Online Registered Design Application

Client Details

Before we get started, we need to please onboard you as a client. Kindly download the Bergenthuin Inc. New Client Form here, fill it out, then upload it using this button:

Next, please select your currency before filling out the form fields below as changing currency will reload the page.

  • *Client Type

    Are you individual(s) (i.e. natural person(s)) or do you represent a company or an organisation (i.e. a juristic person)?

    Proof of Identity

    In order to comply with South African anti money laundering legislation (also known as FICA), please may you provide us with the following:

    * 

    • (max file size 64 MB)

    Proof of Identity

    In order to comply with South African anti money laundering legislation (also known as FICA), please may you provide us with the following:

    Copy of RSA identity document or RSA Passport

    • (max file size 64 MB)

    Proof of address, not older than 3 months

    • (max file size 64 MB)

    We can now start the process. Just a reminder that a Registered Design in South Africa protects the shape, form, pattern, ornamentation and configuration of a product or article. The protection does not extend to the functionality of the product or article and is focused on the physical appearance and associated physical features of the product or article. A design is ordinarily illustrated by way of representations or drawings, which are filed in support of the application.

    Please note that protection in respect of a Registered Design in South Africa extends only to the class/es of goods/services in respect of which the application has been filed.

    With regards to registered designs, please note that there are two types of registered designs in South Africa, namely aesthetic designs and functional designs. Aesthetic designs are judged solely by the eye and relate to designs applied to articles in terms of the pattern, shape, configuration or ornamentation of the design. Functional designs have features which are necessitated by the function and includes integrated circuit topography and mask works related thereto.

    Please note that the following online application is for the submission of all documentation and information needed for Bergenthuin Inc. to prepare a South African Registered Design Application for your design, including preparing formal design drawings (if applicable). Upon receipt of the required documentation and information, Bergenthuin Inc. will begin preparing your application and will email you same for your review and/or comment prior to filing the application with the South African Designs Office. Please allow 2 – 3 weeks from submitting your information online for receipt of a first draft of your design application.

    After filing, the design application will proceed to examination by the Designs Office in respect of all of the formal requirements at around 6-8 months from the filing date. Once the application has been approved it will be deemed “Accepted” and the Designs Office will issue a Notice of Acceptance in respect of the application. The design application will then be advertised in the Patent Journal for a period of two months, known as the opposition period. Should no third parties lodge any objections to the grant of the design during this period the application will proceed to registration and a Certificate of Grant will be issued by the Designs Office. South African designs must be renewed annually from the third anniversary of the earliest of: the South African filing date; the priority date or the release date. Aesthetic designs expire after 15 years, and Functional designs expire after 10 years.

    Kindly note that the cost involved in preparing and filing your South African Registered Design Application will be R5 499USD299 per design, per class.

    Applicant Details

    In a design application, the Applicant is the owner of the design. This may be a company and may be more than one person or company. Kindly complete the below information regarding the Applicant.

    *Applicant name

    *Applicant type

    Are you a natural or juristic person?

    *Applicant's physical address

    *Country

    Number of applicants

    Please select the number of applicants you would like to include in this application, then complete the details for each one below.

    Applicant 2 Details

    *Applicant name

    *Applicant type

    Are you a natural or juristic person?

    *Applicant's physical address

    *Country

    Applicant 3 Details

    *Applicant name

    *Applicant type

    Are you a natural or juristic person?

    *Applicant's physical address

    *Country

    Applicant 4 Details

    *Applicant name

    *Applicant type

    Are you a natural or juristic person?

    *Applicant's physical address

    *Country

    Applicant 5 Details

    *Applicant name

    *Applicant type

    Are you a natural or juristic person?

    *Applicant's physical address

    *Country

    Registered Design Type

    *Aesthetic or Functional registered design

    Would you like to file an Aesthetic or Functional registered design, or both?

    Please note that the costs quoted above relate to the preparation and filing of your registered design application(s). Additional costs will apply in respect of the prosecution of your design application to registration before the Designs Office as well as in respect of keeping your registration in-force by way of the annual renewal fees that are payable.

    In South Africa, designs are grouped into different classes of technology and a design application may be filed in one or more classes, to provide protection against infringing products falling in the same class. It is important to note that the protection is limited to articles falling in the same class for which the design has been registered. The Locarno Design Classification system is followed and the classes in which your design(s) may be filed are set out below. Please select the relevant class(es) of goods or services in respect of which your design is intended to be used.

    Please note that a separate South African design application will be filed for each class selected. As such, a further separate application cost will be levied for each additional class indicated.

    Aesthetic Design Application (Type A)

    *Select Relevant Classes

    Please select the relevant class(es) of goods or services in respect of which your design is intended to be used.

