WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIOIP/N/1/EST/D/1
6 September 2000
(00-3468)
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
ESTONIA
The present document reproduces the text1 of the Industrial Design Protection Act, as notified
by Estonia under Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/EST/1).
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET REGLEMENTATIONS CONSACREES A LA
PROPRIETE INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIEES AU TITRE
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD
ESTONIE
Le présent document contient le texte1 de la Loi sur la protection des dessins et modèles
industriels, notifiée par l'Estonie au titre de l'article  63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/EST/1).
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO
ESTONIA
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley de Protección de los Diseños y
Dibujos Industriales, notificado por Estonia en virtud del párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véaseel documento IP/N/1/EST/1).
                                                     
1 In English only. The text in the original language is available for consultation by interested
Delegations at the WTO Secretariat./En anglais seulemen t.  Les délégations intéressées peuvent consulter le
texte dans sa langue d'origine, au Secrétariat de l'OM C./En inglés solamente.  Las delegaciones interesadas
podrán consultar en la Secretaría de la OMC el texto en su idioma original.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 2
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN PROTECTION ACT
Passed on 18 November 1997 (RT I 1997, 87, 1466),
entered into force 11 January 1998.
Amended by the following Act (date the Act was passed, publication in the Riigi Teataja(State Gazette), date of entering into force):25.11.1998 (RT I 1998, 108/109, 1783) 16.03.1999
The amended section ends w ith a reference to the Act (date of the Act was passed)
enforcing the current wording.
Part I
GENERALI. GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 1. Scope of application of Act
This Act regulates legal protection in the Repub lic of Estonia of indus trial designs  made in
the field of industrial designs.
§ 2. Legislation providing legal protection of industrial designs
(1) Legal protection of industria l designs shall be provided for in this Act, other Acts, and
regulations based on them and issued for th eir implementation by the Government of the
Republic and the Ministers.(2) Where a legal act providing legal protection of industrial designs is  in conflict with an
international agreement ratified by the Riig ikogu, the provisions of the international
agreement shall be applied.(3) Legal protection of industria l designs provided for in this Act shall be  irrespective of
legal protection provided for in the C opyright Act (RT 1992, 49, 615; 1996, 49, 953).IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 3
§ 3. Equality of rights and obligations of natural and legal persons of the Republic of
Estonia and of foreign statesNatural and legal persons (herei nafter persons) of the Republic  of Estonia and of foreign
states shall be equal in exercising the rights a nd obligations prescribed in this Act and other
legislation regulating the legal protection of industrial designs .
II. BASES FOR LEGAL PROTECTI ON OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
§ 4. Definition of industrial design
(1) An industrial design is a two-dimensi onal or three-dimensional solution of the
appearance of a product.(2) For the purposes of this Act, the solu tion of the appearance of a product is the
composition of the features of the appearance of the product that consists, eitherseparately or in combination, of the fo rm, the configuration, the ornament, the
colour(s), the texture and the material.(3) For the purposes of this Act, a product is an independent product or those spare
parts and components of a product that, be ing assembled into it, remain outwardly
visible in the normal use of that product. Maintenance, service and repairing of a
product shall not be considered as normal use.(4) Industrial design may have  variants. The variants of an industrial design are
such  modifications of an industrial de sign that produce the same overall impression
on a person skilled in the art.(5) An industrial design set is a logical co llection of industrial designs belonging to
the same class according to the Locarno Ag reement establishing an International
Classification for Industrial Designs (RT II 1996, 23, 87), and de signed in the same
manner.(6) For the purposes of this Act, an industr ial design set is considered to be a single
industrial design.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 4
§ 5. Granting of legal prot ection to industrial designs
(1) Legal protection shall be  granted to industrial desi gns that are novel, have an
individual character and enable to manuf acture products of industry or handicraft.
(2) Legal protection shall be granted by registration of  the industrial design in the
State Register of Industrial Designs (herei nafter Register) pursuant to the procedure
provided for in this Act.(3) Scope of legal protection of the industria l design shall be de termined on the basis
of the reproduction of the i ndustrial design entered in th e Register. Legal protection
shall be considered to have been grante d to the industrial design reproduced on the
reproduction. Legal prot ection shall extend also to industrial designs confusingly
similar to the industrial desi gn reproduced on the reproduction.
(4) Legal protection shall be granted to an industrial design set as a whole.
Industrial designs forming the set shall not obtain independent legal protection
separately.(5) Variants of an industrial design shall each be given independe nt legal protection.
§ 6. Novelty of industrial design
(1) An industrial design sha ll be novel if no industrial design identical with or
confusingly similar to it has been made available to the public in the Republic ofEstonia or in a foreign state prior to the filing date of  the industrial design
registration application (herei nafter registration application) or, where priority is
claimed, prior to the priority date. When  determining the novelty of the industrial
design, an industrial design identical with or  confusingly similar to it shall be taken
into account after it has been made ava ilable to the public, if the registration
application of the identical or confusingl y similar industrial de sign was filed earlier
or had an earlier priority date.(2) When determining the novelty of  an  industrial design, the information disclosed
within six  months prior to the filing date  of the registration application or, where
priority is claimed, prior to the priority date, by a person entitled to apply forIP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 5
industrial design registrati on or by another person having obtained information from
the said person, shall not  be taken into account.
§ 7. Individual character of industrial design
(1) An industrial design shall have indi vidual character if it produces a different
overall impression on a person skilled in the art than the impression of an industrialdesign made available to the public in the Republic of Estonia or in a foreign state
prior to the filing date of the registration application or, where priority is claimed,prior to the priority date.(2) In proving individual character, the instructions valid, during the production
period, in respect of the product manufact ured according to the industrial design
shall be taken into account.
§ 8. Disclosure of industrial design
(1) An industrial design is deemed to be  disclosed if it is published in any public
publication or made otherwise ava liable to a large number of people.
(2) Disclosure does not include making an  industrial design available to other
persons as  confidential information.
§ 9. Subjects not protected as industrial designs
Legal protection shall not be grante d to the following industrial designs:
1) industrial designs that serve so lely to obtain a technical result;
2) industrial designs c ontrary to good customs;
3) unstable industrial designs;4) layout-design of integrated circuits;5) industrial designs that c onstitute the spare parts or  components of a product and,
being assembled into it, fail to remain outwardly visible in the normal use of theproduct.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 6
§ 10. Specific cases of legal protection
(1) Industrial designs containing the cont emporary or historical names or their
abbreviations, flags, armorial bearings, em blems, seals, decorations and distinctive
marks, symbols or their elements of the Re public of Estonia or of  its administrative
units, of organisations or f oundations registered in Estoni a, shall be granted legal
protection only with the written consent of a legally competent institution or official.
(2) The following industrial designs shall be  granted legal protection only with the
written consent of a legally competent institution or official:1) industrial designs containing the armorial  bearings, flags or other state emblems,
official signs and hallmarks indicating c ontrol and warranty, or their imitations, of
other states, protected pursuant to Article 6 ter of the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Pr operty (RT II 1994, 4/5, 19);
2) industrial designs containi ng the names or their abbrev iations, armorial bearings,
flags or other emblems of intergovernmental  organisations or any imitation of these
signs which is protected pursuant to Artic le 6ter of the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property.(3) Without the consent of an authorised person, industrial designs containing the
following shall not be protected:1) Family names, ps eudonyms or portraits of well-known persons;
2) names or parts of them  of other legal persons;
3) representations or name s of architectural objects;
4) trademarks that are well-known or regist ered or filed for registration in the name
of another person;5) distinctive signs used on warranty seals and hallmarks;6) names of medicaments.
§ 11. Priority
(1) Priority shall be the prerogative of a person, having filed th e first registration
application, to apply for legal protection for an i ndustrial design. The firstIP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 7
registration application is the registration a pplication first filed for the said industrial
design, irrespective of the country of filing.  The filing date of the first registration
application is considered to be the priority date. From the priority date the personhaving filed the firstregistration application shall have pr erogative over another person who files a
registration application for an identical or confusingly similar in dustrial design later.
