Quote from gyue on May 4, 2018, 9:47 am

References from Singapore Registered Design Act (RDA) and Registered Design Rules (RDR) for the following terms:

1. Registration and publication [section 18, RDA]

"Subject to sections 17 and 18A(3), if the Registrar determines that an application for registration of a design satisfies the formal requirements, he shall as soon as practicable —

(a) register the design by entering the prescribed particulars in the Register;

(b) enter the name of the applicant, or the successor in title to the application, in the Register as the owner of the design;

(c) issue a certificate of registration to the person who is the registered owner of the design at the time the design is registered; and

  (d) publish a notice of the registration and a representation of the design in the prescribed manner."

2. Deferment of publication [section 18A(1), RDA]

"An applicant may, when filing his application for registration of a design, request that any publication under section 18 of the design be deferred for the prescribed period after the date of filing of that application."

3. Date of Registration [section 20, RDA]

"A design when registered shall be registered as of the date on which the application for registration is filed, and that date shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be the date of its registration."

4. Rights conferred by registration [section 30(1), RDA]

"The registration of a design under this Act gives to the registered owner the exclusive right —

(a) to make in Singapore or import into Singapore —

(i) for sale or hire; or

(ii) for use for the purpose of trade or business; or

(b) to sell, hire, or offer or expose for sale or hire, in Singapore,

any article in respect of which the design is registered and to which that design or a design not substantially different from it has been applied."

5. Deferment of publication [section 28A(1), RDR]

"An applicant may, when applying for the registration of a design in Form D3, request in that form that any publication of the design be deferred for 18 months."

Questions:

1. In respect of a registered design whose publication has been deferred at the request of the owner of the design upon filing the design application, can the owner of the design exercise his/her rights in the design during the period of deferment for the publication of the registered design (i.e. 18-month period from the date of application of the design) ?

2. Does the registered design owner's use of the design for the purpose of "expose for sale or hire" in relation to marketing activities, amount to the owner's own act of "making his/her design available to the public" during the period of deferment for the publication of the registered design ?