    To provide some assistance, and as an illustrative example, if you developed a new shape for a Coca-Cola™️ bottle you would select Class 9 as it relates to Containers. In addition, you would also look at Class 7 for Household Goods not Specified Elsewhere to provide additional protection for specific aspects of the bottle, such as the anti-drip rim of the bottle etc..

    Please note that a separate South African registered design application will be filed for each class selected. As such, a further separate application cost will be levied for each additional class indicated.

    Please note that a separate South African design will be filed for each class selected. As such, a further separate application cost will be levied for each additional class indicated.

    *Available or disclosed in the last 6 months?

    Unlike a patent for which absolute novelty is required, a design may be registered up to six (6) months after the design has been disclosed or released to the public. This is known as a “novelty grace period” and such prior disclosure will not invalidate your design protection. This prior disclosure may have taken place in any country in the world and in any manner possible (e.g., online, at a conference etc.)

    Please advise if your design has been made available or disclosed to the public in the last 6 months:

    *Release date

    Please advise the date on which the design was first made available to the public (the “Release Date”):

    *Claiming priority from an earlier design filing?

    Please note that South Africa is a member of the Paris Convention. As such, it is possible to claim priority from an earlier foreign design application. This means that it is possible to back-date your South African design protection to the date of an earlier, foreign design filing. The earlier filing must have taken place six (6) months prior to the date of filing in South Africa.

    A certified copy of the priority document must be provided to the South African Designs Office within three (3) months from filing the design application.

    Are you claiming priority from an earlier design filing?

    *Filing Date

    Filing Date of Earlier Priority Application

    *Country

    Country of Filing

    *Application No

    Trade Mark Application Number

    Upload designs

    In order for us to attend to the filing, please provide us with the most up to date drawings or photographs (in .doc, .pdf, jpg or the like format) showing all the necessary views of your design. The more photographs or drawings you are able to provide, the clearer the various features of your design will be and the stronger your ultimate design protection will be.

    * 

    • (max file size 64 MB)

    Functional Design Application (Type F)

    *Select Relevant Classes

    Please select the relevant class(es) of goods or services in respect of which your trade mark is intended to be used.

    To provide some assistance, and as an illustrative example, if you developed a new shape for a Coca-Cola™️ bottle you would select Class 9 as it relates to Containers. In addition, you would also look at Class 7 for Household Goods not Specified Elsewhere to provide additional protection for specific aspects of the bottle, such as the anti-drip rim of the bottle etc..

    Please note that a separate South African registered design application will be filed for each class selected. As such, a further separate application cost will be levied for each additional class indicated.

    Please note that a separate South African design will be filed for each class selected. As such, a further separate application cost will be levied for each additional class indicated.

    *Available or disclosed in the last 6 months

    Unlike a patent for which absolute novelty is required, a design may be registered up to six (6) months after the design has been disclosed or released to the public. This is known as a “novelty grace period” and such prior disclosure will not invalidate your design protection. This prior disclosure may have taken place in any country in the world and in any manner possible (e.g., online, at a conference etc.)

    Please advise if your design has been made available or disclosed to the public in the last 6 months:

    *Release date

    Please advise the date on which the design was first made available to the public (the “Release Date”):

    *Claiming priority from an earlier design filing?

    Please note that South Africa is a member of the Paris Convention. As such, it is possible to claim priority from an earlier foreign design application. This means that it is possible to back-date your South African design protection to the date of an earlier, foreign design filing. The earlier filing must have taken place six (6) months prior to the date of filing in South Africa.

    A certified copy of the priority document must be provided to the South African Designs Office within three (3) months from filing the design application.

    Are you claiming priority from an earlier design filing?

    *Filing Date

    Filing Date of Earlier Priority Application

    *Country

    Country of Filing

    *Application No

    Trade Mark Application Number

    Upload designs

    In order for us to attend to the filing, please provide us with the most up to date drawings or photographs (in .doc, .pdf, jpg or the like format) showing all the necessary views of your design. The more photographs or drawings you are able to provide, the clearer the various features of your design will be and the stronger your ultimate design protection will be.

    * 

    • (max file size 64 MB)

    Power of Attorney

    The final step for this application will be obtaining signed copies of the Declaration and Power of Attorney (Form D3) which is to accompany the application. Please be advised that this document may be submitted to the Designs Office at a later stage and may be submitted up to six (6) months from the date of filing the application. However, a late submission of this document will delay the prosecution of your application and will carry an additional cost.

    *Download, Sign, Upload

    Please click here to download the Declaration and Power of Attorney form (Form D3) required for the application. Kindly complete and sign the form (electronically or in writing) and upload the signed document below.
    • (max file size 64 MB)

    Please note that the submitted design application has not yet been filed and will be sent to Bergenthuin Inc. Inc for preparation and filing with the South African Designs Office.

    Confidentiality: We confirm that all information received from yourselves will be held in confidence and that we will not use or disclose any information received to third parties (apart from the South African Design Office for submission who will also keep the documents and information submitted secret).