(2) Where the registration application has been filed within six months after the
filing date of the first regi stration application, priority  may be established from:
1) the filing date of the firs t registration application in any state party to the Paris
Convention for the Protection of Indus trial Property (convention priority);
2) the filing date of the firs t registration application in a state not party to the Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property provided that the said state
guarantees the same conditions for the person having filed the first registrationapplication in the Republic of Estonia.(3) Priority may be established on the basi s of the registration application filed for
an identical industrial design after the firs t registration application, where the first
registration application, by th e filing date of the later filed registration application,
has been withdrawn, is deemed to be w ithdrawn, its registration has been refused
and it has not been the basis for priority claim.(4) Priority may be established on the basis of several first registration applications.
III. AUTHOR OF INDUSTRIAL  DESIGN AND OWNER OF INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN
§ 12. Author of industrial design
(1) The author of an industrial design sha ll be the natural person who, through his
creative activities, has made the industrial design.(2) Where the industrial design has been made through combined creative activitiesof several natural persons, they shall enjoy co-authorship.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 8
(3) Upon co-authorship the authors shall en joy all the rights conferred by authorship
together, if they have not concluded a written agreement regulating otherwise.(4) Authorship is inalienable and indefinite in time.
§ 13. Rights of Author of Industrial Design
(1) The author of industrial design sh all enjoy the following personal non-property
rights:1) right to demand the disclosure  of his name as the author;
2) right to prohibit the disclosure of his name as the author;3) right to cancel the prohibition of the disclosure of his name at any moment.
(2) The personal non-property rights of th e author of industrial design shall be
inseparable from his person a nd they shall not be transferable during the lifetime of
the author.(3) The property right of the author of indus trial design is the right to a fair share
from the income received from the industria l design. This right may be alienated by
the author and it shall be transferred to the successor.
§ 14. Right to apply for industrial design registration
(1) The right to apply for industrial desi gn registration and to become the owner of
industrial design shall belong to the author  or to the person to whom the author has
transferred the right to apply for industri al design registration or to whom the right
to apply for industrial design  registration has transferred.
(2) In case the industrial design has been made in the course of fulfilling acontractual or duties of employment, th e right to apply for industrial design
registration and to become the owner of  industrial design shall belong to the
employer or to the subscriber unless th e duties of employment or the contract
regulates otherwise.(3) Several persons may apply for i ndustrial design regi stration together.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 9
(4) A person having, pursuant tothis Section,  the right to apply for industrial design
registration, may apply for the registration of an indus trial design complying with
the provisions of Sections 5(1 ), 6, 7 and 10(3) of this Act.
§ 15. Owner of industrial design
The owner of industrial de sign shall be the person w ho enjoys full legal power
(exclusive right) over a registered i ndustrial design and whose name has been
entered in the Register as owner.
§ 16. Rights of owner of industrial design
(1) The owner of industrial design sha ll have exclusive right to manufacture
products according to the industrial design a nd to distribute, sell,  offer for sale or
import, export and store for the afor ementioned purposes products which are
manufactured according to the registered industrial design.
(2) The owner of industrial design shall ha ve the right to prohibit other persons,
without his consent, from manufacturi ng products according to an identical or
confusingly similar industrial design and from distributing, selling and offering forsale or importing, exporti ng and storing for the aforementioned purpose products
which are manufactured according to the registered industrial design.
(3) The owner of industrial design shall have the right to demand the person who
has infringed the rights stipulated in pa ragraph 1 of this Section, to stop the
infringement of the said rights, to eliminate the results of the infringement and tocompensate for the damages.(4) The rights of the owner of industrial de sign may be limited solely in cases and in
order prescribed by law.
§ 17. Proceedings non-infringing rights of owner of industrial design
The following proceedings shall not be cons idered as infringement of the rights of
the owner of industrial design:IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 10
1) the use of the industrial design in th e construction or accessories of aircraft,
water or land vehicles regist ered in other states, when those vehicles temporarily or
accidentally sojourn in the territo ry of the Republic of Estonia;
2) the import into the Republic of Est onia of spare parts and additional devices
manufactured according to the industrial de sign with the purpose of repairing the
aircraft and vehicles mentione d in item 1 of this Section;
3) the private non-commercial use of the industrial design;
4) the non-commercial use of the industr ial design for teaching purposes provided
that the owner of the industrial design has been referred to and the use does not
infringe his interests;5) the use of the industrial design in e xperiments concerning the industrial design
itself;6) the distribution, selling or offering for sale, or the import, export or storing for
the aforementioned purposes of products manufactured according to the industrial
design and put into circulation by the owner of industrial design or with his consent.
§ 18. Right of prior use
(1) Any person who, prior to the fili ng of an industrial design registration
application by another person,  used an identical or confusingly similar industrial
design in the Republic of Estonia in good fa ith and irrespectively of the applicant for
industrial design registration (hereinaft er applicant), or has made significant
arrangements for its use, ma y continue to use the industrial design in the same
manner or may start using it in the intended manner (hereinafter right of prior use).
The use or the arrangements for use shall be considered as done in good faith when
the person concerned was not aware nor shoul d have been aware that a registration
application was intende d to be filed for the industrial design.
(2) The right of prior use may only be tr ansferred to another person together with
the enterprise or the part thereof that is connected with the establishment of the rightof prior use.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 11
(3) For the purpose of this Act, the term “enterprise or part thereof” is understood
in the meaning of Section 5 of the Co mmercial Code (RT I 1995, 26-28, 355; 1996,
52-54, 993; 1997, 16,  258; 48, 774).
Part II
REGISTRATION APPLICAT ION AND ITS PROCESSING
IV. REGISTRATION APPLICATION AND ITS FILING§ 19. Registration application
The registration application may include one  industrial design, the variants of an
industrial design or an  industrial design set.
§ 20. Documents of regi stration application
(1) The registration application sh all contain the following documents:
1) the request for the regist ration of the industrial design;
2) the reproduction of the industrial design;
3) the document certifying the payment of the state fee;4) the power of attorney where the re gistration application is filed through an
Estonian patent attorney or where the applicants have a common representative;
5) where priority is claimed, the documents certifying the priority claim.
(2) The registration application may be ac companied by a description disclosing the
subject matter of the industrial design.(3) Contents and formal requirements of the documents of the registration
application shall be established by the Government of the Republic or, with its
authorisation, by the Minister of Economic Affairs.(4) The documents of the registration appl ication shall be filed in Estonian. The
documents certifying priority claim may be submitted in a foreign language.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 12
§ 21. Request for registration of industrial design
(1) The request for the registration of  the industrial design shall contain:
1) the statement requesting the re gistration of the industrial design;
2) the title of the industrial design;3) where the applicant is a natural person,  the full name and a ddress of residence of
the natural person; where the applicant is  a legal person, the name and address of
location of the legal person;4) information about the obtaining of th e right to apply for industrial design
registration in compliance with the provision s of Section 14(1) and (2) of this Act;
5) the full name and address of residence of the author;
6) where the application is filed through a patent attorney, the full name of the
patent attorney;7) where the applicants have a common re presentative who is a natural person, the
full name of the natural person; where the representative is a legal person, the nameof the legal person;8) where priority is claimed, the priority claim;9) where the applicant wishes to postpone the entering of the industrial design in the
Register, the request for suspension of the processing of the registration application;
10) where the author demands, the prohibi tion of the publication of the full name
and address of residence of the author;11) the address of corres pondence of the applicant;
12) the signature of the applicant, the patent attorney or the common representative.(2) The request for the registration of the industrial design may contain the class and
subclass of the International Classifi cation for Industrial Designs where the
industrial design belongs.
§ 22. Reproduction of industrial design
(1) The reproduction of the industrial design shall give a clear and complete image
of the industrial design.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 13
(2) The reproduction of the industrial design sh all consist of the general view of the
industrial design and of othe r views necessary for giving a clear and complete image
of the industrial design.(3) The reproduction of the industrial de sign shall be photographic or graphic.
