REPUBLIC OFNAMIBIA
DRAFT REGULATIONS AND SCHEDULES UNDER THE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ACT NO. 1, 2012
PART 1— PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
1. Citation and Commencement
These Regulations may be cited as the Industrial Property Regulations 2017 and shall come into operation on [date.]
2. Definitions
In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:
3. (i) “Act” means the Industrial Property Act (Act No. 1 of 2012);
4. (ii) “Section” refers to the specified Section of the Act;
5. (iii) “Regulation” or “Rule” means these Regulations
6.
Definitions in Section 1 of the Act apply mutatis mutandis to these Regulations.
PART 2 – INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY OFFICE
3. Establishment of Industrial Property Office (Section 2)
Windhoek and any other places other than Windhoek as the Minister will determine by publication in Government Gazette and any other manner which the Minister considers appropriate
4. Additional Functions of the Office (Section 3 (1))
Research, Public Awareness, Training, Competition, Awards, public education and advocacy
5. Office Hours
09:00 -12:00
14:00 -16:00
6. Registrar’s power to prescribe fee where no specific fee is set (Section 5 (2))
The Registrar shall have the powers to prescribe fee related to the administration of this Act where no such fee is provided for.
7. All registers for industrial property (Section 7(1))
Continuation of the current register; Registrar may maintain Register in an electronic format
8. Manner and fee for consulting Register (Section 7(4))
Fees prescribed in the schedule of fees
9. Manner and fee for extraction from registers (Section 7(4))
Fees prescribed in the schedule of fees
10. Manner and fee for inspecting official file and documents lodged in support of an application (Section 8(1))
Fees prescribed in the schedule of fees
11. Manner and fee for obtaining copies or extracts for document or entry open to public inspection (Section 8(3))
Fees prescribed in the schedule of fees
12. Bulletin of Industrial Property (Section 9)
May be printed or electronic format
13. Forms
(i) The forms referred to in these Regulations are those set out in the Schedule of Forms annexed to and forming part of these Regulations.
(ii) Such forms, whether in paper form or in any electronic form authorized by the Registrar for electronic services, shall be used substantially in the manner prescribed for those matters to which they apply, but may be modified or amended with the approval of the Registrar, provided that such modifications or amendments shall not substantially affect their identity.
(iii) Copies of the forms shall be available online and can befurnished free of charge by the Registrar.
(iv) A requirement under these Regulations to use such a form is satisfied by the use of a copy or replica of that form.
14. Documents and Translation
1. Applications shall be in the English language, and any document forming part of an application or submitted to the Registrar pursuant to the Act or these Regulations and which is in a language other than English shall be accompanied by a certified English translation.
2. All documents shall be so presented as to permit of direct reproduction by photography, reprography or electronic means, as the case may be, in an unlimited number of copies. Where paper forms are used, all sheets shall be free of cracks, creases and folds.
3. In the case of documents submitted in electronic format, the Registrar shall accept an electronic or digital signature as a valid signature if a signature is required. If in any proceedings under this Act the question arises whether an electronic or digital signature of a person referred to in subsection (2) was used with the authority of the person, it shall be assumed, in the absence of proof to the contrary, that the signature was so used.”.
15. Fees
1. The fees to be paid in respect of matters arising under the Act or these Regulations shall be those specified in the Schedule of Fees annexed to and forming part of these Regulations.
2. All such fees shall, subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Registrar, be payable by means of electronic transfer, cash, deposit and in such other manner as Registrar may direct and provided for in the Registrar’s instructions
16. Power of Attorney
(1) The appointment of an agent shall be by a power of attorney which shall be signed by the applicant or, if there are more than one, by each applicant. The address of the agent shall, for all purposes connected with the Act and these Regulations, be treated as the address to which communications to the person or persons who appointed the agent shall be transmitted.
(2) Any agent appointed to act on behalf of any person shall file a power of attorney on Form I.F.
(3) On termination of the authority of an agent referred to in paragraph (2) the person concerned may act on his own behalf or appoint any other agent to act for him. Such other agent shall file a power of attorney.
(4) The registration of an assignment shall not revoke a power of attorney previously given, unless the assignee files a power of attorney in accordance with paragraph (3).
