Changes to assignment of designs

From 13 February 2012 there will be a change in practice relating to the assignment of designs:

• the filing of a request to record an assignment of a design will only be possible after the design has been registered.

Any request to record an assignment of a design which is not registered will not be recorded by IPONZ. The request will be required to be re-filed after the design has been registered.

Previously, requests to record the assignment of designs may have been held on file by IPONZ until the design was registered. The change in practice will mean that a request to record an assignment of a design will not be kept on file by IPONZ if the design has not been registered.

A certified copy of an extract from the designs register that shows the design in the name of the new owner can be requested online via the Request Certified Document function. The request will incur a fee of $30 (plus GST where appropriate).

These changes will be effective from 13 February 2012.

Requests to record the assignment of a registered design and/or obtain a certified extract from the register can be filed at IPONZ using the Maintain a Design and Request Certified IP/Document online functions.