– Industrial Designs Act, Chapter 254 of the Laws of Belize, 2000, in force since January 5, 2001.
– Industrial Designs Regulations (Chapter 254 S), 2003.
– Industrial Designs (General Procedures) Administrative Instructions (A.I. No. 3 of 2005).
– Industrial Designs (General Procedures) (Amendment) Administrative Instructions (A.I. No. 7 of 2005).
– Industrial Designs (General Procedures) (Amendment) Administrative Instructions (A.I. No. 6 of 2006).
– Industrial Designs (Electronic Filing) Administrative Instructions (A.I. No. 8 of 2006).

– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since April 11, 1993.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since January 1, 1995.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since June 17, 2000.
– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since June 17, 2000.
– Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, Stockholm Act, since July 12, 2003, and Geneva Act, since February 9, 2019.

Applicant: the authorized physical person or legal entity. 

Foreigners: shall be represented by a local representative. 

Novelty: an industrial design is new if it has not been disclosed to the public anywhere in the world, by publication in tangible form or by use in any other way, prior to the filing date or, where applicable, the priority date of the application. Disclosure to the public of an industrial design shall not be taken into consideration if the disclosure (a) occurred within twelve months preceding the filing date or, where applicable, the priority date of the application; (b) was by reason or in consequence of acts committed by a third party with regard to the applicant or his predecessor in title; or (c) was the result of an abuse committed by a third party with regard to the applicant or his predecessor in title.

Priorities: as provided in the Paris Convention.

Not registrable: industrial designs which are contrary to public order or morality.

Classification: in accordance with the classification system of the Locarno Agreement.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Power of attorney;
2. Photos, drawings or other adequate graphic representations of the article embodying the industrial design;
3. An indication of the kind of products for which the industrial design is to be used;
4. Where the applicant is not the creator, the filing request shall be accompanied by a written statement justifying the applicant’s right to the registration of the industrial design.

Electronic filing: available.

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures). Scanned copies of signed documents are accepted, however, the original must be filed within thirty days, with the possibility of an extension.

Examination: only a formal examination; no examination as to novelty.

Registration: the Registrar shall register the industrial design and issue a certificate of registration. 

Publication: the registration is published in the Journal of Intellectual Property. 

Duration: maximum fifteen years: five years from the filing date of the application, which may be renewed for two further consecutive periods of five years.

Assignment: possible. 

Licenses: possible.

Invalidation: possible by any interested party through the court.