Designs and Models

– Law No. 2417 of July 3, 1996.
– Presidential Decree 259/97, effective as of September 19, 1997.
– Directive 98/71/EC implemented with Presidential Decree 161/2002, effective from October 28, 2001.
– Council Regulation 6/2002/EC on Community Designs.

Membership in International Conventions

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since March 4, 1976.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act since July 15, 1976.
– Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Stockholm Act since April 18, 1997, and Geneva Act as of February 13, 2024.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since May 18, 1985.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, implemented since January 1, 1996.
– Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs, since September 4, 1999.

Filing

Right to the design and model: belongs to the designer or his successors in right. Documentation reflecting the form of succession is required if the designer is an employee of the applicant or if the designer has assigned his/her rights to the applicant.

Protection: to the extent that a design or model is absolutely new within the Community and has an individual character. Component part designs are considered to be new and endowed with individual character if they are visible during the normal use of the product and to the extent that the visible features of the component part fulfill, in themselves, the requirement as to novelty and individual character.

Novelty: absolute novelty within the European Union.

Novelty grace period: novelty is not destroyed if the design was made known to the public within twelve months prior to the filing of the application with the Hellenic Patent and Trademark Office (OBI).

Exhibition exception: the novelty of the design is not jeopardized when the design was shown during an international exposition (according to the Paris Convention concerning international expositions) no earlier than six months preceding the filing of the design application in Greece. In this case the applicant should state that the design has been so displayed and should file the relevant supporting certificate when filing the design application.

Multiple applications: of up to fifty designs are acceptable, provided that the goods to which they will be incorporated belong to the same subclass.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney, simply signed by the applicant;
2. Graphic representation or original photograph in quadruplicate (max. size: 16 x 16 cm);
3. Priority documents, if claimed;
4. Documentation regarding succession, if applicable, either notarized or legalized by Apostille. For U.S. applicants a certified copy of the U.S. assignment is sufficient.

Priority: must be claimed within six months of the priority date.

Electronic filing: obligatory. 

Electronic signatures: are accepted if in accordance with the provisions of the eIDAS regulation and bear the related format. Further, scanned copies of wet signed documents are accepted and the subsequent submission of the original is not required, however, it is advisable to keep the original in case the relevant authority requests it at a later date.

For a change of name or address:
1. An extract from the Register of Commerce or any other official certificate issued by a competent authority reflecting the change, legalized by Apostille (a scanned copy is accepted, however, the original may be requested at a later date);
2. Power of attorney, simply signed.

Examination Procedure

The application is examined only as to formal requirements.

Granting

Delivery of document: the registration certificate is issued in electronic format. A simple copy of the title may be issued at no cost, and a certified copy may be obtained on demand, with the payment of a fee.

Ownership: registration of a design is a prima facie evidence of ownership.

Duration – renewal: registration of a design confers upon its holder the exclusive right to use that design for a maximum period of twenty-five years, subject to renewal every five years.

Assignments – licenses: must be recorded with the Greek Industrial Property Organization.

Miscellaneous

Deferred publication: possible upon payment of additional fees. Publication may be deferred for a maximum period of twelve months from the filing of the related design application.