This Act may be cited as the Designs Act 1953.

This Act shall come into force on a day to be appointed for the commencement thereof by the Governor-General by Proclamation.

A Proclamation under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Any reference in this Act to an article in respect of which a design is registered shall, in the case of a design registered in respect of a set of articles, be construed as a reference to any article of that set.

Any question arising under this Act as to whether a number of articles constitute a set of articles shall be determined by the Commissioner; and notwithstanding anything in this Act any determination of the Commissioner under this subsection shall be final.

For the purposes of subsection (1) of section 21 and of section 23, the expression personal representative, in relation to a deceased person, includes the legal representative of the deceased appointed in any country outside New Zealand.

In the case of an entity that is a convention country but is not a state, part of a state, or a territory for whose international relations a state is responsible,—

The chief executive of the Ministry must appoint, under the Public Service Act 2020,—

These persons are employees of the Ministry, and those appointments may be held separately or in conjunction with any other office in the Ministry.

An Assistant Commissioner of Designs has the functions, duties, and powers of the Commissioner under this Act (other than the power to delegate under section 4A), but is subject to the control of the Commissioner.

The fact that an Assistant Commissioner exercises those functions, duties, and powers is conclusive evidence of the authority to do so.

The Commissioner may delegate to any person, either generally or particularly, any of the Commissioner’s functions, duties, and powers (except this power of delegation).

A delegation—

A person to whom any functions, duties, or powers are delegated may perform and exercise them in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred directly by this Act and not by delegation.

A person who appears to act under a delegation is presumed to be acting in accordance with its terms in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

Any reference in this Act or the regulations made under this Act to the Commissioner includes a reference to the delegate in respect of anything delegated to that person.

The Commissioner, an Assistant Commissioner, or any other person acting on behalf of the Commissioner is not personally liable for any act or omission done in good faith in the performance or intended performance of the Commissioner’s functions, duties, or powers.

Subject to the following provisions of this section, a design may, upon application made by the person claiming to be the proprietor, be registered under this Act in respect of any article or set of articles specified in the application.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a design shall not be registered thereunder unless it is new or original and in particular shall not be so registered in respect of any article if it is the same as a design which before the date of the application for registration has been registered or published in New Zealand in respect of the same or any other article or differs from such a design only in immaterial details or in features which are variants commonly used in the trade.

Regulations made under this Act may provide for excluding from registration under this Act designs for such articles, being articles which are primarily literary or artistic in character, as may be specified in the regulations.

Subject to the provisions of this section, the author of a design shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the proprietor of the design:

Where a design, or the right to apply a design to any article, becomes vested, whether by assignment, transmission, or operation of law, in any person other than the original proprietor, either alone or jointly with the original proprietor, that other person, or, as the case may be, the original proprietor and that other person, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the proprietor of the design or as the proprietor of the design in relation to that article.

An application for the registration of a design shall be made in the prescribed form and shall be filed with the Commissioner in the prescribed manner.

For the purpose of deciding whether a design is new or original the Commissioner may make such searches, if any, as he thinks fit.

The Commissioner may refuse any application for the registration of a design or may register the design in pursuance of the application without modification or subject to such modifications as he thinks fit.

An application which, owing to any default or neglect on the part of the applicant, has not been completed so as to enable registration to be effected within such time as may be prescribed shall be deemed to be abandoned.

Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Act, a design when registered shall be registered as of the date on which the application for registration was made, or such other date (whether earlier or later than that date) as the Commissioner may in any particular case direct:

An appeal to the court shall lie from any decision of the Commissioner under subsection (3).

Where the registered proprietor of a design registered in respect of any article makes an application—

the application shall not be refused and the registration made on that application shall not be invalidated by reason only of the previous registration or publication of the registered design:

Where any person makes an application for the registration of a design in respect of any article and either—

then, if at any time while the application is pending the applicant becomes the registered proprietor of the design previously registered, the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply as if at the time of making the application the applicant had been the registered proprietor of that design.

Where, either before or after the commencement of this Act, an application for the registration of a design has been made, and it appears to the Commissioner that the design is one of a class notified to him by the Minister of Defence as relevant for defence purposes, or is in the opinion of the Commissioner likely to be valuable for defence purposes, he may give directions for prohibiting or restricting the publication of information with respect to the design, or the communication of such information to any person or class of persons specified in the directions.

Regulations may be made under this Act for securing that the representation or specimen of a design in the case of which directions are given under this section shall not be open to inspection by the public during the continuance in force of the directions.

