If you are selling all or part of your design, licensing it to a third party, changing address, changing the name or legal form of your company, you can make this information accessible to the public, so that it becomes common knowledge and therefore enforceable against third parties.
To do this, you simply need to inform the Office by making a formal application to update information on your design.
Condition
The information updated must concern a design that is already on the Design Register.
NOTE: For international designs designating Monaco, you should approach the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization, which is responsible for the International Register.
Who can apply to update information on a design?
- To report a change to the information on a design’s proprietor
The proprietor of the design registered on the national Design Register.
- To report a change affecting the design’s ownership
Any party to the document supplied as proof in support of the application to update information.
Anyone applying to register a change to design information may enlist the services of an agent, i.e. a person empowered to represent them. Agents may be specialist industrial property consultants or, more generally, any natural person or legal entity.
IMPORTANT: The proprietor of the design must be the same as the person named on the national Design Register. You should therefore have yourself registered as the new proprietor on the Register. 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. These additional steps may be carried out either beforehand or at the same time, but you must use separate update application forms.
Who can apply to update information on a design?
You need to complete two copies of the “Registration Application" form and sign both of them.
NOTE: to facilitate processing of your application, it is advisable to type up the information on the form.
Other documents to be supplied
To find out which supporting documents should be enclosed with your forms depending on your circumstances, refer to the table below.
If the document is in a language other than French, include a French translation.
Remember to provide a power of attorney if someone else is making the update application for you (refer to Step 3 of the procedure for filing a design).
| You want to: | Act | Supporting document to be supplied |
| Update the proprietor’s details |
Change of address Change of legal form Change of individual name or company name |
No supporting document |
| Register a change of ownership following a transfer or contribution | Transfer | Certified true copy of the deed of transfer or contribution agreement |
| Register a change of ownership following a partial transfer | Partial transfer | Certified true copy of the deed of transfer |
| Register a change of ownership following a merger, takeover or demerger |
Merger - takeover - demerger |
Copy of an extract from the Trade & Industry Register (RCI), up to date and showing the change. |
| Register a change of ownership following transmission by death | Transmission |
Copy of any deed of transfer establishing transmission to the heirs or legatees. In case of transfer by succession, a notarised deed containing statements attesting to the death, or an inventory. |
| Register a pledge | Constitution of a pledge as collateral | Certified true copy of the pledge agreement signed by both parties |
| Register a license | License | Certified true copy of the license agreement signed by both parties |
| Report an error concerning: the proprietor’s identity (name, address, etc.), documents remitted to the Office, acts entered on the Design Register | Correction of a material error | Copy of a document proving the error and allowing correction. |
NOTE: if you are physically unable to provide a supporting document (for example the company no longer exists, the documents have been lost, etc.), you must include an explanatory letter with the update application form, along with any documents proving the new legal situation. The Office will examine all of the documents provided at its own discretion.
In the case of court judgements, only final and definitive judgements may be registered.
How much does it cost to update information on designs?
30 euros per design and per update.
EXAMPLES: To register a change of address and a change of name for a design, the total amount payable is 60 euros (30 x 2).
To register a change of address and a change of name for three designs, the total amount payable is 180 euros (30 x 2 x 3).
Where to submit your update application
Once you have all of the documents needed, you can:
- hand them directly to the Office
- Post them to:
Direction de l’Expansion Economique
Division de la propriété intellectuelle
9, rue du GABIAN
98000 MONACO
IMPORTANT: documents cannot be sent by email or fax.
After the update application
The Office will examine the update application form. It will check:
- That the form has been completed
- That your request is legitimate
- If appropriate, that the information on the form matches that contained in the supporting documentation
- If appropriate, that the power of attorney is in order
The Office will inform you if there is an issue with your application. You then have 15 days to remedy the application or present your observations. Otherwise, the Office will declare your update application inadmissible.
If there are no issues, the change requested will be entered on the national Design Register. Meanwhile, the Office will send you a copy of the update application showing the date of entry on the Design Register.