DESIGNS AMENDMENT ACT 1981 No. 42 of 1981 - SECT 31

DESIGNS AMENDMENT ACT 1981 No. 42 of 1981 - SECT 31

31. Sections 48 and 49 of the Principal Act are repealed and the following
sections substituted: Convention countries

"48. (1) The Governor-General may, with a view to the fulfilment of a treaty,
convention, arrangement or engagement between the Commonwealth and another
country, by Proclamation, declare that a country specified in the Proclamation
is a Convention country for the purposes of this Act.



"(2) The Governor-General may, by Proclamation, declare a part of the Queen's
dominions which has made satisfactory provision for the protection in that
part of designs to be a Convention country for the purposes of this Act.



"(3) Where the Governor-General, by Proclamation, declares that an application
for protection in respect of a design is, in accordance with the terms of a
treaty subsisting between 2 or more Convention countries, equivalent to an
application made in one of those Convention countries, the first-mentioned
application shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been made
in that Convention country.



"(4) Where the Governor-General, by Proclamation, declares that an application
for protection in respect of a design is, in accordance with the law of a
Convention country, equivalent to an application made in that Convention
country, the first-mentioned application shall, for the purposes of this Act,
be deemed to have been made in that Convention country. Applications under
International Conventions

"49. (1) Where -

   (a)  an application for protection in respect of a design (in this section
        referred to as the 'basic application') has been made in a Convention
        country; and

   (b)  an application for registration of the design is lodged under this
        Act, within a period of 6 months after the date on which the basic
        application was made, by a person who is -

        (i)    the applicant in the Convention country;

        (ii)   the assignee of the applicant in the Convention country; or

        (iii)  the legal personal representative of the applicant in the
               Convention country or of his assignee, the priority date in
               respect of the application under this Act is the date of the
               making of the basic application.



"(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), the date on which a basic
application was made in a Convention country is such date as the Registrar is
satisfied, by certificate of the official chief or head of the Designs Office
of the Convention country or otherwise, is the date on which the basic
application was made in the Convention country.



"(3) Where 2 or more applications for protection in respect of a design have
been made in one or more Convention countries, the period of 6 months referred
to in paragraph (1) (b) shall be reckoned from the date on which the earlier
or earliest of those applications was made.



"(4) An application to which sub-section (1) applies -

   (a)  shall be supported by a copy of the basic application, and of any
        other related documents filed or deposited by the applicant in the
        Designs Office of the Convention country in which the basic
        application was made, certified by the official chief or head of that
        Office or otherwise verified to the satisfaction of the Registrar; and

   (b)  in all other respects, shall be made, lodged and proceeded with in the
        same manner as an ordinary application under this Act for the
        registration of a design.



"(5) A copy of a document referred to in paragraph (4) (a) shall be lodged -

   (a)  at the same time as the application to which sub-section (1) applies
        is lodged;

   (b)  within 3 months after that time; or

   (c)  within such further period after that time as the Registrar allows.



"(6) If a copy of a document referred to in paragraph (4) (a) is in a foreign
language, a translation of the document, verified by declaration or otherwise
to the satisfaction of the Registrar, shall be annexed to the document.
Withdrawn application not to be used as basic application in certain
circumstances

"50. Notwithstanding anything contained in section 49, where -

   (a)  an application for protection in respect of a design has been made in
        a Convention country;

   (b)  the application has been withdrawn, abandoned or refused without
        becoming open to public inspection;

   (c)  the application has not been used as the basis for claiming a right of
        priority in a Convention country under the law of that country
        corresponding to section 49; and

   (d)  a later application has been made by the same applicant for protection
        in respect of that design in the Convention country in which the
        earlier application was made, the applicant may request the Registrar
        to disregard the earlier application for the purposes of section 49
        and, if he so requests -

   (e)  the earlier application shall be so disregarded; and

   (f)  neither the applicant nor any other person is capable of making use of
        the earlier application as a basic application for the purposes of
        section 49.".