(4) The reproduction of the variant of th e industrial design sh all consist of the
general view of the varian t and of other views necessary for giving a clear and
complete image of the vari ant of the industrial design.
(5) The reproduction of the industrial design set shall consist of the general view of
the industrial design set a nd of other views necessary for giving a clear and
complete image of the industrial design set.
§ 23. Documents certifying priority claim
(1) The documents certifying priority claim are the following:1) the certificate of the filing date of the first registration application, issued by thestate administrative agency having received the said registration application;2) the copy of the first regi stration application, the au thenticity of the copy being
proved by the state administrative agency having received the first registrationapplication.(2) During the processing of the registra tion application, the translation into
Estonian of the documents referred to in  paragraph (1) of this Section may be
required.
§ 24. Filing of registration application
(1) The registration application shall be filed with the Estonian Patent Office.
(2) The registration application may be f iled personally or by mail. A registration
application transmitted by telefax or by means of electronic communication shall notbe received.(3) A state fee shall be paid upon filing the registration application.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 14
(4) Where the registration application c ontains more than two variants of an
industrial design, a supplementary state fee shall be paid for each variant starting
from the third.(5) A document certifying payment of the state fee shall be submitted at the date ofreceipt of the registration application or within one month from the date of receipt
of the registration application.(6) The power of attorney shall be submitted on the filing date of the registrationapplication or within two months from the date of receipt of the registration
application.(7) The priority claim shall be submitted on the filing date  of the registrationapplication. The documents certifying the priority claim shall be submitted on thefiling date  of the registra tion application or within nine months from the priority
date.(8) The order for filing registration appl ications shall be established by the
Government of the Republic or, with its authorisation, by the Minister of Economic
Affairs.
§ 25. Representation of applicant
(1) An applicant may independently file  a registration app lication and arrange
matters connected with the applying fo r industrial design re gistration and the
maintaining of the registration, or it may be done through an Estonian patent
attorney resident and citizen of the Republic of Estonia (h ereinafter patent attorney).
The authorities of the patent attorney shall be specified in the power of attorneyissued by the applicant.(2) An applicant residing or located outsi de the Republic of Estonia may file a
registration application himself or thr ough a patent attorney. Further matters
connected with the applying for industrial  design registration and the maintaining of
the registration shall be  arranged solely thro ugh a patent attorney.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 15
(3) Where several applicants file a registration application together, they shall, for
arranging matters connected with the applyi ng for industrial design registration and
the maintaining of the regist ration, appoint a patent atto rney or one of them as a
representative (common representative), w ho is residing or located in the Republic
of Estonia. The authorities of the comm on representative shall be granted in the
power of attorney issued by the applicants.
§ 26. Power of attorney
(1) The power of attorney shall be issued in writing, it may be in free form.(2) The power of attorney shall contain:1) where the applicant is a natural person,  the full name and a ddress of residence of
the natural person; where the applicant is  a legal person, the name and address of
location of the legal person;2) where a patent attorney has been appoint ed, the full name of the patent attorney;
3) where a common representative has been  appointed and where he or she is a
natural person, the full name of the natural person; where the common
representative is a legal person,  the name of the legal person;
4) the scope of the authorities;5) where the authorities are terminal, the term of the authorities;6) the signature of the applicant;7) the place and date of issue of the power of attorney.
V. PROCESSING OF REGISTRATION APPLICATION§ 27. Processor of reg istration application
Proceeding from Article 12(1) of the Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property and fromthis Act, the pr ocessing of registration applications shall
be carried out by the Patent Office.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 16
§ 28. Filing date of registration application and acceptance of registration
application for processing(1) Upon receiving the registration applicatio n, the Patent Office shall mark a note
of reception on each document of the application. The note of reception shallcontain the following:1) the date of receipt of the registration application;2) the consecutive number of receipt of the registration app lication (hereinafter
number of the registration application).
(2) The date of receipt of a registration application filed by mail shall be considered
the date of receiving it at the Patent Office.(3) The filing date of the re gistration application shall be  the date of receiving it at
the Patent Office provided that at the date  of receipt the following have been filed:
1) the statement requesting the re gistration of the industrial design;
2) the reproduction of the industrial design;
3) the name and addr ess of the applicant.
(4) After the filing date of the registra tion application has been established in
compliance with paragraph 3 of this Section and the document certifying the
payment of the state fee has been submitted in compliance with Section 24(5) of thisAct, the Patent Office shall accept the registration application for processing,notifying the applicant of this in writing.(5) Where the applicant must be represen ted in compliance with the provisions of
Section 25 of this Act, the Patent Office shall accept the registration application for
processing after receiving the power of attorney in compliance with Section 26 ofthis Act.(6) An application dossier shall be opene d for each registration application accepted
for processing.(7) The application dossier shall cont ain the documents of the registration
application, correspondence connected with  the processing, documents certifying theIP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 17
payment of the state fee, decisions of  the Patent Office and correspondence
connected with contesting these decisions.
§ 29. Refusal to accept registrat ion application for processing
(1) The Patent Office shall refuse to accep t a registration appli cation for processing
by making a decision to refuse to accept th e registration application for processing
in the following cases:1) the document certifying the payment of  the state fee is missing and it is not
submitted within one month from  the date of receipt of the registration application;
2) the power of attorney is missing and it is not submitted within two months from
the date of receipt of th e registration application.
(2) The applicant shall be notified in writing of a decision to refuse to accept theregistration application for processing and the documents of  the registration
application shall be returned.(3) A decision to refuse toaccept the registration application for processing shallcontain the following:1) the date and place the decision is made;2) the reference to the applicable Acts;3) the grounds for the decision;4) the resolution;5) the procedure and term for contesting the decision;
6) the name and signature of the comp etent official havi ng made the decision.
(4) A decision to refuse to accept the re gistration application for processing shall
become valid at the date when it was made.(5) Where the Patent Office refuses to accept the registration application forprocessing, the state fee shall be refunded.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 18
§ 30. Files of registration applications, access   to and release of information
therefrom(1) The files of registration applications and of  their processing is an organised
collection of information on the documents of  registration applications approved for
processing and on their processing. The files shall contain information on a
registration application and its processing until the application dossier is closed.
(2) Access to the files of re gistration applications and of  their processing as well as
access to the information from the files shall be prohibited. The followinginformation is permitted to release: the title of the industrial design, the number ofthe registration application, th e filing date of the registra tion application, the priority
data, the name of the applicant and the name of the representative of the applicant.(3) Access to the application dossier shall be allowed to the applicant, or to theperson having a written consent issued by the applicant or notified by the applicantin writing of the filing of the registra tion application and has warned of the
applicant’s right to apply for industrial design registration and to become owner of
the industrial design, to the competent offi cial of a state agen cy with supervisory
rights and to the court. The information a bout the author shall not be available from
the application file if the author has prohibited the disclosure of his name.
(4) Fees are charged for the release of in formation from the files with the exception
of release of information to state agencies  with supervisory authority or to a court.
(5) The files shall be established and the payment rates for release of informationfrom the files are determined by the Government of the Republic or, with itsauthorisation, by the Minister of Economic Affairs.
§ 31. Examination of contents and formal requirements of documents of
registration applications accepted for processing(1) The Patent Office shall examine:1) the existence of documents pursuant to the provisions of Section 20 of this Act
and their compliance with the formal requirements;IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 19
2) the contents of the documents of th e registration application pursuant to the
provisions of Sections 19 and 21 to 24 of this Act;
3) the industrial design pursuant to the provi sions of Sections 4,  9 and 10(1) and (2)
of this Act;4) the number of the class and of the subc lass of the International Classification for
Industrial Designs (where the numbers are lacking, the Patent Office shall accord
them).(2) The Patent Office shall not examine:1) the industrial design pursuant to the provi sions of Sections 5( 1), 6,7 and 10(3) of
this Act;2) the right of the applicant to apply for industrial design registration pursuant to the
provisions of Section 14(1)  and (2) of this Act.
