Design Law in Ethiopia

Design registration in Ethiopia

1. An application enclosed with the required documents is filed before Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office;
2. The IP Office undertakes substantive examination and issues a letter to the applicant or agent to notify its office action;
3. A response to office action will be submitted to the Office either by the applicant or agent; and Registration certificate or rejection letter will be issued depending on the finding of the examination.

Required Documents:

1. A specimen of the article embodying the industrial design or a pictorial representation thereof (picture of the design in different views);
2. A brief description of the design (the claim part);
3. Applicant details (name, address and legal personality);

Time Frame:

A design shall be filed within a 12 month period from the date of its first application in any foreign country or from the date it is disclosed to the public. The time frame from filing to grant of registration certificate varies depending on the workloads of the IP Office and the estimated time ranges from 12 to 18 months.

Multiple Designs:

A single application can only consist of one product design.