Cyprus Industrial Design

Cyprus has introduced the law N. 4(l)/2002, which ratifies the EU Directive for the legal protection of industrial designs.

Eligibility for application for industrial design protection is provided to:

a) Individuals who are residents of or have their usual residence in Cyprus or in a EU Member State; and,
b) Companies or other legal entities that have their actual industrial or commercial establishment in Cyprus or in a EU Member State.

The registration of the design or sample requires the filing of an application to the Registrar and has to include the following:

a) The full name, nationality, the address of residence or the registered office of the applicant
b) Definition of the object(s) on which the design or sample will be interconnected
c) Graphic or photographic representation of the design or sample, suitable for reproduction
d) Application for filing the design or sample to the National Registry of Designs
e) In case where the applicant does not have his residence or registered office in Cyprus:
(i) The full name and address of a person resident in Cyprus and authorized by the applicant to act on his behalf,
(ii) Statement by the applicant for accepting the jurisdiction of the Cyprus Courts.

The protection of industrial design or sample grants to its proprietor the exclusive right of use and prohibits others from using the design or sample without his consent. The Act itself specifies the term "use" to include manufacture, offer, marketing, import, export, use or possession for these purposes of a product incorporating or applying the said design or sample.

The above rights are not infringed by: a) Private acts done for non-commercial purposes
b) Acts done for experimental purposes
c) Acts done to reproduce the design or sample for educational reasons, but so long as the source is named and these acts do not contradict commercial ethics.

The maximum duration of protection of a design is 25 years as of the filing date of the application divided into 5 periods of 5 years. The proprietor is entitled to renew the duration of the protection for one or more periods up to 25 years just by paying the relevant fees.