Filing
The deadline for filing a convention application to register a design in Australia is 6 months from the priority date.
A certified copy of the basic application is not required (unless this is requested by the Designs Office, which only occurs in cases where there is reason to confirm a priority claim).
Single designs
A design application may be for a single design applied to one product, or a common design applied to more than one product.
Multiple designs
A design application may be for more than one design.
A design owner may apply to register more than one design applied to one product (i.e. multiple designs, one product).
A design owner may apply to register more than one design applied to more than one product (i.e. multiple designs, multiple products). For this type of application, all products must belong to the same Locarno class.
A separate filing fee is payable for each design.
Request for registration
A request for registration must be made within 6-months of the priority date.
A specific request for registration can be made at the time of filing the application or at any time up to the deadline. Such requests are made when seeking to gain registration as soon as possible.
If no request for registration is made, the request for registration is deemed to have been made automatically once the deadline expires. This approach can be taken to delay the progress of the application, albeit only to the end of the 6-month period from the priority date.
Formalities
Once a request for registration has been made (or is deemed to have been made), the Designs Office will conduct a formalities check of the design application.
The formalities check includes checking that all mandatory application details have been provided, the product name is clear, the number of designs corresponds to the fees paid and the representations are consistent. A period of 2-months is provided to resolve any issues raised in the formalities check.
Registration
If the application passes the formalities checks, the design will be registered. At this stage, all details of the design application including the representations will be published.
Examination
In Australia, the substantive examination process for designs can occur at any time after registration. The examination process is optional (unless initiated by a third party). However, a design cannot be enforced until it has successfully completed the examination process. A period of 6-months is provided to address any issues raised during examination.
Certification
Once the examination process has been completed and the examiner is satisfied that the design is registrable, a certificate of examination (certification) will issue. This gives the design owner the right to enforce the design.
Term and renewals
In Australia, the maximum term of registration is 10 years.
The initial period of registration lasts for 5 years. A single renewal fee extends the registration for another 5 years.
Grace period
Australia provides a grace period for designs filed on or after 10 March 2022. The grace period applies to any publication or use of a design by the designer or design owner within the 12 months before the priority date of the design. The relevant publication or use must also have occurred on or after 10 March 2022. If all conditions are met to enliven the grace period, the relevant publication or use can be disregarded from the prior art base when deciding whether a registered design is new and distinctive.
Notably, the grace period does not apply to publications by a Designs Office outside Australia. This limitation of the grace period is important to bear in mind when managing global design portfolios.