Where the Commissioner gives any such directions as aforesaid, he shall give notice of the application and of the directions to the Minister of Defence, and thereupon the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:

No person resident in New Zealand shall, except under the authority of a written permit granted by or on behalf of the Commissioner, make or cause to be made any application outside New Zealand for the registration of a design of any class prescribed for the purposes of this subsection unless—

An application for the registration of a design shall not be refused, and the registration of a design shall not be invalidated, by reason only of,—

An application for the registration of a design shall not be refused and the registration of a design shall not be invalidated by reason only—

if the application for registration of the design is made not later than 6 months after the date of the opening of the exhibition.

An application for the registration of a design shall not be refused, and the registration of a design shall not be invalidated, by reason only of the communication of the design by the proprietor thereof to a government department or to any person authorized by a government department to consider the merits of the design, or of anything done in consequence of such a communication.

The registration of a design under this Act shall give to the registered proprietor the copyright in the design, that is to say, the exclusive right in New Zealand to make or import for sale or for use for the purposes of any trade or business, or to sell, hire, or offer for sale or hire, any article in respect of which the design is registered, being an article to which the registered design or a design not substantially different from the registered design has been applied, and to make anything for enabling any such article to be made as aforesaid, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and of subsection (3) of section 7 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1950, the registration of a design shall have the same effect against the Crown as it has against a subject.

Copyright in a registered design shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, subsist for a period of 5 years from the date of registration.

The Commissioner shall extend the period of copyright for a second period of 5 years from the expiration of the original period, and for a third period of 5 years from the expiration of the second period, if an application for extension of the period of copyright for the second period or third period is made in the prescribed manner and the prescribed fee is also paid before the expiration of the original period or the second period, as the case may be, or if such application is made and the fee is paid within such further period (not exceeding 6 months) as may be specified in a request to the Commissioner and accompanied by the prescribed additional fee.

Subsection (2) is subject to sections 41A to 41F (which provide for the restoration of lapsed copyright in a registered design).

In proceedings for the infringement of copyright in a registered design, damages or account of profits shall not be awarded against a defendant who proves that at the date of the infringement he was not aware and had no reasonable ground for supposing that the design was registered in New Zealand; and a person shall not be deemed to have been aware or to have had any reasonable ground for supposing as aforesaid by reason only of the marking of an article with the word “registered” or any abbreviation thereof, or any word or words expressing or implying that the design applied to the article has been registered, unless the word or words are accompanied by the words “New Zealand” or the letters “NZ” and by the number of the design.

Nothing in this section shall affect the power of the court to grant an injunction in any proceedings for infringement of copyright in a registered design.

At any time after a design has been registered any person interested may apply to the Commissioner for the grant of a compulsory licence in respect of the design on the ground that the design is not applied in New Zealand by any industrial process or means to the article in respect of which it is registered to such an extent as is reasonable in the circumstances of the case; and the Commissioner may make such order on the application as he thinks fit.

An order for the grant of a licence shall, without prejudice to any other method of enforcement, have effect as if it were a deed executed by the registered proprietor and all other necessary parties, granting a licence in accordance with the order.

No order shall be made under this section which would be at variance with any treaty, convention, arrangement, or engagement applying to New Zealand and any convention country.

An appeal to the court shall lie from any order of the Commissioner under this section.

The Commissioner may, upon a request made in the prescribed manner by the registered proprietor, cancel the registration of a design.

At any time after a design has been registered any person interested may apply to the Commissioner for the cancellation of the registration of the design on the ground that the design was not, at the date of the registration thereof, new or original, or on any other ground on which the Commissioner could have refused to register the design; and the Commissioner may make such order on the application as he thinks fit.

An appeal to the court shall lie from any order of the Commissioner under subsection (2).

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, any government department, and any person authorized in writing by a government department, may use any registered design for the services of the Crown in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

If and so far as the design has, before the date of registration thereof, been duly recorded by or applied by or on behalf of a government department otherwise than in consequence of the communication of the design directly or indirectly by the registered proprietor or any person from whom he derives title, any use of the design by virtue of this section may be made free of any royalty or other payment to the registered proprietor.

If and so far as the design has not been so recorded or applied as aforesaid, any use of the design made by virtue of this section at any time after the date of registration thereof, or in consequence of any such communication as aforesaid, shall be made upon such terms as may be agreed upon, either before or after the use, between the government department and the registered proprietor with the approval of the Minister of Finance, or as may in default of agreement be determined by the court on a reference under section 18.

The authority of a government department in respect of a design may be given under this section either before or after the design is registered and either before or after the acts in respect of which the authority is given are done, and may be given to any person whether or not he is authorized directly or indirectly by the registered proprietor to use the design.

