To register a design in Pakistan you must generally take the following steps: Fill in the prescribed application form i.e., Form 15 provided by the Patent Office including your name, contact details and specimen of design, drawings, and/or photographs of the design(s) in question (standard formats have been specified in the law). You may also be required to file, or have the option of filing, a written description or statement of novelty of the industrial design(s). The description generally needs to be of the design and not of the product to which it has been applied. It should be accurate and adequate in differentiating it from any similar earlier designs. It should cover all the distinctive aesthetic features of the design and should describe which feature(s) is/are the most important. You will also be required to pay the filing fee of Rs. 450/- for one design application.
You may file application yourself or may choose to employ an IP agent to assist you in filing the application and
completing the registration process. In that latter case, you will also have to file a power of attorney in favor of your agent. The Patent Office registers the design after undertaking a substantive examination for checking the existing designs for novelty and/or originality. Once a design is registered, it is entered into the register of designs and a design registration certificate is issued.
Processing an application – step by step The procedure for registration of a design in Pakistan is as follows: –
1. Formal examination: The Patent Office examines the application to ensure that it complies with the administrative requirements (e.g., that all relevant documentation is included and the application fee has been paid). The application number (official receipt) is issued within thirty days.
2. Substantive examination:
Substantive examination of the application is conducted usually within 6 months of the filing date. The results of the examination are sent in writing to the applicant (or his attorney) so that the applicant may respond to and remove any objections raised.
3. Registration Certificate: If no objections are raised after the examination of the application or the objections are successfully removed by the applicant, the design is registered and the registration certificate is issued.
How long does it take to register a design?
The process of registration of an industrial design generally takes 8 to 12 months or longer depending on the time taken by the applicant to respond to objections raised by the design examiner. The applicant gets up to 7 months in aggregate (after obtaining extensions) to respond to official objections.
Source:
ASAD LAW ASSOCIATES
Lahore, Pakistan
www.asadlawassociates.org