(5) An agent who withdraws from proceedings under the Act may do so on notice to the Registrar, and the Applicant must notify the Registrar.
(6) Upon withdrawal of an agent the provisions of paragraph (3) shall apply.
(7) Where any change is made in the authorization of an agent referred to in paragraph (2) the applicant shall, within one month of the date of such change or such further period as the Registrar may allow, request the Registrar change his address for service and agent authorization information on Form I.G.
(8) The power of attorney appointing an agent may befiled together with the application or within two] months from its filing date; if the appointment is not thus made and is not in accordance with Section 23 of the Act, any procedural steps taken by the agent, other than the filing of the application, shall be deemed not to have been taken.
17. Address for Service
(1) There shall be furnished to the Registrar:
(a) by every applicant, opponent or agent, address for service in Namibia, and
(b) by every person ( as the case may be) concerned in any proceedings to which any of these Regulations relate, an address for service in Namibia, and the address so furnished or, where another address (being an address in Namibia) has been furnished in place thereof, that address shall be treated for the purposes of that application or those proceedings, as appropriate, as the address of that applicant or, as the case may be, of that person.
(2) An address for service shall in all cases include a street address. Where an address for service is in an area where there is no street, the address given shall contain such further indications as the Registrar may deem necessary to find the exact location of such address.
(3) An address for service may, in addition, contain a post office box number, a facsimile transmission number and an e-mail address.
18. CHANGE OF NAME, ADDRESS OR ADDRESS FOR SERVICE
(1) A request by the owner of, or applicant for, a patent or utility model certificate for the alteration of a name, nationality, address or address for service on record in respect of any application made under the Act shall be made in writing on Form …. and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(2) Before acting on a request to alter a name or nationality, the Registrar may require such proof of the alteration as the Registrar thinks fit.
(3) If the Registrar is satisfied that the request should be allowed, the Registrar shall cause the application thereof and, where the name, nationality or address has been recorded in the register, to be altered accordingly.
19. INDICATION OF NAME, ADDRESS, NATIONALITY AND RESIDENCE
(1) Names of natural persons shall be indicated by the person’s family name and given name(s), the family names being indicated before the given name(s). The names of legal entities shall be indicated by their full, official designations.
(2) Addresses shall be indicated in such a way as to satisfy the customary requirements for prompt postal delivery at the indicated address and, in any case, shall consist of all the relevant administrative units, including the house number, if any. The telephone numbers, fax numbers, as well as details of other data communications links, such as e-mail, under which the applicant accepts to receive communications, must be given.
(3)Nationality and residence shall be indicated including the State in which the applicant is domiciled, in the case of a natural person; or the State under whose law it is constituted and their Registered Office, in the case of a legal entity.
(4) Only one address shall be indicated for each applicant; where several addresses are indicated, only the address mentioned first shall be taken into account, except where the applicant designates one of the addresses as an address for service.
20. SIGNATURES BY PARTNERSHIPS, COMPANIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
(1) A document purporting to be signed for or on behalf of a partnership shall contain the names of all the partners in full and shall be signed by all the partners or by any partner qualified to sign, stating that he signs on behalf of the partnership, or by any other person who satisfies the Registrar that he is authorized to sign the document.
(2) A document purporting to be signed for or on behalf of a body corporate shall be signed by a director or by the secretary or by any other principal officer of the body corporate, or by any other person who satisfies the Registrar that he is authorized to sign the document and shall bear the seal of the body corporate. A document purporting to be signed for or on behalf of an association of persons may be signed by any person who satisfies the Registrar that he is duly authorized.
(3) The Registrar may, whenever he deems it necessary, request evidence of authorization to sign.
21. Representation by Agents
(1) Where the ordinary residence or principal place of business of the applicant is outside Namibia, he or she must be represented by an agent. If his or her ordinary residence or principal place of is in Namibia, he or she may be represented by an agent in accordance with Sections 211 and 212.
(2) The appointment of an agent shall be signed by the applicant or, if there are more than one, by each applicant.
(3) The power of attorney may be filed together with the application or within two months from its filing date; if the document is not filed in accordance with Section 99 (2) (d), any procedural steps taken by the agent, other than the filing of the application, shall be deemed not to have been taken.
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