Where any use of a design is made by or with the authority of a government department under this section then, unless it appears to the department that it would be contrary to the public interest so to do, the department shall notify the registered proprietor as soon as practicable after the use is begun, and furnish him with such information as to the extent of the use as he may from time to time require.

For the purposes of this section and of section 17, any use of a design for the supply to the Government of any country outside New Zealand, in pursuance of any agreement or arrangement between Her Majesty’s Government in New Zealand and the Government of that country, of articles required for the defence of that country shall be deemed to be a use of the design for the services of the Crown; and the power of a government department or a person authorized by a government department under this section to use a design shall include power—

The purchaser of any articles sold in the exercise of powers conferred by this section, and any person claiming through him, shall have power to deal with them in the same manner as if the rights in the registered design were held on behalf of Her Majesty.

In relation to any use of a registered design, or a design in respect of which an application for registration is pending, made for the services of the Crown—

the provisions of any licence, assignment, or agreement made, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, between the registered proprietor or applicant for registration or any person who derives title from him or from whom he derives title and any person other than a government department shall be of no effect so far as those provisions restrict or regulate the use of the design, or any model, document, or information relating thereto, or provide for the making of payments in respect of any such use, or calculated by reference thereto; and the reproduction or publication of any model or document in connection with the said use shall not constitute an infringement of any copyright subsisting in the model or document.

Where an exclusive licence granted otherwise than for royalties or other benefits determined by reference to the use of the design is in force under the registered design, then,—

Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), where the registered design or the right to apply for or obtain registration of the design has been assigned to the registered proprietor in consideration of royalties or other benefits determined by reference to the use of the design, then,—

Where, under subsection (3) of section 16, payments are required to be made by a government department to a registered proprietor in respect of any use of a design, any person being the holder of an exclusive licence under the registered design (not being such a licence as is mentioned in subsection (2) of this section) authorizing him to make that use of the design shall be entitled to recover from the registered proprietor such part (if any) of those payments as may be agreed upon between that person and the registered proprietor, or as may in default of agreement be determined by the court under section 18 to be just having regard to any expenditure incurred by that person—

and if, at any time before the amount of any such payment has been agreed upon between the government department and the registered proprietor, that person gives notice in writing of his interest to the department, any agreement as to the amount of that payment shall be of no effect unless it is made with his consent.

In this section exclusive licence means a licence from the registered proprietor which confers on the licensee, or on the licensee and persons authorized by him, to the exclusion of all other persons (including the registered proprietor), any right in respect of the registered design.

Any dispute as to the exercise by a government department or a person authorized by a government department of the powers conferred by section 16, or as to terms for the use of a design for the services of the Crown thereunder, or as to the right of any person to receive any part of a payment made in pursuance of subsection (3) of that section, may be referred to the court by either party to the dispute in such manner as may be prescribed by rules of court.

In any proceedings under this section to which a government department is a party, the department may,—

If in such proceedings as aforesaid any question arises whether a design has been recorded or applied as mentioned in section 16, and the disclosure of any document recording the design, or of any evidence of the application thereof, would in the opinion of the department be prejudicial to the public interest, the disclosure may be made confidentially to counsel for the other party or to an independent expert mutually agreed upon.

In determining under this paragraph any dispute between a government department and any person as to terms for the use of a design for the services of the Crown, the court shall have regard to any benefit or compensation which that person or any person from whom he derives title may have received, or may be entitled to receive, directly or indirectly from any government department in respect of the design in question.

In any proceedings under this section the court may at any time order the whole proceedings or any question or issue of fact arising therein to be referred to a special or official referee or an arbitrator on such terms as the court may direct; and references to the court in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be construed accordingly.

During any period of emergency within the meaning of this section the powers exercisable in relation to a design by a government department, or a person authorized by a government department under section 16, shall include power to use the design for any purpose which appears to the department necessary or expedient—

and any reference in sections 16 to 18 to the services of the Crown shall be construed as including a reference to the purposes aforesaid.

In this section the expression period of emergency means any period beginning on such date as may be declared by Order in Council published in the Gazette to be the commencement, and ending on such date as may be so declared to be the termination, of a period of emergency for the purpose of this section.

All Orders in Council made under this section shall be laid before Parliament within 28 days after the date of the making thereof if Parliament is then in session, and, if not, shall be laid before Parliament within 28 days after the date of the commencement of the next ensuing session.

For the purpose of giving effect to any international agreement or arrangement to which New Zealand is a party or that applies to New Zealand, the Governor-General may by Order in Council declare that any entity specified in the order that is a party to the agreement or arrangement or to which the agreement or arrangement applies (whether a state, part of a state, a territory for whose international relations a state is responsible, a political union, an international organisation, or any other entity) is, for the purposes of all or any of the provisions of this Act, a convention country.

