9. Cancellation of Registration

Cancellation of Registration of Industrial Designs

Under the Intellectual Property Code, the Bureau of Legal Affairs has the jurisdiction to hear and decide cases involving the cancellation of industrial designs, utility models, patents, and trademarks¹. At any time during the term of an industrial design registration, any person may, upon payment of the required fee, petition the Director of Legal Affairs to cancel the registration². The public is also entitled to inspect the register and the files of registered designs, which include records and files of cancellation proceedings.

A petition for cancellation of an industrial design registration may be grounded on any of the following:

• The subject matter of the industrial design is not registrable under the statutory terms, such as when it fails to be new or ornamental, is dictated essentially by technical or functional considerations to obtain a technical result, or is contrary to public order, health, or morals;
• The subject matter is not new²; or
• The subject matter of the industrial design extends beyond the content of the application as originally filed².

Where the grounds for cancellation relate to merely a part of the industrial design, cancellation may be effected to such extent only². In such instances, the restriction may be implemented in the form of an alteration of the affected features of the design².