The Sector Economy and Economic Policy Committee reviewed, in the first reading, the draft amendments to the Law on Design along with the accompanying legislative package.

As stated by the Government’s Parliamentary Secretary, Vakhtang Bachiashvili, one of the key novelties introduced by the draft law is the establishment of a re-registration procedure for designs, which serves as an alternative to lengthy court proceedings.

According to V. Bachiashvili, the proposed changes will allow interested parties to request the protection of specific rights related to a design or to verify the scope of protection once again, both during the design’s validity period and after its expiration, by applying to the Appeals Chamber under Sakpatenti.

The draft law also expands the grounds for invalidating a design. Specifically, it will be possible to declare a design invalid even if the term of protection has expired or the registration has been cancelled. Additionally, the retroactive legal effects of invalidation will be regulated.

Another change foresees that if the substantive examination decision on the registration of a design is annulled, the design may still be registered in an amended form—provided that the revised design meets the criteria for protectability and retains the essence of the original design.

“Following the adoption of these amendments to the Law on Design, Georgia’s intellectual property legislation will be fully harmonised with European intellectual property standards”, – V. Bachiashvili stated.