An order under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

An application for registration of a design in respect of which protection has been applied for in a convention country may be made in accordance with the provisions of this Act by the person by whom the application for protection was made or his personal representative or assignee:

A design registered on an application made by virtue of this section shall be registered as of the date of the application for protection in the convention country, or where more than 1 such application for protection has been made, the date of the first such application:

An application for the registration of a design made by virtue of this section shall not be refused, and the registration of a design on such an application shall not be invalidated, by reason only of the registration or publication of the design in New Zealand during the period specified in the proviso to subsection (1) as that within which the application for registration may be made.

Where a person has applied for protection for a design by an application which,—

he shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to have applied in that convention country.

For the purposes of this section, where more than 1 application for protection in a convention country has been made, the first application may be disregarded and the second application shall be substituted for the first application where—

If the Governor-General is satisfied that provision substantially equivalent to the provision to be made by or under this section has been or will be made under the law of any convention country, he may, by Order in Council, make regulations empowering the Commissioner to extend the time for making application under subsection (1) of section 21 for registration of a design in respect of which protection has been applied for in that country in any case where the period specified in the proviso to that subsection expires during a period prescribed by the regulations.

Regulations made under this section—

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Subject to the provisions of this section, regulations may be made under this Act for securing that, where a design has been communicated in accordance with an agreement or arrangement made between Her Majesty’s Government in New Zealand and the Government of any other country for the supply or mutual exchange of information or articles,—

Regulations made under subsection (1) may provide that the publication or application of a design, or the making of any application for registration thereof, shall, in such circumstances and subject to such conditions or exceptions as may be prescribed by the regulations be presumed to have been in consequence of such a communication as is mentioned in that subsection.

The power to make regulations under this section, so far as it is exercisable for the benefit of persons from whom designs have been communicated to Her Majesty’s Government in New Zealand by the Government of any other country, shall only be exercised if and to the extent that the Governor-General is satisfied that substantially equivalent provision has been or will be made under the law of that country for the benefit of persons from whom designs have been communicated by Her Majesty’s Government in New Zealand to the Government of that country.

References in subsection (3) to the communication of a design to or by Her Majesty’s Government in New Zealand or the Government of any other country shall be construed as including references to the communication of the design by or to any person authorized in that behalf by the Government in question.

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Any regulations made under section 22 or section 23, and any order made, direction given, or other action taken under the regulations by the Commissioner, may be made, given, or taken so as to have effect as respects things done or omitted to be done on or after such date, whether before or after the coming into operation of the regulations or of this Act, as may be specified in the regulations.

There shall be kept under the control of the Commissioner a register of designs, in which there shall be entered the names and addresses of proprietors of registered designs, notices of assignments and of transmissions of registered designs, and such other matters as may be prescribed or as the Commissioner may think fit.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and to regulations made thereunder, the register of designs shall, at all convenient times, be open to inspection by the public; and certified copies of any entry in the register shall be given to any person requiring them on payment of the prescribed fee.

The register of designs shall be prima facie evidence of any matters required or authorized by this Act to be entered therein.

No notice of any trust, whether expressed, implied, or constructive, shall be entered in the register of designs, and the Commissioner shall not be affected by any such notice.

The Commissioner shall grant a certificate of registration in the prescribed form to the registered proprietor of a design when the design is registered.

The Commissioner may, in a case where he is satisfied that the certificate of registration has been lost or destroyed, or in any other case in which he thinks it expedient, on application made to him in the prescribed manner and on payment of the prescribed fee, furnish a further certificate.

Where any person becomes entitled by assignment, transmission, or operation of a law to a registered design or to a share in a registered design, or becomes entitled as mortgagee, licensee, or otherwise to any other interest in a registered design, he shall apply to the Commissioner in the prescribed manner for the registration of his title as proprietor or co-proprietor, or, as the case may be, of notice of his interest, in the register of designs.

Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (1), an application for the registration of the title of any person becoming entitled by assignment to a registered design or a share in a registered design, or becoming entitled by virtue of a mortgage, licence, or other instrument to any other interest in a registered design, may be made in the prescribed manner by the assignor, mortgagor, licensor, or other party to that instrument, as the case may be.

Where application is made under this section for the registration of the title of any person, the Commissioner shall, upon proof of title to his satisfaction,—

Subject to any rights vested in any other person of which notice is entered in the register of designs, the person or persons registered as proprietor of a registered design shall have power to assign, grant licences under, or otherwise deal with the design, and to give effectual receipts for any consideration for any such assignment, licence, or dealing:

Except for the purposes of an application to rectify the register under the following provisions of this Act, a document in respect of which no entry has been made in the register of designs under subsection (3) shall not be admitted in any court as evidence of the title of any person to a registered design or share of or interest in a registered design unless the court otherwise directs.