(3) If priority is claimed, the Patent Office shall, for the purpose of determining thedate of priority, examine:1) the filing of the priority claim pursuant to the provisions of Section 11(2), (3) and
(4) and Section 24(7) of this Act;2) the contents of the documents certif ying the priority claim pursuant to the
provisions of Section 23 of this Act a nd their filing by deadline pursuant to the
provisions of Section 24(7) of this Act.
(4) The Patent Office shall refuse the priority claim where the examination carriedout in compliance with paragraph 3 of this Section shows that one or more
requirements are not fulfilled, and it shall notify the applicant of this in writing.(5) Upon deficiencies regard ing the form and contents of the documents of the
registration application or upon other fact ors preventing the processing of the
registration application, the Patent Office shall notify the applicant of this in writing,designating a deadline of two months for elim ination of deficiencies or for providing
explanations.(6) Upon a corresponding request from the app licant, the Patent Office shall extend
the deadline for elimination of deficienci es or for providing explanations for up toIP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 20
six months. The request must be filed prio r to the end of the deadline designated in
paragraph 5 of this Section. A state fee shall be levied for extending the deadline.
§ 32. Suspension of processing of registration application
(1) On a corresponding request from the a pplicant, the Patent Office may suspend
the processing of a registration appl ication for up to twelve months.
(2) The applicant shall be notified in writi ng of the suspension of the processing of
the registration application.
§ 33. Corrections and amendments to registration application
A registration application may be correct ed and amended by the applicant  during
processing, without changing the industrial design as disclosed in the registration
application at the filing date of the application.
§ 34. Withdrawal of reg istration application
(1) An applicant may file a request in writing for withdrawal of a registration
application and withdraw a pending regi stration applicati on. A registration
application is deemed to be withdrawn fr om the date of receipt of a request for
withdrawal of the registration applicati on by the  Patent Office. The documents of
the registration application shall not be returned.(2) The Patent Office deems  a  registrati on application to be  withdrawn if the
applicant files to respond to a demand of the Patent Offi ce to eliminate deficiencies
in the registration application or to provi de explanations by the deadline prescribed
in Section 31(5) or (6) of this Act.
§ 35. Termination of processing  of registration application
(1) Where the registration application ha s been withdrawn or is deemed to be
withdrawn, the Patent Office shall terminate the processing of the registrationapplication and notify the applicant of this in writing.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 21
(2) The application file of the registration application th at has been withdrawn or is
deemed to be withdrawn shall be cl osed and preserved permanently and in
confidentiality in the archives of the Patent Office.
§ 36. Resuming of a pplication processing
(1) The Patent Office shall resume the pr ocessing of a registration application on a
corresponding request from the applicant or on a decision of the Board of Appeal or
of the court, and the Patent Office sh all open the closed application dossier.
(2) The applicant may require the resumi ng of the processing of a registration
application that has been terminated, provided that the applicant has failed to
respond to the invitation of the Patent Office  to eliminate deficiencies or to provide
explanations by the deadline designated in compliance with Section 31(5) or (6) of
this Act due to force majeure or other obst acle irrespective of the applicant or of his
representative.(3) The request for resuming the processi ng of a registration application may be
submitted within one year from the end of the deadline designated in compliancewith Section 31(5) or (6) of this Ac t. The request shall be accompanied by a
document certifying the payment of the state fee.(4) The Patent Office shall resume the processing of a registration application
provided that the applicant proves the ex istence of the force majeure or other
obstacle irrespective of the applicant or of his repres entative and responds to the
invitation of the Patent Office to eliminat e deficiencies or to  provide explanations
within two months after the removal of the force majeure or other obstacle. The
Office shall notify the applicant in writing of the resuming of the applicationprocessing.
§ 37. Decision on industrial design registration
(1) Where the industrial design is not in c onflict with the requirements stipulated in
Sections 4, 9 and 10(1) and (2) of this Act and where th e registration application isIP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 22
in compliance with the requirements stipul ated in Sections 19 to 24 and 33 of this
Act, the Patent Office shall make a decision on industrial design registration,
notifying the applicant of this in writing.(2) The decision on industrial design re gistration shall contain the following:
1) the date and place the decision is made;2) the reference to the legislation applied;3) the resolution on the registration of the industrial design in the Register;
4) the procedure and deadline for contesting the decision;
5) the name and signature of the comp etent official havi ng made the decision.
(3) The decision on industrial design registrati on shall enter into force at the date it
is made.
§ 38. Decision on refusal of industrial design registration
(1) Where the industrial design is in conf lict with the requirements stipulated in
Sections 4, 9 or 10(1) or (2) of this Ac t or where the registration application is not
in compliance with the requirements of Se ctions 19 to 24 or 33 of this Act, the
Patent Office shall make a decision on re fusal of industrial design registration,
notifying the applicant of this in writing.(2) The decision on refusal of industria l design registration shall contain the
following:1) the date and place the decision is made;2) the reference to the legislation applied;3) the grounds for the decision;4) the resolution;5) the procedure and deadline for contesting the decision;
6) the name and signature of the comp etent official havi ng made the decision.
(3) The decision on refusal of industrial de sign registration shall enter into force at
the date it is made.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 23
§ 39. Cessation of processing  of registration application
(1) The processing of a registration application at the Patent Office shall cease withentering the industrial design in the Regist er or with refusal of industrial design
registration.(2) After entering the industrial design in th e Register the application dossier shall
be closed and added to the Register.(3) Where the Patent Office refuses to regi ster the industrial design, the application
dossier shall be closed after the lapse of  the deadline for lodging an appeal or, upon
contest, after the contesting procedure, a nd it shall be preserved permanently and in
confidentiality in the archives of the Patent Office.
VI. CONTEST OF DECISIONS OF PATENT OFFICE
§ 40. Right to appeal against decision of Patent Office
(1) The applicant may appeal against the following decisions of the Patent Office:
1) the decision on refusal to pro cess the registration application;
2) the decision on refusal of industrial design registration;
3) the decision on termination of the app lication processing or on refusal to resume
the application processing.(2) The applicant may appeal against the d ecision of the Patent Office on industrial
design registration where the priority claim contained in the regi stration application
has been refused.
§ 41. Board of Appeal of industrial property
(1) The applicant may appeal against the d ecision of the Patent Office at the Board
of Appeal of Industrial Property (herei nafter Board of Appeal) established in
compliance with the Republic of Estonia Trademark Act (RT I 1992, 35, 459; RT I
1995, 26-28, 355; 1996, 49, 953).IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 24
(2) The Board of Appeal shall operate with in the area of government of the Ministry
of Economic Affairs and it sh all be funded from the State Budget via the Ministry of
Economic Affairs budget.
§ 42. Term for lodging appeal
(1) An appeal against the d ecision of the Patent Office may be lodged within two
months from the date the decision is made.(2) Upon a subsequent appeal, the Board of Appeal may restitute the deadline forappealing against the decision where it finds the reason for the delayed appeal to bewell grounded.
§ 43. Requirements for appeal
(1) The appeal shall be lodged at the Board of Appeal in writing and it shall containthe following:1) the full name of the Board of Appeal;2) where the complainant is a natural pers on, the full name and address of residence
of the natural person; where the complainan t is a legal person, the name and address
of location of the legal person;
3) the number and date of  the contested decision;
4) the statement of the complainant e xplaining why he considers the contested
decision to be inaccurate and in conflict with the law;5) the request of the complainant;6) the signature of the complainant or his attorney.(2) The appeal shall be accompanied by:1) the copy of the contested decision;2) the document certifying  payment of the state fee;3) where the appeal is lodged through a representative, the power of attorney.
(3) The power of attorney shall be submitted together with the appeal or within twomonths from the date of lodging the appeal.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 25
(4) The appeal may be accompanied by the documents certifying the reason for the
appeal.
§ 44. Amendments to appeal
After submitting a corresponding request in writing and the required documents, thecomplainant may amend the appeal until the beginning of the appeal procedure atthe Board of Appeal.
§ 45. Abandonment of appeal
(1) Before the Board of Appeal has made  a decision, the complainant may abandon
his appeal, submitting a corresponding written request to the Board of Appeal.(2) Where the complainant abandons his app eal, the Board of Appeal shall terminate
the appeal procedure. The state fee shall not be refunded to the complainant.
