Ownership / licenses
Designs may be licensed in writing, wholly or partially, whether or not for financial reward, on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis.
Transfer of ownership and licenses must be recorded in the Angolan Institute of Industrial Property to be effective against third parties.
Ownership belongs to the author. There is a rebuttable presumption to the effect that the first applicant of an industrial model or design registration is the author of such industrial model or design. Joint ownership is possible and is governed by the Civil and Commercial Code and by Decree 6673/1963 as amended.
Industrial models or designs may be the subject matter of license agreements. No registration is necessary for the validity of these agreements.
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The author of a design is the 1st proprietor of the design, unless the author has executed the design for another person for a good and valuable consideration, in which case the other person is the 1st proprietor.
Every design, whether registered or unregistered, is transferable in whole or in part. Licenses may be granted. Ownership may be assigned.
The law does not provide for specific rules on the granting of a license for industrial designs and industrial drawings. However, the exclusive right of the rights holder to use and monetize their product includes the right to license these rights.
Not applicable for this jurisdiction.
The designer may transfer the registry of the industrial design or grant a license, but both the transfer and the license shall be made and granted in writing and registered before the Superintendency of Industry and Trade. If 2 or more persons create an industrial design jointly, the right to register it shall belong jointly to all of them.
Nonetheless, according to Article 114 of Decision 460 of 2000, "where two or more persons create the same industrial design independently, registration shall be granted to the one, or to the successor in title, who files the first application in relation to it or who claims the earliest priority."
Not applicable for this jurisdiction.
Any legal or natural person may apply for and own a design or obtain design right through use.
Owners may grant 3rd parties a license to use the registered design.
Licenses may be registered in the Danish design register and for registered EU designs with the EUIPO. In Denmark, registration of licensees is not mandatory. However, for EU designs, registration is mandatory to obtain validity.
Not applicable.
The protection of the design is acquired by the registration of the owner.
The author of the application for registration is, unless proven otherwise, regarded as the beneficiary of this protection.
A design owner is free to transfer or license any and all of its rights under the design to a 3rd party.
There are no formal requirements for sui generis protection.
Under the sui generis protection, a database producer (ie, a natural person or a legal entity initiating and supporting the investment) is free to transfer or license any and all of its rights under the database to a 3rd party.
Ownership can be transferred by agreement. Joint ownership is possible.
Licenses may be granted on an exclusive and non-exclusive basis. In joint ownership situations, licenses may generally only be granted with the consent of the other co-owners.
Joint ownership of design is recognized. If there is more than 1 registered owner of a registered design, each of them shall be entitled to an equal undivided share in the design, unless there is any agreement to the contrary.
The co-owner of the registered design can only grant a license under the design or assign or mortgage a share in the design if they have obtained the consent from the other co-owner.
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Not applicable for this jurisdiction.
The holder of industrial design right may grant a license permitting a 3rd party to use the industrial design under a license agreement. The law stipulates that all licenses granted by the holder of industrial design right must be recorded in the General Register of Industrial Design and published in the Official Gazette of Industrial Design.
Based on Minister Regulation No. 8, an industrial design license agreement can now be duly recorded, and the application for recording can be made electronically or in paper format. A recording is valid for a duration of 5 years and can be renewed. Minister Regulation No. 8 requires a copy of the industrial design license agreement, copy of the industrial design registration certificate, original power of attorney and proof of payment to be submitted.
The applicant is also required to provide a statement letter stating that the object of the license agreement is still valid, will not cause any losses to the national economy interest, will not inhibit the development of technology and is not in conflict with the laws and regulations, morality and public order.
It is possible to have joint ownership in a design. It is also possible to transfer and/or license design rights. There are certain formalities in relation to the recordal of exclusive and non-exclusive design rights.
The designer is the first owner of a design. The employer is the first owner of a design made by an employee carrying out their tasks or as a result of making substantial use of the employer's resources, unless otherwise agreed. A design made to order is owned by the person who commissioned it, unless otherwise agreed.
Licenses can be granted by the owner of the rights and by licensees authorized to grant sub-licenses. An exclusive license or a transfer of rights in a design must be in writing and these are required to be recorded on the designs registry.
Generally speaking, ownership belongs to the creator of the design (unless it is created in the context of an employment relationship – see below) and the economic rights related to it can be licensed to 3rd parties.
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Generally, the author of a design is the owner of it, except where the design is made for someone else for good consideration, in which case that other person will be treated as the owner. Design owners can assign and license their designs.