Nothing in sections 25 to 27 affects the operation of the Personal Property Securities Act 1999.

The court may, on the application of any person aggrieved, order the register of designs to be rectified by the making of any entry therein or the variation or deletion of any entry therein.

In proceedings under this section the court may determine any question which it may be necessary or expedient to decide in connection with the rectification of the register.

Notice of any application to the court under this section shall be given in the prescribed manner to the Commissioner, who shall be entitled to appear and be heard on the application, and shall appear if so directed by the court.

Any order made by the court under this section shall direct that notice of the order shall be served on the Commissioner in the prescribed manner; and the Commissioner shall, on receipt of the notice, rectify the register accordingly.

Where a mistake exists in the register of designs or in any document issued under this Act by reason of any error or omission on the part of the Commissioner, the Commissioner may, in accordance with the provisions of this section, correct the mistake, and for that purpose may require the production of the document.

Where the Commissioner proposes to make any such correction as aforesaid he shall give notice of the proposal to the persons who appear to him to be concerned, and shall give them an opportunity to be heard before making the correction.

Where a mistake exists in the register of designs, or in any application for registration of a design or other document filed in pursuance of such an application, or in any proceedings in connection with any design, by reason of an error or an omission on the part of the proprietor of the design or of the applicant for registration of the design or of any other person concerned, a correction may be made in accordance with the provisions of this section upon a request in writing by any person interested and payment of the prescribed fee. If it appears to the Commissioner that the correction would materially alter the meaning or scope of the document to which the request relates and ought not to be made without notice to persons likely to be affected thereby, he shall require notice of the nature of the proposed correction to be advertised in the prescribed manner.

Within the prescribed time after any such advertisement as aforesaid, any person interested may give notice to the Commissioner of opposition to the request, and where any such notice of opposition is given the Commissioner shall give notice thereof to the person by whom the request was made, and shall give to him and to the opponent an opportunity to be heard before he decides the case.

An appeal to the court shall lie from any decision of the Commissioner under this section.

This section applies if information in the register of designs relating to a person is inconsistent with primary business data relating to that person in the New Zealand Business Number Register.

If this section applies, the Commissioner may, in the prescribed manner (if any), alter the information in the register of designs so that it is consistent with the primary business data in the New Zealand Business Number Register.

In this section, primary business data has the same meaning as in section 20(2) of the New Zealand Business Number Act 2016.

Subject to the following provisions of this section and to any regulations made in pursuance of subsection (2) of section 9, the representation or specimen of a design registered under this Act shall be open to inspection by the public on and after the day on which the certificate of registration is issued.

In the case of a design registered in respect of an article of any class prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, no representation or specimen of the design filed in pursuance of the application shall, until the expiration of such period after the day on which the certificate of registration is issued as may be prescribed in relation to articles of that class, be open to inspection by the public except by the registered proprietor, a person authorized in writing by the registered proprietor, or a person authorized by the Commissioner or by the court:

In the case of a design registered in respect of an article of any class prescribed for the purposes of subsection (2), the representation or specimen of the design shall not, during the period prescribed as aforesaid, be inspected by any person by virtue of this section except in the presence of the Commissioner or of a member of his staff acting under him; and except in the case of an inspection authorized by the proviso to that subsection, the person making the inspection shall not be entitled to take a copy of the representation or specimen of the design or any part thereof.

Where an application for the registration of a design has been abandoned or refused, neither the application for registration nor any representation or specimen of the design filed in pursuance thereof shall at any time be open to inspection by the public or be published by the Commissioner.

However, nothing in this section prevents the Commissioner from publishing any of the following:

On the request of any person furnishing such information as may enable the Commissioner to identify the design, and on payment of the prescribed fee, the Commissioner shall inform him whether the design is registered, and, if so, in respect of what articles, and whether any extension of the period of copyright has been granted, and shall state the date of registration and the name and address of the registered proprietor.

A certificate purporting to be signed by the Commissioner and certifying that any entry which he is authorized by or under this Act to make has or has not been made, or that any other thing which he is so authorized to do has or has not been done, shall be prima facie evidence of the matters so certified.

A copy of, or an extract from, any entry in the register of designs or of any document that is registered or otherwise kept by the Commissioner that purports to be certified as a true copy or extract by the Commissioner is admissible in evidence in legal proceedings as if it were the original.

If in any proceedings before the court the validity of the registration of a design is contested, and it is found by the court that the design is validly registered, the court may certify that the validity of the registration of the design was contested in those proceedings.