§ 46. Approving appeal for procedure
(1) The Board of Appeal shall register the appeal at the date of receipt of it andnotify the Patent Office of the appeal.(2) The Board of Appeal shall check th e compliance of the appeal with the
requirements stipulated in Sec tions 40, 42 and 43 of this Act.
(3) Where the appeal is in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Sections
40, 42 and 43 of this Act, the Board of A ppeal shall approve it for procedure and it
shall notify the complainant and the Patent Office of the date and place of the appealprocedure.(4) The Board of Appeal shall send to the Pa tent Office a copy of the appeal that has
been approved for procedure and it may inv ite the Patent Office to submit, by a
designated deadline, its objec tions or position in writing.
(5) Where the appeal is in conflict with the requirements stipulated in Sections 40,42 or 43 of this Act, the Board of Appeal  shall dismiss the appeal and return it to
the complainant. The state fee sha ll be refunded to the complainant.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 26
§ 47. Parties to appeal procedure at Board of Appeal
(1) The complainant and the Patent Office sh all be parties to the appeal procedure at
the Board of Appeal.(2) A party to the appeal procedure shall ha ve the right to, personally or through the
representative:1) take part in the appeal procedure;2) submit to the Board of Appeal explana tions regarding the appeal orally and in
writing;3) submit additional documents and requests;4) put questions to other parties;5) request the removal of a me mber of the Board of Appeal.
(3) The failure of a party to attend the a ppeal procedure shall not prevent the Board
of Appeal from treating the appeal, provide d that the said party has been notified of
the date and place of the appeal procedur e and he has failed to notify the Board of
Appeal of the reasons preventing his attendance.
§ 48. Appeal procedure at Board of Appeal
(1) The Board of Appeal shall treat the app eal in the extent requested in the appeal.
(2) The Board of Appeal shall be competent to treat the appeal and to make adecision provided that the Chairman or Vice-Chairman and at least three members
of the Board of Appeal are present. The Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Board
of Appeal shall be the Chairperson of the Board of Appeal.(3) Before commencement of the appeal pr ocedure, the Chairperson of the Board of
Appeal shall check the attendance of the parties to the procedure and their power ofattorneys. Subsequently the Board of App eal shall announce the appeal to be treated,
the members of the Board of Appeal shall be introduced and the requests forremoval and other requests of the parties shall be settled.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 27
(4) The appeal procedure shall begin with a report by a member of the Board of
Appeal, followed by an explanation from th e complainant. Subsequently the Board
of Appeal shall hear an explanation from  the representative of the Patent Office,
which may be followed by a dispute between the parties. The members of the Board
of Appeal shall be entitled to put questions to the parties.(5) Where a party to the discussion pr esents additional evidence during the
procedure and the Board of Appeal regards it necessary to consider it, the Board of
Appeal shall postpone the procedure and designate, upon a corresponding request
from another party, anothe r date for the procedure.
(6) Where the parties have presented expl anations to the Board of Appeal and
answered questions, and there are no reque sts for continuing the procedure, the
appeal procedure shall be terminated and the Board of Appeal shall make a decision.(7) During the making of the decision, th e parties to the procedure shall not be
present.
§ 49. Removal of member  of Board of Appeal
(1) The member of the Board of Appeal who has personal interest in the result of
the appeal procedure, shall be removed at a corresponding request by a party to the
procedure.(2) The request for removal may be submitted before the beginning of the appealprocedure.(3) The staff of the Board of Appeal treating the particular appeal shall review therequest for removal. Where the request for removal is satisfied, the member of theBoard of Appeal mentioned in the request shall be removed from the staff of the
Board of Appeal treating the appeal. Wher e all members are removed or the number
of members making the Board of Appeal incompetent to make decisions incompliance with Section 48(2) of this Act, the Board of Appeal shall terminate theappeal procedure and the complainant shall ha ve the right to lodge an appeal against
the decision of the Patent Office at the administrative court within three monthsIP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 28
from the decision on the termination of the procedure at the Board of Appeal
pursuant to procedure provided for in th e Administrative Procedure Code (RT I
1993, 50, 694; 1994, 16, 290; 28, 425; 1995, 29, 358 and 359; 1996, 37, 739;
1997, 16, 260; 30, 472).
§ 50. Postponing appeal procedure
(1) The Board of Appeal may postpone the a ppeal procedure where the parties to the
procedure submit a corresponding justified request or where the Board of Appeal
considers it necessary to request a dditional documents from the parties.
(2) Upon postponing the appeal procedure,  the parties shall be notified of the
deadline for submitting additional documents and of the new date and place of theappeal procedure.(3) Where the parties to the appeal pro cedure fail to submit the requested documents
by the end of the term, the Board of Appeal shall review the appeal and make adecision on the basis of the documents ava ilable to it and of the matters revealed
during the appeal procedure.
§ 51. Deadline for appeal procedure
The Board of Appeal shall treat the appeal during the period of time commencingten days after the date of notifying the parties to the procedure of the time and place
of the procedure and ending on the date wh en three months have passed from the
lodging of the appeal.
§ 52. Decision of Board of Appeal
(1) When making the decision, the Board of  Appeal shall solely take into account
facts presented in the appeal as well as facts regarding the claim of the appealrevealed in the course of the procedure.(2) The Board of Appeal shall make a decision on refusing the appeal or on
satisfying it. Upon satisfying the appeal the Board of Appeal shall revoke theIP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 29
decision of the Patent Office and shall or der the Patent Office to resume the
processing of the registrati on application and to make a new decision. Where the
Board of Appeal satisfies the appeal a nd revokes the decision of the Patent Office,
the state fee shall be refunded to the applicant.(3) The Board of Appeal shall issue its d ecision in writing and it shall be signed by
all members of the Board of Appeal who took part in the appeal procedure. Thedecision must be well grounded and based on the facts reveal ed in the course of the
appeal procedure. The decision shall contain the summary of the appeal, thesummary of the evidence and explanations presented, the claim of the appeal,reference to the legislation applied in  making the decision, the reason for the
decision, the resolution and the procedur e and deadline for contesting the decision.
(4) The decision of the Board of Appeal shall be made by the majority of votes.
Upon an equal division of votes, the vote of the Chairperson shall be determinant.
§ 53. Notifying of decision of Board of Appeal
(1) The parties to the appeal procedure sha ll be notified of the decision of the Board
of Appeal orally promptly after the decision is made.(2) The decision of the Board of Appeal sha ll be sent to the parties to the procedure
in writing within five workdays after it is made.
§ 54. Appeal against decision of Board of Appeal
Within three months from the date when the Board of Appeal made the decision, theparties to the appeal procedure shall have the right to appeal against the saiddecision at the administrative court pursu ant to procedure provided for in the Code
of Administrative Court Procedure.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 30
Part III
STATE REGISTER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS§ 55. Maintenance of Register
(1) The Patent Office shall be the chief and authorised processor of the StateRegister of Industrial Designs.(2) The registry secretary shall be responsib le for the maintenance of the Register at
the Patent Office and for making the decisions on entry in the Register.
(3) The Register shall be maintained as  an entry book on paper carrier. The Register
may be maintained on computer, storing the entries as print-outs.(4) The Register shall be maintained in  Estonian. Documents in foreign languages
shall be submitted to the authorised processor together with the translation intoEstonian.(5) The maintenance expenses of the Regi ster shall be covered from the State
Budget via the budget of the Patent Office.(6) The Government of the Republic sha ll establish the Register and ratify the
regulation on the maintenance of the Register.
