– Law No. 1/13 of July 28, 2009 Relating to Industrial Property in Burundi.

Note: Law No. 1/13 had been implemented without recourse to the Regulations, contemplated by the principal Law to supply detailed administrative requirements. The Ministerial Ordinance No. 540/2046 has been published, prescribing much if not all of the required material.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since March 30, 1977.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since September 3, 1977.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since July 23, 1995.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since February 13, 2015.

Industrial design is any combination of lines or colors or any plastic form, whether or not it is associated with lines or colors, provided this combination or this form gives a special appearance to an industrial or crafts product and can serve as a type for the manufacture of an industrial or crafts product, and that it attracts the eye and is judged visually.

Applicant: the inventor(s) or his successor in title.

Application: applications shall consist of a request, drawings or a photograph of the subject matter and the prescribed fee. If the applicant is not the inventor, the application must also contain a statement justifying his right to register the industrial design. Two or more industrial designs may be the subject of the same application. The applicant may withdraw his application at any stage during the application process.

Not registrable: industrial designs which are contrary to public order or morality may not be registered. 

Novelty: an industrial design is considered to be new if it has not been disclosed in any part of the world. 

Examination: as to formal requirements only.

Delivery of document: the certificate of registration is issued in paper format.

Duration, extension: registrations are valid for five years from the date of filing, renewable for two like periods of five years, on payment of the prescribed fee. There is a six-month grace period on payment of a fine. 

Opposition: there is no provision for opposition, but at any time during the duration of the registration, any interested party may challenge the applicant’s exclusive use of the design in the court.

Marking: no provision in the Law.

Use: compulsory licenses may be granted in cases of non-use or anti-competitive practices on the part of the owner.

Assignment: the right to an industrial design may be assigned.

Infringement: holders of industrial design registrations are entitled to institute judicial proceedings against infringers.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to accredited agent):
1. A power of attorney, simply signed;
2. Copy of drawings or representations of the design;
3. An indication of the kind of products for which the industrial design or model is intended to be used in French;
4. If Convention priority is claimed, a certified copy of the first foreign application, together with a verified French translation thereof.

For a change of name:
1. Certificate of change of name, with a verified French translation;
2. Power of attorney, simply signed.

For a change of address:
1. Power of attorney, simply signed.