from the filing date with possibility of renewal within each five-year term.