The owner of an industrial design is known as the statutory creator or person who, whether or not they are the true creator, is the first to file the application for the registration of the design or validly claim a foreign priority for an application for registration of the design. The true creator is entitled to be named as such in the register, whether or not they are also the statutory creator, and the entitlement in question shall not be modifiable by contract.
A design owner may grant a license to any person in the same manner and with the same effect as license grants under patents.
The designer has the exclusive right to their registered design, and no third party may use the design without the designer's consent.
There are some exceptions to this exclusive right, and it applies to private and non-commercial use, use for experimental purposes and use for the purpose of teaching and citation.
Licenses to designs may be granted.
Not applicable.
Not applicable in this jurisdiction.
The right of registration to an industrial design gives its owner the exclusive right to use the design in a commercial and professional way in Poland (or in the EU, in the case of registered community designs). The holder of the right to a registered industrial design may prohibit any 3rd party from manufacturing, using, offering, marketing or importing and exporting and stocking for these purposes, products whose appearance does not produce on the informed user a different overall impression.
It is also possible to transfer a registered design, although in respect of the industrial designs registered with the Polish Patent Office, it must be done in writing – otherwise the transfer will be null and void. The same applies to licenses.
Licenses may be granted on an exclusive and non-exclusive basis. However, only the holder of an exclusive license to an industrial design registered with the Polish Patent Office may pursue claims for infringement of the rights to the design, unless the license agreement provides otherwise. A licensee may grant further licenses only upon the consent of the licensor (further sublicensing is prohibited in respect of designs registered with the Polish Patent Office). A license that does not limit the scope of the design's use is regarded as a license granting full rights as exercised by the holder of rights to the registered design.
Where a registered industrial design right encumbered with a license is transferred, the license contract is effective towards the successor in title.
Logos can be transferred in writing, wholly or partially, whether for financial reward or not. When a logo is used in an establishment, the rights arising from the application for registration or registration of a logo may only be transmitted together with the establishment or part of the establishment to which they are connected.
On the other hand, the transfer of the establishment involves its logo, which may continue as it is registered, unless the transferor reserves it to another establishment, present or future.
Logos may also be licensed in writing, wholly or partially, whether for financial reward or not, on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis.
Transfer of ownership and licenses must be recorded in the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property to be effective against 3rd parties.
Joint ownership is possible. Rights over industrial designs may be transferred by way of assignments and/or licenses.
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Not applicable for this jurisdiction.
The owner of a utility model is the natural or legal person registered in the register of the Industrial Property Office as the owner. The joint ownership of a utility model is allowed. The Industrial Property Office will register a co-owner upon an application accompanied by a written agreement concluded between the owner or co-owners of a utility model and the person who has the right to solution.
The owner may grant another person a license to their utility model. A license shall have legal effects towards 3rd parties upon registration in the register of the Industrial Property Office.
The owner of a design is a natural or legal person registered in the register of the Industrial Property Office as the owner. The joint ownership of a design is allowed. The Industrial Property Office will register a co-owner upon an application accompanied by a written agreement concluded between the owner or co-owners of a design and the person who has the right to design.
The owner may grant another person a license to their design. The license shall have legal effects towards 3rd parties upon registration in the register of the Industrial Property Office.
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Under Ukrainian law the design author is the initial intellectual property rights holder.
The persons who created a design jointly are considered co-authors under Ukrainian law. The exclusive rights with respect to a design created in co-authorship are vested with all co-authors. Relations between co-authors are regulated by an agreement between them.
The right holders of registered industrial designs may grant or assign their rights to other parties through license or assignment agreement, which should be in writing. The assignment of the rights to registered industrial designs is subject to mandatory registration with the Ukrainian IP Office.
Not applicable.
Goodwill can be jointly owned and is considered to be a form of property right that can be transferred like any other property right.
As a general rule, goodwill accrues to the business that has generated the relevant goodwill, and not to individual employees.
The UK has a first-to-file system in respect of registered designs. Registered designs may be assigned or licensed.
For unregistered design right, the designer will generally be the first owner of the right, though if the design has been created in the course of employment the employer is likely to be the first owner.
In the last 5 years of an unregistered design right, any person is entitled to a license. If parties cannot agree on the terms, the Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks will settle the terms; this can be a lengthy process, but an infringer can manufacture products pending settlement of the terms.
Not applicable for this jurisdiction.