§ 56. Registration of indu strial design in Register
(1) An industrial design shall be registered in the Register by entering the data of the
industrial design registration (hereinafter registration) in the entry book on the basis
of the decision on industrial design registration.(2) The data of the registration are the following:1) the number of the registration;2) the date of registration;3) the title of the industrial design;4) the reproduction of the industrial design;IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 31
5) the number of variants  of the industrial design;
6) the number of class and s ubclass of the Intern ational Classifica tion for Industrial
Designs;7) the full name and addre ss of residence of the author of industrial design;
8) the full name and address of residence of the owner of industrial design; where
the owner is a legal person, the name, a ddress of location a nd zip code of the
owner;9) the date of the beginning of  the term of the registration;
10) the date of the end of the term of the registration;
11) where a patent attorney has been a ppointed, the full name of the attorney;
12) where the common representative is a natural person, the full name of thenatural person; where the common representative is a legal person, the name of thelegal person;13) the number of the re gistration application;
14) the filing date of th e registration application;
15) the data of priority  (priority date,  number of the registration application and
country).(3) The registrations shall be numbered in the order of  the registration of the
industrial designs starting with number 208, continuing the numeration of the
Register that was discontinued in 1940.(4) The applicant who has been menti oned in the decision on industrial design
registration, shall be ente red in the Register as the owner of industrial design.
(5) The data of the registration shall be entered in the Register within five workdaysfrom the date of making the deci sion on industrial design registration.
(6) Where the decision on industrial design registration refuses the claim for priority
contained in the registration application and the applican t has not contested it, the
data of the registrati on shall be entered in the Regist er after the lapse of two months
from the date of making the deci sion on industrial design registration.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 32
(7) The registration shall become valid from the date when the registry secretary
signs the entry of the data of registration.
§ 57. Term of industrial design registration
(1) The term of the registration shall be five years from the filing date of the
registration application.(2) The term of the registration may be re newed firstly for five years and later for
five more years. A state fee shall be paid for renewal of the term.
§ 58. Entry in Register
(1) An entry in the Register shall be the entry of registration and the entry of
deletion of registration.(2) The categories of the entry of registra tion are the following: the entry of the data
of registration, the entry of the renewal of the term of registration, the entry of the
change
of the data of registration and the entry of the transfer of rights of the industrial
design owner  into usufruct.(3) A state fee shall be paid for the entry of the change of the data of registrationand for the entry of the transfer of right s of industrial design owner into usufruct.
(4) An entry in the Register shall contain the following:1) the text of the entry;2) the date of the entry;3) the signature of the registry secretary.(5) On the registry card the entries in the Register shall be numbered in the order oftheir registration.(6) The entry in the Register shall be made  within five workdays from the date of
making the decision on entry in the Register.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 33
(7) The entry in the Register shall become valid from the date of signing it by the
registry secretary.(8) An announcement on the entry in the Regi ster shall be published in the Official
Gazette of the Patent Office.(9) The date of publication of the announcem ent about the entry of the data of the
registration shall be entered in the entry book.
§ 59. Access to and release of  information from  Register
(1) The Register shall be public. Everyone sh all have the right to examine the entry
book and to obtain copies from the registry card.(2) No information is released from the Re gister on an author if the author  has
prohibited  disclosure of   the author's name.
(3) The registry dossier and the applicatio n dossier shall be made available to a
person having a written consent of the owner of industrial design, to an interestedperson, to a competent official of a state agency with supervisory rights and to the
court.(4) A state fee shall be paid for the release of information from the Register, exceptfor release of information to a state agency  with supervisory rights or to the court.
§ 60. Maintenance and storage of Register
(1) The Register shall be maintained in the premises of the Patent Office, theremoval of the Register  shall be forbidden.
(2) The Register shall be permanently stored  in the archives of the Patent Office.
§ 61. Liability of chief processor
Damages caused by an unlawful action of th e chief processor shall be compensated
for by the state.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 34
VIII. CONTENTS OF REGISTER
§ 62. Composition of Register
The Register consists of:1) the entry book;2) the application dossier;3) the registry dossier;4) the registry journal.
§ 63. Entry book
The entry book consists of registry cards that are bound together into the volumes ofthe entry book.
§ 64. Registry card
(1) A registry card shall be opened upon entering an industrial design in the
Register.(2) A registry card consists of the following parts:1) the data of the registration in compliance with Section 56(2) of this Act;2) the date of publication of the announcem ent about the entry of the data of the
registration and the date of the issu e of the industrial design certificate;
3) the renewal of the te rm of the registration;
4) the change of the da ta of the registration;
5) the transfer of the rights of the ow ner of industrial design into usufruct;
6) the deletion of  the registration.
(3) The number of the registry card sh all be the number of  the registration.
§ 65. Registry dossier
(1) A registry dossier shall be opened for an industrial design entered in the
Register.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 35
(2) The registry dossier shall contain the requests for entry in the Register, the
decisions on entry in the Register, the d ecisions on refusing entry in the Register,
the documents certifying the payment of the state fee and co rrespondence connected
with the registration and with the contest of the registration.
(3) The original documents mentioned in paragraph (2) of th is Section shall be
submitted to the authorised processor unless the law regulates otherwise.
§ 66. Registry journal
(1) The decisions on industrial design regi stration, the requests for entry in the
Register and the documents submitted to the authorised processor shall be registeredin the registry journal.(2) A note on satisfying the request for entry in the Register shall be entered in theregistry journal.
IX. INDUSTRIAL DESIGN CERTIFICATE§ 67. Definition of indus trial design certificate
(1) The industrial design certificate (herei nafter certificate) shall be a document
certifying the industrial design registration and the exclusive right of the owner of
industrial design to the industrial design.(2) The certificate shall be issued in the name of the Republic of Estonia.
§ 68. Content and form of certificate
(1) The certificate shall contain:1) the name of the state - the Republic of Estonia;2) the coat of arms of the state - the small coat of arms of the Republic of Estonia;3) the number of the certificate;4) the registration data;IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 36
5) the data of the agency having issued the certificate (the name and location of the
agency, the official title, name and signature of the head of the agency, the seal ofthe agency);6) the date of issue of the certificate.(2) The number of the certificate sha ll be the number of the registration.
(3) The date of issue of the certificate sh all be the date of signing it by the head of
the agency having issued the certificate.(4) The form of the certificate and the order of filling in the form shall bedesignated by the Government of the Repub lic or, with its authorisation, by the
Minister of Economic Affairs.
§ 69. Issue of certificate
(1) Within ten workdays from the date of entering the industrial design in the
Register, the Patent Office shall issue a certificate to the owner of industrial design.
(2) Only one certificate shall be issu ed, regardless of the number of owners
indicated in the registration.(3) The date of issue of the certifi cate shall be entered in the entry book.
(4) On a request from the owner of indus trial design a duplicate of the certificate
shall be issued to him. The duplicate sha ll be issued within one month from the
receipt at the Patent Office of the reque st and of the document certifying payment of
the state fee. An
announcement of the issue of the duplicate sh all be published in the Official Gazette
of the Patent Office.
§ 70. Issue of appendix to certificate
(1) After changing the data of the registration, the Patent Office shall issue to theowner of industrial design an appendix to the certifi cate, which shall be an
inalienable part of the certificate.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 37
(2) The appendix to the certificate shall contain the changed data of the registration
and the date of entry.(3) The appendix shall be issued within one  month from the date of entry concerning
the changed data of the registration.
Part IV
TRANSFER, CESSATION, CONTEST AND PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OFOWNER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
X. TRANSFER OF RIGHTS OF OWNER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
§ 71. Transfer of right to apply for industrial design registration
(1) Any person having, in compliance with S ection 14(1) or (2) of  this Act, the right
to apply for industrial design  registration, may transfer the said right to another
person.(2) The right to apply for industrial design registration shall transfer to the successor
or to the legal successor.
§ 72. Transfer of registration application
(1) The applicant may transfer to anothe r person a registration application pending
at the Patent Office.(2) Upon the death of the applicant or, wh ere the applicant is a legal person, upon
the dissolution of the applicant, a regi stration application pending at the Patent
Office shall transfer to the successor or to the legal successor.(3) For changing the data of the applicant in the application, the applicant or theperson to whom the registration application is  transferred, shall submit to the Patent
Office a corresponding request and the documen tcertifying payment of the state fee.