Where any such certificate has been granted, then, if in any subsequent proceedings before the court for infringement of the copyright in the registered design or for cancellation of the registration of the design a final order or judgment is made or given in favour of the registered proprietor, he shall, unless the court otherwise directs, be entitled to his costs as between solicitor and client:

Where any person (whether entitled to or interested in a registered design or an application for registration of a design or not) by circulars, advertisements, or otherwise threatens any other person with proceedings for infringement of the copyright in a registered design, any person aggrieved thereby may bring an action against him for any such relief as is mentioned in subsection (2).

Unless in any action brought by virtue of this section the defendant proves that the acts in respect of which proceedings were threatened constitute or, if done, would constitute an infringement of the copyright in a registered design the registration of which is not shown by the plaintiff to be invalid, the plaintiff shall be entitled to the following relief, that is to say:

For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that a mere notification that a design is registered does not constitute a threat of proceedings within the meaning of this section.

Every appeal under this Act against a decision of the Commissioner shall be to the High Court.

Notice of every such appeal shall be filed in the court and served upon the Commissioner within 28 days after the day on which the decision appealed against was given.

In any such appeal the court shall have and may exercise the same discretionary powers as are conferred upon the Commissioner.

Except with the leave of the High Court or of the Court of Appeal, no appeal shall lie from any decision of the High Court on an appeal against a decision of the Commissioner.

Without prejudice to any provisions of this Act requiring the Commissioner to hear any party to proceedings thereunder, or to give to any such party an opportunity to be heard, the Commissioner shall give to any applicant for registration of a design an opportunity to be heard before exercising adversely to the applicant any discretion vested in the Commissioner by or under this Act.

Where by this Act anything is required to be done within a prescribed time, and by reason of delay by the Commissioner the thing is not so done, the Commissioner may extend the time for the doing of the thing.

No fees shall be payable in respect of any extension of time granted under this section.

The powers conferred on the Commissioner by this section may be exercised notwithstanding that in any case the time limited may have expired.

The Commissioner may extend the time prescribed in subsection (1) of section 21 for the filing of an application under that section on such terms (if any) as he thinks fit where he is satisfied that the circumstances warrant the extension.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Commissioner shall refuse to grant an extension of time under that subsection if in his opinion—

Every extension of time granted under this section shall be advertised in the Journal in the prescribed manner.

Where an application is made for an extension of time under this section by an agent on behalf of any applicant, the Commissioner may as a condition of granting the application require that written confirmation that the application is authorised shall be signed or executed by the applicant and lodged with the Commissioner within such time as the Commissioner specifies.

Any extension of time under this section, and any requirement given or other action taken by the Commissioner under this section, may be granted, given, or taken so as to have effect in respect of things done or omitted to be done before the commencement of this section, as long as the application for the extension of time has been made before registration of the design in respect of which the application under this section has been made.

The Governor-General may, from time to time, by Order in Council, make regulations for all or any of the following purposes:

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The Commissioner may, in any proceedings before him under this Act, by order award to any party such costs as he may consider reasonable, and direct how and by what parties they are to be paid; and any such order may be entered as a judgment of the court and, with the leave of the court, may be enforced accordingly.

If any party by whom application is made to the Commissioner for the cancellation of the registration of a design or for the grant of a licence in respect of a registered design or by whom notice of appeal is given from any decision of the Commissioner under this Act, neither resides nor carries on business in New Zealand, the Commissioner, or, in the case of appeal, the court, may require him to give security for the costs of the proceedings or appeal, and in default of such security being given may treat the application or appeal as abandoned.

Subject to regulations made under this Act, the evidence to be given in any proceedings before the Commissioner under this Act may be given by affidavit or statutory declaration; but the Commissioner may if he thinks fit in any particular case take oral evidence instead of or in addition to such evidence as aforesaid, and may allow any witness to be cross-examined on his affidavit or declaration. Any such statutory declaration may, in the event of an appeal under this Act, be used before the court instead of evidence by affidavit, and where so used shall have all the incidents and consequences of evidence by affidavit.

Subject to any such regulations as aforesaid, the Commissioner shall in respect of requiring the attendance and the examination of witnesses on oath and the discovery and production of documents have the same powers as the Commissioner of Patents has in proceedings under the Patents Act 2013.

Any evidence given on oath before the Commissioner shall be deemed to be given in a judicial proceeding for the purposes of sections 108 and 109 of the Crimes Act 1961.

Section 111 of the Crimes Act 1961 shall apply to every affidavit and statutory declaration made for the purposes of this Act.

Where by this Act any act has to be done by or to any person in connection with a registered design or proposed registered design or any proceedings relating thereto, the act may, unless otherwise prescribed, be done by or to an agent of that person duly authorized in the prescribed manner.

