WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/ATG/D/1
13 February 2002
(02-0744)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English/
anglais/
inglés
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Industrial Designs Bill 2001, as notified by
Antigua and Barbuda under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see doc ument IP/N/1/ATG/1).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
ANTIGUA-ET-BARBUDA
Le présent document contient le texte1 du projet de loi sur les dessins et modèles industriels,
2001, notifié par Antigua et Barbuda au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document
IP/N/1/ATG/1).
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de PropiedadIntelectual relacionados con el Comercio
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
ANTIGUA Y BARBUDA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto
1 del proyecto de ley de dibujos y modelos
industriales de 2001, que Antigua y Barbuda notificó de conformidad con lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2
del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase el documento IP/N/1/ATG/1).
                                                     
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 2
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS ACT
NO     OF 2001
BILL FORAN ACT  to make provision for the protection and re gistration of industria l designs and other
purposes related thereto
[]
ENACTED by the Parliament of Antigu a and Barbuda as follows –
Short title 1. (1)  This Act may be c ited as the Industrial Designs Act 2001.
and Commencement.
    (2)  This Act comes into force on a date to be fixed by the
 Minister by Order published in the Gazette.
Interpretation. 2.  In this Act,
“Court” means the High Court;
“International Classificati on” means, as regards
industrial designs, the classification according to theLocarno Agreement Establishing an InternationalClassification for Industria l Designs, of October 8,
1968, as last revised;
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for
intellectual property;
“Paris Convention”  mean s the Paris Convention for
the Protection of I ndustrial Property of
March, 20, 1883, as last revised;
“register” means the Register of Industrial Designs
referred to in section 16;
“Registrar” means the Regi strar appointed under the
Registrar of Intellectual Property Act 2001;
“regulations” means the regulations made pursuant to
section 24.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 3
Definition of                3.(1)  Fo r the purposes of this Act, any composition of lines
“Industrial Design” or colors or any three-d imensional form, whether or not associated
with lines or colors, is deemed to be an industrial design, provided that
such composition or form gives a special appearance to a product ofindustry or handicraft and can serve as a pattern for a product ofindustry or handicraft.
(2) The protection under this Act does not extend to anything in an
industrial design which serves solely  to obtain a technical result and to
the extent that it leaves no freedom as regards arbitrary features ofappearance.
Registrable                  4.(1)  An industrial design is registrable if it is new.
Industrial Designs
(2) An industrial design sha ll be new if it has not been disclosed to the
public, anywhere in the world, by publication in tangible form orby use or in any other way, prior to the filing date or, whereapplicable, the priority date of  the application for registration.
(3)  For the purposes of subsection (2), disclosure to the public of an
industrial design shall not be taken into cons ideration if it
(a) occurred within twelve months preceding the
filing date or, where applicable, the priority dateof the application; and
(b)   if it was by reason or in consequence of acts
committed by the applicant or his predecessor intitle or of an abuse committed by a third partywith regard to the applicant or his predecessor intitle.
(4)  An industrial design that is c ontrary to public order or morality is
not registrable.
Right to Registration 5.(1)  The righ t to registration of an industrial
of Industrial Design; design sh all belong to the creator.
Naming of Creator
(2)  If two or more persons have jointly created an
industrial design, the right to registration of that design
shall belong to them jointly.
(3)  If and to the extent to which two or more
persons have created th e same industrial design
independently of each other, the person whoseapplication has the earliest filing date or, if priority isclaimed, the earliest validly claimed priority date shallhave the right to register the industrial design, as longIP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 4
as the application is not withdrawn, abandoned or
rejected.
(4)  The right to the registration of an industrial
design may be assigned, or may be transferred bysuccession.
(5)  Where an industrial design is created in
execution of an employment contract, the right toregistration of the industrial design shall belong, in the
absence of contractual provisions to the contrary, to theemployer.
(6)  The creator shall be named as such in the
registration of the industrial design, unless in a special
written declaration signed by him and addressed to theRegistrar he indicates that he wishes not to be named.
(7)  Any promise or undertaking by the creator
made to any person to the effect that he will make sucha declaration referred to in subsection (6) shall bewithout legal effect.
Application 6.(1)  The application for registration of an industrial
design shall be filed with  the Registrar and shall
contain a request, drawings, photographs or otheradequate graphic repres entations of the article
embodying the industrial design and an indication ofthe kind of products for whic h the industrial design is
to be used.
(2)  The application may be accompanied by a
specimen of the article embodying the industrial
design, where the industrial design is two-dimensional.
(3)  Where the applicant is not the creator, the
request shall be accompanied by a statement justifyingthe applicant’s right to the registration of the industrialdesign.