Where the request is submitted by the person to whom the registration application isIP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 38
transferred, the request must be accomp anied by the document certifying  transfer or
the certified copy of it.(4) The Patent Office shall amend the data mentioned in Section 21(1)3 of this Act.
(5) The registration application shall be deem ed to have been tr ansferred to another
person from the date of changing the data.
§ 73. Transfer of rights of owner of industrial design
(1) The owner of industrial design may transfer his rights to another person.
(2) Upon the death of the owner of industr ial design or, where the owner is a legal
person, upon the dissolution of the owner, th e rights of the owner shall transfer to
the successor or to the legal successor.(3) For changing in the registration of the da ta of the owner of industrial design, the
owner of industrial design or the person to  whom the rights of the owner transfer
shall submit to the Patent Office a co rresponding request and a document certifying
payment of the state fee. Where the request is submitted by the person to whom therights of the owner transfer, the reque st shall be accompanied by a document
certifying the transfer or the certified copy of it.(4) The request mentioned in paragraph 3 of this Section shall be submitted withinone year from the date of the transfer of rights as specified in the transaction, orfrom the date of establishment of lega l succession. Where the rights of the owner
transfer on the basisof a court order, the request shall be submitted within one month from the effectivedate of the court order.(5) The Patent Office shall enter in the Register the change of data mentioned inSection 56(2)8 of this Act.(6) The rights of the owner of industrial de sign shall be deemed to have transferred
from the date of transfer of the rights as specified in the transaction or in courtorder, or from the date of establishment of legal succession.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 39
(7) A person to whom, in compliance with th is Section, the rights of the owner have
transferred, shall be entitled to exercise them from the date of coming into force ofthe entry of changed da ta of the registration.
§ 74. Licence
(1) Owner of industrial design (licenser) may transfer, in whole or in part, the rights
of the owner of industrial design referred to in Secti on 16 of this Act into the
usufruct of one or more persons (licensee).(2) With the consent of the licenser, the licensee may transfer the rights proceeding
from the usufruct to a third person by a sub-licence.(3) The term of the licence shall not exceed the term of the registration.(4) The licence may be registered in the Register.(5) Upon the collision of rights transferred to several licensees by different licences,the prerogative shall belong to the licensee whose licence has been registered in theRegister.(6) A licence not registered in the Register shall have no legal right  with regard to a
third person.(7) Upon granting a licence, a licence agreement shall be concluded in writing.
§ 75. Validity of licence upon deletion of  registration from Register and upon
transfer of rights of owner of industrial design(1) Upon the deletion of the registration from  the Register after the end of the term
of the registration provided for in Section 57 of this Act, the licence shall becomeinvalid from the day following the e nd of the term of the registration.
(2) Upon deletion on the basis of an ef fective court order adjudicating the
registration as being in conf lict with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Section 37 or
of paragraph 4 of Section 14 of this Act, the licence shall become null from the day
of its issue.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 40
(3) Upon the transfer of the rights of th e owner of industria l design to another
person in cases stipulated in Section 73 of this Act, the rights and duties proceedingfrom the licence shall also transfer.
§ 76. Registration of licence in Register
(1) For the registration of the licence in the Register, the licensor or the licenseeshall submit to the Patent Office a co rresponding request, the licence agreement or
the certified copy of it and the documen t certifying payment of the state fee.
(2) The request for entering the licence in the Register shall contain the following:1) the name and addre ss of residence or of location of the licenser;
2) the name and addre ss of residence or of location of the licensee;
3) the subject of the licence;4) the list of rights granted to the licensee;5) the term of the licence;6) other data considered necessary by the licenser and the licensee to be entered inthe Register.(3) Instead of the licence agreement or the certified copy of it, a certified excerpt
from the licence agreement may be submitted to the Patent Office, containing thedata mentioned in paragr aph 2 of this Section.
(4) The Patent Office shall enter in the Register the transfer of the rights of theowner of industrial design into usufruct.(5) The entry of the transfer of the rights of  the owner into usufruct shall be deleted
from the Register upon the end of the te rm of the licence or on a corresponding
demand by the person having f iled the request for the registration of the licence in
the Register.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 41
XI. CESSATION OF RIGHTS OF OWNER OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
§ 77. Bases for cessation ofrRights
(1) The rights of the owner of industria l design shall cease upon the end of the term
of the registration in compliance with Section 57 of this Act.(2) The rights of the owner of industr ial design shall cease prior to the term
stipulated in Section 57 of this Act in the following cases:1) where the owner abandons the rights of  the owner of industrial design without
transfering his rights to another person;2) upon the death of the owner where the owner is a natural person and the rights
have not been transferred to the succe ssor, and upon the dissolution of the legal
person where the rights have not been transferred;3) on the basis of an effective cour t order where the registration has been
adjudicated as being in conflict with the pr ovisions of Sections 4 or 9, Section 10(1)
or (2) and Sections 19 to 24 or 33 of this Act;4) on the basis of an effective cour t order where the registration has been
adjudicated as being in conflict with the provisions of Section 14(4) of this Act;
5) on the basis of an effec tive court order adjudicating that the owner mentioned in
the registration had no right, in compliance with Section 14(1), (2) and (3) of this
Act, to apply for industria l design registration and the person adjudicated as the
owner of industrial design ha s failed to submit, in orde r prescribed by Section 73(3)
and (4) of this Act, a request for changi ng in the registration the entry concerning
the owner of industrial design.(3) The cessation of the rights of the owne r of industrial design shall be based on
entering the deletion of the registration in the Register.
§ 78. Entering deletion of industrial design registration in Register
(1) The Patent Office shall enter the deletion of the registration in the Register incompliance with the provisions of Section 77( 1) of this Act after the lapse of sixIP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 42
months from the end of term of the re gistration in compliance with Section 57 of
this Act, or, where the registration has been renewed for fifteen years, after thelapse of the said term.(2) For entering the deletion of the registration in the Register in cases prescribed bySection 77(2)1, 2, 4 and 5 of this Ac t, the owner of industrial design or an
interested person shall submit to the Pa tent Office a corresponding request. Where
the request is submitted by an interested person, it shall be accompanied by the
documents certifying the claim.(3) The Patent Office shall not enter the deletion of the registration in the Register incompliance with Section 77(2)1 where the rights of the owner of industrial design
are the subject of a registered licence.(4) The Patent Office shall enter the deletion of the registration in the Registerpursuant to Section 77(2)3 of this Act a nd it shall resume the processing of the
registration application pursuan t to Section 36 of this Act.
§ 79. Legal consequence of entry of deletion of registration of industrial design
(1) Upon making the entry of deletion of registration in compliance with Section
77(1) of this Act, the rights of the owne r of industrial design shall cease as of the
day following the end of the term of the registration.
(2) Upon making the entry of deletion of registration in compliance with Section
77(2)1 of this Act, the right s of the owner of industrial design shall cease as of the
day following the date of entry.(3) After deleting the registration from the Register, any person may manufacture
products according to the industrial design and he may distribute, sell or put on the
market, or import, export and store th e said products for the aforementioned
purposes. The said right shall be retroactiv e until the date of cessation of the rights
of the owner of industrial design.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 43
XII. CONTEST AND PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF OWNER OF
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
§ 80. Contest of authorship of industrial design
(1) Disputes concerning authorship of indust rial designs entered in the Register shall
be settled by the court.(2) Any natural person who considers himself to be the author of industrial design in
compliance with Section 12 of this Act,  may bring action against the owner of
industrial design for certification of his authorship.
§ 81. Contest of rights of owner of industrial design
(1) Any person considering that the rights  of the owner of i ndustrial design belong
to him in compliance with Section 14 (1), (2) and (3) of this Act, may bring actionagainst the owner of industrial desi gn for certification of his ownership.
(2) The action mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Secti on may be brought within one
year from the publication of the announcemen t about the entry of the data of the
registration.(3) Any person who considers that a nother person who became the owner of
industrial design had no right, in complian ce with the provisions of Section 14(4) of
this Act, to file a registration application and become  the owner of industrial design,
and where the registration hampers his economic or business transactions, may
bring action against the owner of indus trial design for adjudication of the
registration as illegal.(4) The action mentioned in paragraph 3 of this Secti on may be brought during the
term of the registration.
