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Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2019
have been applied to more than 50 separate
articles which altogether do not constitute
a single article or articles manufactured and
duplicated in a number of lengths and pieces,
except handmade articles.
The Industrial Designs Order came into force in
2000 and provides for the registration of new
industrial designs or the visual appearance of
products. BruIPO administers a registration
system based on formalities examination only
and does not conduct prior art searches.
To be registered, an industrial design must
be new at the filing date of the application.
An industrial design is new if it has not
been registered, published, used or sold
in Brunei or elsewhere before the date on
which the application for registration was
lodged. Once accepted for registration, the
industrial designs will be published in the
Industrial Designs Journal and a certificate of
registration will be issued to the applicant.
Registration is for an initial period of five years
and extendable for two periods of five years
each, totalling a maximum of 15 years subject
to the payment of a renewal fee at the end of
the fifth year.
Trademarks
According to the BruIPO website, a trademark
means any perceptible sign capable of being
represented graphically which is capable
of distinguishing goods or services of one
undertaking from those of other undertakings.
A trademark may, in particular, consist of
words (including personal names), designs,
letters, numerals, or the shape of goods or
their packaging.
Since 2017, Brunei has been accepting
registrations for non-traditional marks: smell,
sound and taste – so long as an applicant
can visually represent the product’s mark in
writing.
The website notes that while not compulsory,
there are advantages to register a trademark. A
registered trademark owner can get exclusive
legal rights to use, sell, or license their trademark
and can stop others from using their trademarks
without their permission.
Protection of a trademark begins on the date on
which the application for its registration was filed
and it is initially protected for 10 years. This may
be renewed indefinitely subject to the payment of
a renewal fee.
Protection is only territorial. A trademark
registered with BruIPO is only protected in Brunei.
However, Brunei acceded to the Madrid Protocol in
October 2016. This means that any local applicant
wishing to protect their trademark overseas can
do so via the Madrid System, subject to a fee.
Plant Varieties
A plant variety is defined as a plant group within a
single botanical taxon of the lowest rank.
The BruIPO website states that this protection
system provides an incentive for private research
and development into new breeding techniques.
It also encourages the development of new and
beneficial plant varieties for use by farmers and
consumers and furthers the society’s development
of agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
The protection will also allow plant breeders to
gain an exclusive right to produce for sale and
sell propagating material of the plant variety and
can prevent others from using the variety without
their permission. A plant variety is given a term
of protection of up to 25 years, subject to the
payment of annual renewal fees. In order to be
eligible for protection in Brunei, a plant variety has
to meet the following set of requirements under
the law: