Industrial Designs Law in Latvia
In Latvia, industrial design protection is governed by the Law on Designs, which was adopted on October 28, 2004, and amended up to July 1, 2020. This law aligns with European Union directives, specifically Directive 98/71/EC on the legal protection of designs and Directive 2004/48/EC on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. The law is implemented by the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republikas Patentu valde), an independent state institution operating under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice .
🖌️ What Is an Industrial Design?
An industrial design in Latvia refers to the aesthetic or ornamental aspects of an article, including:
Shape
Configuration
Pattern
Ornamentation
Composition of lines or colors
These features must appeal to and be judged solely by the eye. Functional aspects of a design are not protected under the Law on Designs; such features are subject to patent protection. The law also specifies that legal protection shall not be granted to the appearance of a product that is in conflict with public order or socially accepted principles of morality, features solely dictated by the technical functions of the product, or features that must be reproduced in an exact form and dimensions to permit the product to be mechanically connected to another product .
✅ Requirements for Protection
To qualify for protection, a design must:
Be new or original
Not have been disclosed to the public in any form, anywhere in Latvia or elsewhere, before the filing date or priority date
Not be contrary to public order or morality
Be applied to an article and appeal to the eye
Not be a mechanical contrivance
Not be a mere trademark or property mark
The law also specifies that the scope of legal protection of a design shall not be influenced by the indication of the product to which such design is intended to be applied or incorporated into, the index of the International Design Classification (Locarno Classification), as well as the description of the design (if such description has been attached to the application for the registration of the design) .
📝 Registration Process
Application Submission: File an application with the Patent Office, including:
A request for registration
Drawings or photographs of the design
A brief description of the goods to which the design relates
Receipt of payment of fees
Power of attorney (if represented)
Examination: The Patent Office conducts a formal examination to ensure that the application is complete and complies with procedural requirements. A substantive examination follows to assess novelty and originality. The design must not fall within excluded subject matters.
Publication: If the application is accepted, the design is published in the official gazette.
Registration & Certificate Issuance: Upon successful examination, a registration certificate is issued.
⏳ Duration and Renewal
Initial Protection: 5 years from the filing date.
Renewal: Can be renewed twice, each time for 5 years, totaling a maximum of 15 years.
⚖️ Enforcement and Remedies
Disputes related to industrial designs are examined by the Riga Regional Court as the Court of First Instance. The time period for bringing an action to a court regarding designs is 3 years from the time when a person found out or had to find out the fact that his or her rights had been violated .
🌍 International Protection
Latvia is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Hague Agreement, and the Locarno Agreement, allowing for international design registration through the Hague System. Persons entitled to apply designs for international registration may file the applications directly to the International Bureau without the intermediation of the Patent Office. The Patent Office examines the international registration of a design that applies to Latvia and assesses the essence of the internationally registered design within the scope specified in the Law on Designs. The international registration of a design that has come into effect in Latvia shall have the same legal effect as the registration of the design registered in accordance with the national registration procedure .
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