Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar – It is a remarkable step forward that the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) has accepted applications for industrial design registration in Myanmar. As you may be aware, the new Industrial Design Law of Myanmar 2019 came into force in Myanmar on 31^st October 2023, and an application for registration of an industrial design can be filed in Myanmar via online filing system starting on 1^st February 2024.

The relevant official fees payable have also been announced by by the Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar under Notification No. 2/2023 dated 29^th December 2023.

So what needs to be noted in terms of an industrial design to be registered in Myanmar?

1. Industrial design means the appearance of the whole or a part of any industrial or handicraft product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colors, shapes, textures or materials of the said product itself and/or its ornamentation.

2. An industrial design shall be protected if it is new and independently created.

3. An industrial design is new if it has not been disclosed to the public inside or outside of the country, by writing, by using, by publishing, by displaying or by any other way, prior to the filing date of the application or date of priority if the right of priority is claimed in the application for registration of industrial design in the Union.

4. An industrial design is not new if it does not significantly differ from known designs or it is the combinations of known design features.

5. A foreign applicant is required to sign and file an ID-2 Form to appoint a Myanmar representative to file the application. Such an ID-2 Form must be notarized by the notary public in the country concerned.

6. A non-registrable industrial design is:

• a design dictated essentially by technical or functional considerations;
• contrary to public order, morality, faith or cherished culture of the Union.

7. The term of a registered industrial design is five (5) years from the filing date of the application and may be renewed, for not more than two consecutive periods of five (5) years each, up to fifteen (15) years.

8. Who can file applications for registration of their designs with IPD?

• Creators;
• Their legal successor;
• Legal transferees.

9. Filing forms issued by the Ministry of Commerce of Myanmar under Notification No. 71/2023 on 27^th October 2023:

• Form ID-1: Application for an industrial design registration;
• Form ID-1a: Statement justifying the applicant’s right to the registration of an industrial design;
• Form ID-2: Appointment of a representative;
• Form ID-3: Request for reinstatement of an industrial design application;
• Form ID-4: Request for correction of an industrial design application;
• Form ID-5: Request for withdrawal of an industrial design application;
• Form ID-6: Request for filing a divisional application;
• Form ID-7: Opposition to registration of an industrial design;
• Request for recordation of an industrial design registration;
• Form ID-8: Request for issuing a certified copy of a registration certificate;
• Form ID-10: Request for amendment of registration of an industrial design;
• Form ID-11: Request for renewal of an industrial design;
• Form ID-12: Request for recording of assignment of an industrial design;
• Form ID-13: Request for recording a license of a registered industrial design;
• Form ID-14: Request to cancel recordation of a license of a registered industrial design;
• Form ID-15: Request to invalidate a registered industrial design;
• Form ID-16: Request to change a representative;
• Form ID-18: Request for time extension;
• Form ID-19: Application for an appeal;
• Form ID-19a: Appointment of a representative for an appeal;
• Request for deferment of publication for an international application. 

10. Filing requirements:

• Name, address, company registration number , type of company, e-mail address, contact number of the applicant;
• Name, address, and nationality of the designer if applicant is not the designer;
• Copy of NRC or passport if the applicant is an individual;
• Copy of Company Registration Certificate if the applicant is an organization;
• Presentation of the design in JPG format with drawings in black and white or in color, and the size of the drawings or the photographs must not be more than 16cm x 16cm;
• If the design is 3D, seven (7) drawings in clear lines or seven (7) photographs of the design showing the perspective view, front view, back view, left view, right view, top view and bottom view;
• Design to be filed under one application through WIPO filing system;
• Types of goods to be used with the design in accordance to the Locarno Classification;
• Description of the design consisting not more than 100 words.

11. In case of an offline industrial design application being filed in person, the applicant is entitled to submit up to 100 industrial design applications, if all the goods are under the same Locarno Classification. However, multiple industrial design applications are not acceptable in online filings.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].