Reprint as at 19 April 2011
Designs Act 1953
Public Act 1953 No 65 Date of assent 26 November 1953
Contents
Page Title 3 1 Short Title and commencement 4 2 Interpretation 4 3 Commissioner of Designs 6 4 Assistant Commissioners of Designs and other officers 6
Registrable designs and proceedings for registration
5 Designs registrable under Act 7 6 Proprietorship of designs 8 7 Proceedings for registration 8 8 Registrationofsamedesigninrespectofotherarticles,etc 9 9 Provisions for ensuring secrecy in respect of designs 10
relevant for defence purposes 10 Provisions as to confidential disclosure, etc 11
11 Right given by registration 13
Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this eprint.
Ageneraloutlineofthesechangesissetoutinthenotesattheendofthiseprint,togetherwith other explanatory material about this eprint.
12 Period of copyright 13 13 Exemption of innocent infringer from liability for 14 damages, etc 14 Compulsory licence in respect of registered design 14 15 Cancellation of registration 15
Use of registered designs for services of the Crown
16 Use of registered designs for services of the Crown 15 17 Rights of third parties in respect of Crown use 17 18 Reference of disputes as to Crown use 19 19 Special provisions as to Crown use during emergency 20
20 Orders in Council as to convention countries 21 21 Registration of design where application for protection in 22 convention country has been made 22 Extension of time for applications under section 21 in 23 certain cases 23 Protection of designs communicated under arrangements 24 with other countries 24 Regulations under section 22 or section 23 26
25 Register of designs 26 26 Certificate of registration 26 27 Registration of assignments, etc 27 27A Application of Personal Property Securities Act 1999 28 28 Rectification of register by the Court 28 29 Power of Commissioner to correct errors 29 30 Inspection of registered designs 30 31 Information as to existence of copyright 31 32 Evidence of entries, documents, etc 31
33 Certificate of contested validity of registration 31 34 Remedy for groundless threats of infringement 32 proceedings 35 Appeal to High Court 33
Powers and duties of Commissioner
36 Exercise of discretionary powers of Commissioner 33 37 Commissioner may grant extension of time 33 37A Additional provisions for extending time limits 34 38 Costs and security for costs 35
2
39 Evidence before Commissioner 36 40 Recognition of agents 36 41 Commissioner may dispense with production of probate 37 or letters of administration in certain cases
Restoration of lapsed copyright in registered design
41A Restoration of lapsed copyright in registered design 38 41B Persons who may make request for restoration of 39 copyright 41C When request for restoration of copyright may be made 39 41D Commissioner’s consideration of whether prima facie 39 case has been made out for restoration 41E Notice of opposition and reasonable opportunity to be 40 heard 41F Order to be made on payment of unpaid fees 40
Restoration of design applications
41G Requestforrestorationofabandoneddesignapplication 41 41H Whenrequestforrestorationofapplicationmaybemade 42 41I Notice of opposition 43 41J Commissioner to determine matter 43
42 Offences in respect of designs required to be kept secret 44 43 Falsification of register, etc 44 44 Fine for falsely representing a design as registered 45
45 Hours of business 45 45A Closing of Patent Office at short notice 46 46 Regulations 46 47 Fees 48 48 Service of notices, etc, by post 48 49 Annual report 49 50 Application of Act to Tokelau 49 51 Saving 49 52 Repeals and savings 49
Schedule 51 Enactments repealed
prescribed means prescribed by regulations made under this Act
proprietor has the meaning assigned to it by section 6 registered proprietor means the person or persons for the time being entered in the register of designs as proprietor of the design
setof articles meansanumberofarticles ofthesamegeneral character ordinarily on sale or intended to be used together, to each of which the same design, or the same design with modifications orvariationsnot sufficient toalterthe character or substantially to affect the identity thereof, is applied. Note
This Act is administered by the Ministry of Justice.
An Act to consolidate and amend certain enactments relating to designs
s 1 Designs Act 1953 Reprinted as at19 April 2011 1 Short Title and commencement (1) This Act may be cited as the Designs Act 1953. (2) ThisActshallcomeintoforceonadaytobeappointedforthe commencementthereofbytheGovernor-GeneralbyProclam ation. 2 Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— article means any article of manufacture; and includes any part of an article if that part is made and sold separately assigneeincludesthepersonalrepresentativeofadeceasedas signee; and references to the assignee of any person include referencestothe assignee of the personalrepresentative or as signee of that person Commissioner means the Commissioner of Designs Commonwealth means the British Commonwealth of Na tions; and includes every territory for whose international relations the Government of any country of the Common wealth is responsible convention country, in any provision of this Act, means an entityforthetimebeingdeclaredbyanorderundersection20 to be a convention country for the purposes of that provision copyright has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1) of section 11 Court means the High Court 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 Government Department means any Department or instru ment of the Executive Government of New Zealand JournalmeansthePatentOfficeJournalpublishedundersub section (1) of section 112 of the Patents Act 1953