- CHAPTER 402—THE REGISTERED DESIGNS ACT
- ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
- PART I—PRELIMINARY
- PART II—ADMINISTRATION
- PART III—REGISTRABLE DESIGNS AND PROCEEDINGS FOR REGISTRATION
- PART IV—EFFECT OF REGISTRATION, ETC.
- PART V—USE OF REGISTERED DESIGNS FOR SERVICES OF THE STATE
- PART VI—ASSIGNMENTS. CORRECTIONS AND CANCELLATION
- PART VII—FUNCTIONS OF REGISTRAR IN RELATION TO CERTAIN EVIDENCE, DOCUMENTS AND POWERS
- Evidence of certain entries and documents
- Inspection of registered designs
- Information as to existence of copyright
- Certificate of registration
- Copies of certificates of registration
- Exercise of discretionary powers of Registrar
- Proceedings before Registrar
- Power of Registrar to award costs
- Power of Registrar to fix time and place of sitting, etc.
- PART VIII—APPEALS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
- High Court to hear appeals
- Rules of court
- Time for appeals
- References to High Court by Registrar
- Certification of validity
- Infringement action to be heard in High Court
- Remedy for groundless threats of infringement proceedings
- Security for costs and taxation of costs
- Costs of Registrar
- Appeals to Supreme Court
- PART IX—OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
- PART X—MISCELLANEOUS
- PART XI—APPLICATION AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER 402 PART I
Section PART II
PART III
11 . Provisions for secrecy of certain designs PART IV
PART V
USE OF REGISTERED DESIGNS FOR SERVICES OF THE STATE
Section PART VI
ASSIGNMENTS. CORRECTIONS AND CANCELLATION PART VII
PART VIII
APPEALS AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS An Act to make provision relating to the registration of designs and for other purposes incidental thereto.
[1st December, 1958]
to say: Cap. 400 "Convention" means the Union Convention of Paris, dated the 20th March, 1883, for the Protection of Industrial Property, revised at Brussels on the 14th December, 1900, at Washington on the 2nd June, 1911, at The Hague on the 6th November, 1925, and at London on the 2nd June, 1934, and any revision thereof to which the *former Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland or the former Protectorate of Northern Rhodesia may have acceded or to which the **Republic may accede in terms of section seven of the Patents Act;
* Acceded with effect from 1st April, 1958. (F.G.N. No. 39 of 1958.) ** Acceded with effect from 24th October, 1964. (G.N. No. 1751 of 1965.)
"convention country" means a country (including any colony, protectorate or territory subject to the authority or under the suzerainty of that country, or any territory over which a mandate or trusteeship is exercised) which has been declared to be a convention country in terms of the Patents Act;
"copyright", in relation to a registered design, has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1) of section fourteen;
"corresponding design", in relation to an artistic work, means a design which, when applied to an article, results in a reproduction of that work;
"design" means features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article by any industrial process or means, being features which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye, but does not include a method or principle of construction or features of shape or configuration which are dictated solely by the function which the article to be made in that shape or configuration has to perform;
"Designs Office" means the Designs Office established under section three; "legal practitioner" means a person admitted or otherwise entitled to practise as a barrister and solicitor in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act;
"legal representative" means- "Patent Journal" means the journal for which provision is made in section ninety-five of the Patents Act;
"proprietor" has the meaning assigned to it by section eight;
"register" means the register of designs kept under the provisions of this Act;
"registered proprietor" means the person or persons for the time being entered in the register as the proprietor of the design;
"Registrar" means the Registrar of Designs appointed under section four;
"set of articles" means a number of articles of the same general character ordinarily on sale or intended to be used together, to each of which the same design, or the same design with modifications or variations not sufficient to alter the character or substantially to affect the identity thereof, is applied; (As amended by G.N. No. 187 of 1964,
S.I. No. 175 of 1965 and No. 16 of 1980)
PART II
ADMINISTRATION PART III
7. (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a design may, upon application made by the person claiming to be the proprietor, his assignee or legal representative, be registered under this Act in respect of any article or set of articles specified in the application. (As amended by G.N. No. 187 of 1964 and S.I. No. 175 of 1965)
8. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the author of a design shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the proprietor of the design:
Provided that where the design is executed by the author for another person for valuable consideration, that other person shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the proprietor.
(2) Where a design, or the right to apply a design to any article, becomes vested, whether by assignment, transmission or operation of law, in any person other than the original proprietor, either alone or jointly with the original proprietor, that other person, or, as the case may be, the original Designs registrable under Act
Proprietorship of designs proprietor and that other person, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the proprietor of the design or as the proprietor of the design in relation to that article.
9. (1) An application for the registration of a design shall be made in the prescribed form and shall be lodged at the Designs Office in the prescribed manner. 10. (1) Where the registered proprietor of a design registered in respect of any article makes an application- Proceedings for registration
Registration of same design in respect of other articles, etc. the application shall not be refused and the registration made on that application shall not be invalidated by reason only of the previous registration or publication of the registered design:
Provided that the period of copyright in a design registered by virtue of this section shall not extend beyond the expiration of the original and any extended period of copyright in the original registered design. then, if at any time while the application is pending the applicant becomes the registered proprietor of the design previously registered, the provisions of subsection (1) shall apply as if at the time of making the application the applicant had been the registered proprietor of that design.
11. (1) In this section, "competent authority" means the President or the Minister or Junior Minister, if any, to whom the President may assign special responsibilities for defence matters.
THE REGISTERED DESIGNS ACT
ARRANGEJ'vlENT OF SECTIONS
PRELIMINARY
ADMINISTRATION
REGISTRABLE DESIGNS AND PROCEEDINGS FOR REGISTRATION
EFFECT OF REGISTRATION, ETC.
FUNCTIONS OF REGISTRAR IN RELATION TO CERTAIN EVIDENCE, DOCUMENTS AND POWERS
PART IX OFFENCES AND PENALTIES
PART X MISCELLANEOUS
12 of 1958
Government
Notices
Statutory
Instrument
Acts No.
"artistic work" means a work of any of the following descriptions, that is
3. There shall be established under the direction of the Minister an Establishment office to be called the Designs Office. of Designs Office 4. There shall be- Appointment of (a) a Registrar of Designs who shall exercise the powers and officers perform the duties assigned to the Registrar by this Act and shall be responsible for its administration; and (b) one or more Deputy Registrars of Designs who shall, subject to the control of the Registrar, have all the powers conferred by this Act upon the Registrar; and (c) such examiners and other officers as may be necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Act. 5. The seal of the Patent Office kept in terms of the Patents Act shall Seal. also be the seal of the Designs Office, and impressions thereof made for Cap. 400 the purposes of this Act shall be judicially noticed. 6. (1) There shall be kept at the Designs Office for the purposes of this Register of Act a register of designs wherein shall be entered all registered designs designs with the names and addresses of their proprietors, notifications of assignments and transmissions, and such other matters relating to registered designs as may be prescribed or as the Registrar may think fit. (2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the register of designs shall, at all convenient times, be open to inspection by the public, and certified copies, sealed with the seal of the Patent Office, of any entry in the register shall be given to any person requiring them on payment of the prescribed fee. (3) The register of designs shall be prima facie evidence of any matters required or authorised by or under this Act to be entered therein. (4) No notice of any trust, whether expressed, implied or constructive, shall be entered in the register, and the Registrar shall not be affected by any such notice. REGISTRABLE DESIGNS AND PROCEEDINGS FOR REGISTRATION