§ 82. Contest of registration of industrial design
(1) Any interested person who considers that  the registration of the industrial design
by the Patent Office is in conflict with the requirements of Secti ons 4 or 9, SectionIP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 44
10(1) or (2), Sections 19 to 24 or 33 of this Act, may lodge an appeal at the
Administrative Court pursuant to procedure provided for in the Code ofAdministrative Court Procedure, requesting the adjudication of the industrial design
registration as illegal and ordering the Patent Office to resume the processing of theregistration application a nd to make a new decision.
(2) The appeal mentioned in paragraph 1 of  this Section may be lodged within three
months from the publication of the announcem ent of the entry concerning the data of
the registration.
§ 83. Protection of rights of  author of industrial design
(1) The author of industrial design shall have inalienable righ t to bring action upon
the infringement of his rights stipulated in Section 13(1) of this Act or for the
establishment of other rights proceeding from his authorship.(2) For settling a property dispute connected with the industrial design, the authormay bring action within three years from the date when he was aware or shouldhave been aware of the infringement of his rights.
§ 84. Protection of rights of  owner of industrial design
(1) The owner of industrial design may bring action:1) for disposal of the infr ingement of exclusive right;
2) for preventing the repetition of the infringement of exclusive right;3) for restoring the status quo be fore the infringement commenced;
4) for compensation for damages caused by the infringement of exclusive right;
5) for settling disputes arising from the licence;6) in other cases of infringeme nt of the rights of the owner.
(2) Any person having infringed the exclusiv e right of the owner of industrial design
shall entail civil or criminal liability prescribed by the law.(3) The action mentioned in paragra ph 1 of this Section may be brought:IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 45
1) for disposal of the infringement of ex clusive right, for preventing the repetition of
the infringement of exclusive right or for restoring the status quo before the
infringement of exclusive ri ght commenced - during the term of the industrial design
registration;2) for compensation for damages caused by the infringement of exclusive right -
within three years from the day when th e owner of industrial design was aware or
should have been aware of the infr ingement of his exclusive right;
3) for settling disputes arising from the licence - during the term of the licence;4) in other cases of infringement of the rights of the owner - within three years from
the day when the owner of industrial desi gn was aware or should have been aware
of the infringement of his rights.
§ 85. Protection of rights of other persons
(1) Any person who, before th e filing of the registration application, has used the
industrial design in good faith, may bring action against the owner of industrial
design for establishment of his right of prior use.(2) Where the exclusive right  of the owner of industria l design has been infringed
and the owner does not bring action agains t the infringer, the licensee having a
registered licence may bring action unless the licence agreement regulatesotherwise. The licensee shall be obliged to notify the owner of industrial design of
his wish to sue. The notification obligation shall be considered to be fulfilled if thenotification has been sent to the owner of  industrial design by registered mail at the
address mentioned in the licence agreement or at the address mentioned in theindustrial design registration.
§ 86. Order for settlement of  industrial design disputes
(1) The appeals and actions referred to inth is Act belong to the jurisdiction of the
court of location of the Patent Office.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 46
(2) A transcript of an effective court orde r passed with regard to  an industrial design
dispute shall be sent to the Patent Offi ce promptly, regardless of whether the Patent
Office has been party to the proceeding.
§ 87. Representative in court upon se ttlement of industrial design disputes
(1) Upon settlement of industrial design disputes, patent attorneys shall be allowedto appear in court as representatives.
[25.11.1998]
(2) The patent attorney shall submit to the court the certificate of a patent attorneyand the power of attorney issued by the client.
Part V
FINAL PROVISIONSXIII. STATE FEE
§ 88. State fee
In cases prescribed in this Act, state fees shall be levied for effecting transactionsand issuing documents according to the rates stipulated in the State Fees Act (RT I1997, 80, 1344).
§ 89. Payment of state fee
(1) The state fee shall be paid by the app licant, by the owner of industrial design or
by a third person interested in effecting transactions prescribed in this Act or in theissue of documents. Where th e state fee for industrial de sign registration or renewal
of a  registration is paid by a third person, the written consent of the applicant or ofthe owner of industrial design shall be required.
(2) The state fee shall be deemed to be pa id upon the receipt at the Patent Office, in
case of an appeal at the Board of Appeal, of a document certifying payment.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
  Page 47
(3) The state fee shall not be refunded, except in cases provided for in Sections
29(5), 46(5) and 52( 2) of this Act.
§ 90. Payment of state fee for renewal  of registration
(1) The document certifying payment of th e state fee for renewal of the term of
registration shall be submitted to the Patent Office within six months before the finalday of the term.(2) The state fee for renewal of registration may be paid within six months after the
final day of the term, submitting a document certifying payment of thesupplementary state fee.
XIV. IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS§ 91. Amendments to other legal Acts
(1) The State State Fees Act (RT I 1997, 80, 1344) shall be am ended with Sections
147
1 to 1477, following Section 147, worded as follows:
“§ 1471. Filing of industrial design  registration application
(1) For filing an industrial design registra tion application, a state fee of 1,600 EEK
shall be paid.(2) For filing a registration application c ontaining variants of industrial design, a
state fee of 400 EEK shall be paid for each variant starting from the third.§ 147
2. Extending of deadline for elimination of deficiencies in industrial design
registration application and for providing explanationsFor extending the deadline for the elimination of deficiencies in an industrial design
registration application and for providing e xplanations, a state fee of 400 EEK shall
be paid.§ 147
3. Resuming of processing of industr ial design registration application
For resuming the processing of an industria l design registration application, a state
fee of 400 EEK shall be paid.IP/N/1/EST/D/1
Page 48
§ 1474. Transfer of industrial design registration application
Upon the transfer of industrial design registration application, for submitting arequest for changing the data of the applicant, a state fe e of 500 EEK shall be paid.
§ 147
5. Renewal of industrial design
(1) For the renewal of the industrial design,  the state fee shall be paid as follows:
1) 2,000 EEK for the first renewal;2) 4,000 EEK for the second renewal.(2) For the renewal of the industrial de sign after the due date, the state fee
prescribed in items 1 or 2 of paragraph (1 ) of this Section shall be paid + 10 per
cent of the corresponding state fee.§ 147
6. Change of data of industrial design registration
(1) For entry of the change of data of industrial design regist ration, a state fee of
500 EEK shall be paid.(2) For entry of the transfer of the ri ghts of the owner of industrial design into
usufruct, a state fee of 500 EEK shall be paid.§ 147
7. Duplicate of industrial design certificate
For the issue of a duplicate of an industria l design certificate, a state fee of 500 EEK
shall be paid.”.(2) The title and text of Section 184
5 of the Code of Administrative Offences (RT
1992, 29, 396; RT I 66-68,  1109; 73, 1201) shall be  amended as follows:
with the words “or industrial design” following the words “utility model”.(3) The Criminal Code (RT 1992, 20, 287 and 288; RT I 1997, 21/22, 353; 28, 423;
30, 472; 34, 535; 51, 824; 52, 833 and 834) shall be  amended as follows:
1) paragraph 6 of Section 33 shall be amended with wo rds “or industrial design”
following the words “utility model”;2) the title and paragraph 1 of Section 136¹ shall be amended with words “or theauthorship of the industrial design” following the words “the authorship of theinvention”; IP/N/1/EST/D/1
                                      Page 49
3) the title and text of Section 136² shall be amended with words “or the industrial design”
following the words “the utility model”.(4) [repealed - 25.11.1998]
§ 92. Transitional provision
Where the registration application is filed within twelve months from the entry into force ofthis Act, each priority shall be recognized upon registration of industr ial design on the basis
of the first registration appli cation filed on 20 February, 1991 a nd later in a state member to
the Paris Convention for the Pr otection of Industrial Property.
§ 93. Entry into force of the Act
The present Act shall enter into force after the lapse of one month from the date of itspublication in Riigi Teataja.
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