For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Upon application in the prescribed manner and payment of the prescribed fees, the Commissioner of Designs, in his discretion and without requiring the production of probate or letters of administration, may,—

Every qualified person who is registered under this section as the proprietor of a design shall hold it subject to all existing interests and equities affecting it.

Nothing in section 70 or section 73 of the Administration Act 1969 shall be deemed to restrict the operation of this section.

This section applies if the period of copyright in a registered design has ended by reason of a failure to make an application under section 12(2) or to pay the prescribed fee under section 12(2) (or both).

The Commissioner may, on a request made in the prescribed manner and in accordance with sections 41B to 41F, by order extend the period of copyright in a registered design for a second or third period of 5 years as provided for in section 12(2) if the Commissioner is satisfied that the relevant failure to comply with section 12(2) was unintentional.

A request for an order under this section must contain a statement that fully sets out the circumstances that led to the relevant failure to comply with section 12(2).

The Commissioner may require the person who makes the request to provide any further evidence that the Commissioner thinks fit.

An appeal to the court may be made from any decision of the Commissioner under this section or sections 41B to 41F.

A request for an order under section 41A may be made by the person who was the registered proprietor or, if that person is deceased, by that person’s personal representative.

If there were 2 or more registered proprietors, the request for an order under section 41A may, with the leave of the Commissioner, be made by 1 or more of them without joining the others.

A request for an order under section 41A may only be made within the prescribed period.

However, the Commissioner may extend the period within which a request may be made if the Commissioner is satisfied that there was no undue delay in making the request.

The person who makes the request must, for the purposes of subsection (2), provide the Commissioner with a statement that fully sets out the circumstances that caused the delay and the reasons why the delay is not undue.

The Commissioner may require that person to provide any further evidence that the Commissioner thinks fit.

The Commissioner must, after considering a request made in accordance with sections 41A to 41C, give the person who made the request a reasonable opportunity to be heard if the Commissioner is not satisfied that a prima facie case has been made out for an order under section 41A.

The Commissioner must publish a request made in accordance with sections 41A to 41C in the Journal if the Commissioner is satisfied that a prima facie case has been made out for an order under section 41A.

Any person may, within the prescribed period, give notice to the Commissioner of opposition to an order being made under section 41A on either or both of the following grounds:

The Commissioner must notify the person who made the request if a person has given notice under subsection (1) and provide the person who made the request with a copy of that notice.

The Commissioner must give the person who made the request and the opponent a reasonable opportunity to be heard before the Commissioner decides the case.

If the Commissioner has published a request under section 41D, he or she must make an order under section 41A in accordance with the request after the prescribed period for giving notice of opposition if—

An order for the extension of the period of copyright in a registered design—

If any condition of an order under this section is not complied with by the registered proprietor, the Commissioner may revoke the order and give any directions that are consequential on the revocation that the Commissioner thinks fit.

The Commissioner must, before the Commissioner makes a decision under subsection (3), give the registered proprietor a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

This section applies if an application for the registration of a design is abandoned under section 7(4).

The applicant may make a request to the Commissioner in the prescribed manner for an order to restore the application and to extend the period for complying with the requirements imposed on the applicant by or under this Act to a date that is specified in the order.

Every request for an order must contain a statement that fully sets out the circumstances that led to the abandonment under section 7(4).

The Commissioner must, after considering a request, give the person who made the request a reasonable opportunity to be heard if the Commissioner is not satisfied that the default or neglect on the part of the applicant that resulted in the application being abandoned under section 7(4) was unintentional.

The Commissioner must publish the request in the Journal if the Commissioner is satisfied that the default or neglect on the part of the applicant that resulted in the application being abandoned under section 7(4) was unintentional.

An appeal to the court may be made from any decision of the Commissioner under this section or sections 41H to 41J.

A request under section 41G may only be made within the prescribed period.

However, the Commissioner may extend the period within which a request may be made if the Commissioner is satisfied that there was no undue delay in making the request.

The applicant must, for the purposes of subsection (2), provide the Commissioner with a statement that fully sets out the circumstances that caused the delay and the reasons why the delay is not undue.

The Commissioner may require the applicant to provide any further evidence that the Commissioner thinks fit.

Any person may, within the prescribed period, give notice to the Commissioner of opposition to an order being made under section 41J on either or both of the following grounds:

The Commissioner must notify the applicant if a person has given notice under subsection (1) and provide the applicant with a copy of that notice.

The Commissioner must give the applicant and the opponent a reasonable opportunity to be heard before the Commissioner decides the case.

