Renewing your design

National protection of your design runs for a period of at least ten years. This period may be renewed up to four times, granting a monopoly on exclusive use of your design for a maximum of 50 years from the date on which the application for registration was filed.

Who can renew?

The proprietor of the design registered on the national Design Register.

If one of the designs registered as part of a single application has been sold separately, each new proprietor will need to renew registration of the specific design they now own.

The proprietor may also enlist the services of an agent (see Step 3 of the filing process under the heading “Registering a design”).

IMPORTANT: if the person renewing is not the person who registered the design (due to a takeover or merger, for example), it is essential to register the change of ownership on the national Design Register before renewing or, at the latest, when the renewal application is filed. If the design was bought and sold several times before you acquired it, you must ensure that all of the previous proprietors were properly entered on the Register. If not, you will need to register the ownership transfer contracts.

 

When to renew

In the six months leading up to the anniversary date of the first filing, or within a maximum of six months after that date (renewal after the anniversary date will incur an additional late fee). The anniversary date is the date on which your registration application was filed, plus ten years.

IMPORTANT: the Office does not issue renewal reminders.  The proprietor of the design is responsible for keeping track of registration and renewal dates.

EXAMPLE: for a registration application filed on 10 August 2001, the anniversary date is 10 August 2011.

NOTE: if the anniversary date falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday, it will be automatically be deferred until the next business day on which the Office is open.

 

How much does it cost to renew a design?

The cost of filing a renewal application varies according to the number of designs for which protection is sought, and also the date on which the application is filed.

 

Cost of renewalt
Extension fee 15 euros per industrial design This fee must be paid when the renewal application is filed
Additional late fee, if your design is renewed within six months following the anniversary date 50% of the amount of the fee payable This fee must be paid when the renewal application is filed

 

 

 

 

 

You can choose to pay:

  • In cash;
  • By cheque made out to “Trésorerie Générale des Finances” or “T.G.F.” .

 

How to renew

 

Step 1 - Complete the renewal application

To renew your design, you need to put together a renewal application on plain paper. As a minimum requirement, the application must state the registration number of the design and the duration of protection sought, i.e. 10, 20, 30 or 40 years.

 

Step 2 - Attach required documents to the renewal application

If the proprietor is using an agent, the renewal application must be accompanied by a power of attorney (see Step 3 of the procedure for filing an application to register a design under the heading “Filing a design”).

If your application for registration was initially accompanied by some form of permission, due to its use of a reproduction or imitation of elements belonging to a third party, a new document granting permission must be attached to your renewal application.

N.B. Failure to provide these documents may cause the renewal of your design to be delayed, or in some cases may even result in your application being rejected.

 

Step 3 - Submit your application to the Office

Once you have all of the necessary documents (renewal application along with any official documents such as a power of attorney or permission), you should deliver them to the Office by hand or send them by post, along with payment of the corresponding fees.

 

Step 4: The Office examines your application

In the month after receiving your application, the Office will examine your renewal request. This is a purely administrative examination to check that your application meets formal requirements.

If there is a problem with the application, the applicant will be notified and will then have eight days to remedy the situation.

If the application is not remedied within this eight-day period, the applicant will be informed that his application is inadmissible.

NOTE: the filing of an application for renewal is not published. Consequently, correspondence between the applicant and the Office during this period of examination will remain confidential.

 

Step 5: The Office renews your brand design

If your application is in order, the design is renewed by the Office within three months following the filing date. Your industrial design will then be protected in the national territory for a new period of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years, starting from the anniversary date.

The Office will inform you by post that your renewal application has been approved. It will also arrange for the renewal to be published in the Annex to the Official Journal of Monaco.

IMPORTANT: In the general interest, it is advisable to read the information published carefully and to inform the Office of any errors as quickly as possible (see section entitled “Reporting an error” under the heading “The life of your design”).

 

Updating information on your design