(4)  Two or more industrial designs may be the
subject of the same applica tion, provided they relate to
the same class of the International Classification or tothe same set or composition of articles.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 5
(5)  The application, at the time of filing, may
contain a request that the publication of the industrial
design, upon registration, be deferred for a period notexceeding 12 months from the date of filing or, ifpriority is claimed, from the date of priority, of the
application.
(6)  The applicant may withdraw the application at
any time during its pendency.
(7)  The application shall be subject to the
payment of the prescribed application fee.
Right of Priority 7  .(1)  The ap plication may contain a declaration
claiming the priority, as provided for in the ParisConvention, of one or more earlier national, regional or
international applications filed by the applicant or hispredecessor in title in or for any State party to thatConvention, or Member of the World TradeOrganization.
(2)  Where the application contains a declaration
under subsection (1), the Registrar may request that theapplicant furnish, within the prescribed time limit, acopy of the earlier application certified as correct bythe Office with which it was filed; and the effect of thedeclaration shall be as provided in the ParisConvention.
      (3)  If the Registrar finds that the requirements
under this section and the Regulations pertaining to adeclaration have not been fulfilled, the declaration shallbe considered not to have been made.
Filing date and Examination. 8  .(1)  The Registrar shall accord as the filing
date the date of receipt of the application, provided
that, at the time of receipt, the application containsindications allowing the identity of the applicant to beestablished and the require d graphic representation of
the article embodying the industrial design.
(2)  If the Registrar finds that the application did not,
at the time of receipt, fulfill the requirements referredto in subsection (1), he shall invite the applicant to filethe required correction and shall accord as the filingdate the date of receipt of  the required correction, but if
no correction is made, the a pplication shall be treated
as if it had not been filed.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 6
(3)  After according a filing date, the Registrar shall
examine whether the application complies with therequirements of sections 6(1), (2), (3) and (7) and whetherthe application fee has been paid
(4)  The Registrar shall examine whether the
industrial design complies with the requirements of
Sections 3 and 4(4).
Registration and Publication     9.   (1)  Where the Registrar finds that the conditions
referred to in sections 8(3) and (4) are fulfilled, he shallregister the industrial design, publish a reference to theregistration and issue to the applicant a certificate ofregistration of the industrial de sign;  otherwise, he shall
refuse the application.
(2)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), where a request
has been made under Section 6(5) for deferment ofpublication, upon registration of the industrial design,neither the representation of the design nor any filerelating to the application shall be open to publicinspection; and the Registrar shall publish a mention ofthe deferment of the publication of the industrialdesign and information identifying the registeredowner, and indicating the filing date of the application,the length of the period for which deferment has beengranted and any other prescribed particulars.
(3)  At the expiry of the period of deferment, the
Registrar shall publish the registered industrial design.
(4)  The institution of legal proceedings on the basis of
a registered industrial design during the period ofdeferment of publication sh all be subject to the
condition that the information contained in the Registerand in the file relating to the application has beencommunicated to the person against whom the action isbrought.
Rights conferred by 10.  (1)  The expl oitation of a registered industrial
Registration. design in Antigua a nd Barbuda by persons other than
the registered owner shall require the agreement of thelatter.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 7
(2)  For the purposes of this Act, “exploitation” of a
registered industrial design means the making, sellingor importation for commerc ial purposes, of articles
bearing or embodying a design which is a copy, orsubstantially a copy of the industrial design.
(3)  The rights conferred by registration of an industrial
design shall not extend to acts in respect of articleswhich have been put on the market in Antigua andBarbuda by the registered owner of the industrialdesign or with his consent.
(4)  The registered owner of an industrial design shall,
in addition to any other rights, remedies or actionsavailable to him, have the right to institute courtproceedings against any person who infringes theindustrial design by performing, without hisagreement, any of the acts referred to in subsection (2)or who performs acts which make it likely thatinfringement will occur.
Duration and Renewal 11.(1)  The regist ration of an industrial design shall
of Registration. be for a period of five years from the filing date of the
application for registration.
(2) The registration may be renewed for two further
consecutive periods of five years through the paymentof the prescribed fee.
(3) A period of grace of si x months shall be allowed
for the late payment of the renewal fee on payment ofthe prescribed surcharge.
Surrender of Registration 12.   The owner of a registered industrial design may
surrender it by written declaration to the Registrar whoshall record the surrender in  the Register and publishit; and the surrender shall have effect from the date onwhich it is recorded.
Invalidation 13 .(1)  Any interest ed person may apply to the Court
to invalidate the registration of an industrial design.
(2)  The court shall invalidate the registration if the
person requesting the invalidation proves that any ofthe requirements of Sections 3 and 4 is not fulfilled orif the registered owner of the industrial design is notthe creator or his successor in title.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 8
(3)  Any invalidated registration of an industrial
design, or part thereof, shall be regarded as null andvoid from the date of the registration.