The Commissioner must, after the expiry of the prescribed period for giving notice of opposition under section 41I,—

An order under this section must contain, or be subject to, the provisions that are prescribed for the protection or compensation of persons who availed themselves, or took definite steps by way of contract or otherwise to avail themselves, of the design between the date when the application became abandoned and the date on which the request is published under section 41G.

The Commissioner must publish in the Journal the making of an order under subsection (1) after that order is made.

Every person who fails to comply with any direction given under section 9, or who makes or causes to be made an application for the registration of a design in contravention of that section, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding $1,000, or to both such imprisonment and such fine.

Where an offence against section 9 is committed by a body corporate, every person who at the time of the commission of the offence is a director, general manager, secretary, or other similar officer of the body corporate, or is purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be deemed to have committed that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed by the body corporate without his consent or connivance and that he exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence by the body corporate as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.

Despite anything to the contrary in section 25 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 a charging document may be filed at any time in respect of an offence under subsection (1).

Every person who makes or causes to be made a false entry in the register of designs, or a writing falsely purporting to be a copy of an entry in that register, or produces or tenders or causes to be produced or tendered in evidence any such writing, knowing the entry or writing to be false, commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.

Despite anything to the contrary in section 25 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011 a charging document may be filed at any time in respect of an offence under subsection (1).

Every person who falsely represents that a design applied to any article sold by him is registered in New Zealand in respect of that article commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40; and for the purposes of this provision a person who sells an article having stamped, engraved, or impressed thereon or otherwise applied thereto the words “registered in New Zealand” or any other words expressing or implying that the design applied to the article is registered in New Zealand shall be deemed to represent that the design applied to the article is registered in respect of that article.

Every person who after the copyright in a registered design has expired, marks any article to which the design has been applied with the words “registered in New Zealand” or any word or words implying that there is subsisting copyright in the design in New Zealand or causes any such article to be so marked commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $40.

The Commissioner may—

The Commissioner must publicly notify those opening hours, and (before closing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand) any closure, in accordance with section 5(3) of the Patents Act 2013.

A thing that must or may be done on a particular day or within a limited period of time may, if that day or the last day of that period is not an opening day of the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, be done on the next opening day (and is then still in time).

The Commissioner may declare the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand closed without giving publication of the closure under section 45 if—

The Commissioner must, as soon as practicable after closing the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand, publicly notify the closure in accordance with section 5(3) of the Patents Act 2013.

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make all such regulations as may in his opinion be necessary or expedient for giving effect to the provisions of this Act and for the due administration thereof.

Without limiting the general power conferred by subsection (1), it is hereby declared that regulations may be made under this section for all or any of the following purposes:

The structure of the fee system under this Act prescribed by regulations under this section may be such that any fees for an extension of the period of copyright in a registered design under section 12(2)—

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

There shall be paid in respect of the registration of designs and applications therefor, and in respect of other matters relating to designs arising under this Act, such fees as may from time to time be prescribed by regulations made under this Act, and all such fees shall be paid into a Departmental Bank Account.

Any sum paid to the Commissioner by mistake, or any sum the payment of which is not required by the regulations made under this Act, may be refunded by the Commissioner, and all moneys so refunded shall be paid out of public money without further appropriation than this Act.

A notice, an application, or any other document may be given to, made to, or filed with a person by—

A notice posted to a person by the Commissioner must be treated as received by the person when it would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post.

In the absence of proof to the contrary, a notice emailed to a person by the Commissioner must be treated as received by the person on the second working day after the date on which it is emailed, and, in proving that the notice was emailed, it is sufficient to prove that it was properly addressed and sent to the email address.

This Act shall be in force in Tokelau.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing or requiring the Commissioner to register a design the use of which would, in his opinion, be contrary to law or morality.

However, the Commissioner may register a design even if its use is restricted or prohibited under the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990.

The enactments specified in the Schedule are hereby repealed.

Without limiting the provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1924, it is hereby declared that the repeal of any provision by this Act shall not affect any document made or any thing whatsoever done under the provision so repealed or under any corresponding former provision, and every such document or thing, so far as it is subsisting or in force at the time of the repeal and could have been made or done under this Act, shall continue and have effect as if it had been made or done under the corresponding provision of this Act and as if that provision had been in force when the document was made or the thing was done.

Any design registered before the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to be registered under this Act in respect of articles of the class in which it is registered.

Where, in relation to any design, the time for giving notice to the Commissioner under section 63 of the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act 1921–22 expired before the commencement of this Act and the notice was not given, subsection (2) of section 10 of this Act shall not apply in relation to that design or any registration of that design.

Any document referring to any enactment repealed by this Act shall be construed as referring to the corresponding enactment of this Act.