Registration of industrial designs in Latvia – Every company that owns an industrial design and intends to expand its business in the Latvian market should use the Latvian intellectual property system. It is paramount for businesses to file an industrial design application in Latvia for industrial designs, even if the launch of the corresponding product in the Latvian market has not yet commenced.
Requirements for application for registration of industrial designs in Latvia
The deadline for filing an application for design registration in Latvia requesting the right of priority is 6 months from the date of priority.
Registration of several designs (multiple variants) may be required if the designs belong to the same group of the International Classification of Designs (Locarno Classification). When filing multiple applications, the applicant must specify the design number. An additional fee must be paid for each additional industrial design included in the application.
The following information and documents need to be provided in the application for registration of an industrial design in Latvia:
- requirements for registration of industrial designs in Latvia;
- name, address, and nationality of the applicant, business address;
- description of industrial designs, and products using industrial designs.
- industrial design name;
- design drawings.
A certified copy of the priority document must be provided to the Latvian IP Office within three months of the filing date.
If the applicant is not the creator of the design, the document certifying the applicant’s rights must be provided to the IP office within two months of the filing of the application for registration of the design in Latvia.
Examination of industrial design applications in Latvia
The Latvian IP Office only examines industrial design applications according to official requirements.
Validity period and renewal of industrial designs in Latvia
The validity period of an industrial design registration certificate is five years from the filing date. This term can be extended many times, each extension for an industrial design adds 5 years of new validity until the maximum protection term of the design reaches 25 years from the filing date. Requests to renew registration must be submitted within 1 year before the end of the validity period of the application and pay the corresponding renewal fee.
The payment of the renewal fee can also be made for 6 months after the expiration of the subscription’s validity period provided an additional fee is payable.
Disclosure of information about an industrial design will not disprove the novelty of the design if it occurs within 12 months before the filing date or before the priority date and is performed by the design creator or by a third party by using information obtained directly or indirectly from the designer of the design.
Represented by an industrial design registration attorney
International applicants for industrial design registration in Latvia should conduct an industrial design search in Latvia through a law firm, or an experienced industrial design attorney.
You can find the list of Latvia IP firms here.