(4)  The final decision of th e court shall be notified to
the Registrar who shall record it and publish areference to it  as soon as practicable.
Changes in Ownership 14.  (1)  Any change in the ownership of the
registration of an industrial design, or in the ownership
of an application therefor, shall be in writing and shall,at the request of any interested party made to theRegistrar, be recorded and, except in the case of anapplication, published by the Registrar.
(2)  A change under subsection (1) shall be of no effect
against third parties until it has been recorded.
Licence Contracts 15.  (1)  Any licen ce contract concerning a registered
industrial design, or an a pplication therefor, shall be
submitted to the Registrar who shall keep its contentsconfidential but shall record  it and publish a reference
to it.
(2)  A licence contract shall be of no effect against
third parties until it has been submitted to the Registrarin accordance with subsection (1).
Agents 16.  Where an applicant’s ordinary residence or
principal place of business is outside Antigua andBarbuda, he shall be represented by an Attorney atLaw resident and practisin g in Antigua and Barbuda.
Register. 17.(1) The Registrar sha ll maintain a separate register
for industrial designs and all the recordings providedfor in this Act shall be effected in that register.
(b)  The register may be consulted by any person,
and any person may obtain extracts therefrom, underthe conditions prescribed in the Regulations.
(2)  The Registrar  shall publish in the Gazette  all the
publications provided for in this Act.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 9
Corrections of Errors 18.  The Registrar may, subject to any
provision in the Regulations, correct any errorof translation or transcrip tion, clerical error or mistake
in any application or documen t filed with the Industrial
Property Registry or in any recording effected pursuantto this Act or the Regulations.
Extension of time 19.  (1) If the Registrar is satisfied that the
circumstances justify it, he may, upon receiving awritten request, extend the time for doing any act ortaking any proceeding under this Act and theRegulations, upon notice to th e parties concerned and
upon such terms as he may direct.
(2)  An extension under subsecton (1) may be granted
though the time for doing the act or taking theproceeding has expired.
Exercise of 20.  The Registrar shall give any party to a
Discretionary proceeding before him an opportunity of beingPowers heard before exercisi ng adversely to that party
any discretionary power vested in him by this Act orthe Regulations.
Competence of 21.(1)  The Court shall have jurisdiction
Court; Appeals in cases of dispute relating to the application
of this Act and the Regulations and in matters whichunder this Act are to be referred to the court.
(2)  Any decision taken by the Registrar under this Act, in
particular the registration of an industrial design or the refusal of
an application for such a registration, may be the subject of an
appeal by any interested party before the  Court and such appeal
shall be filed within two months of the date of the decision.
Infringement and 22.(1)  Subject to  Section 10 (3), an infringement
Offences. shall consist of the performance of any act
referred to in Section 10 in Antigua and Barbuda by aperson other than the owner of the title of protectionand without the agreement of the latter.
(2)  On the request of the owner of the registered
industrial design, or of a li censee if he has requested
the owner to institute court proceedings for a specificrelief and the owner has refu sed or failed to do so, the
court may grant an injunction to prevent infringement,or an imminent infringement, award damages and grantany other remedy provided for in the general law.IP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 10
(3)  Any person who knowingly performs an act which
constitutes an infringement as defined in subsection (1)is guilty of an offence and liable on summaryconviction to a fine of $50,000 or to imprisonment fora term of 3 years.
Application of 23.  The provisions of any interna tional treaties
International in respect of industrial property to which
Treaties Antigua and Ba rbuda is a party shall apply to matters
dealt with by this Act a nd, in case of conflict with
provisions of this Act, sh all prevail over the latter.
Regulations. 24.(1)  The Minist er may make such regulations
as are required for better administration of this Act,and in particular, the Mini ster may make regulations
(a) prescribing any matter required or
authorized by the Act to be prescribed;
(b) prescribing the fees in respect of
applications for the registration of industrialdesigns and any surcharge payable under the Actand matters related thereto; and
(c) requiring the payment of a fee in respect of
the filing , examination or copying of anydocument or in respect to any action that theRegistrar is required or authorized to take underhis Act .
Repeals; 25.(1)  The United King dom Designs (Protection) Act
is repealed.
 (2)  A person who on the date of entry into
Transitional force of this Act is  the proprietor of an industrial
Provisions design that has been registered in the United Kingdom
or has filed an applica tion for registration of an
industrial design in the United Kingdom may, within12 months from the entry into force of this Act, file anapplication for the registra tion of the same industrial
design under this Act; and such application shall be
accorded the filing date or, where priority has beenclaimed, any priority date accorded to the application,grant or registration in the United KingdomIP/N/1/ATG/D/1
Page 11
Passed the House of Representatives this Passed the Senate this
                     Day of                     2001     day of        2001
                         Speaker            President
  Clerk to the House of Repres entatives    Clerk to the Senate
__________