A new law introducing protection of designs in Iceland for the first time has been enacted and came into effect on May 21, 1994. For protection, a design must be "distinctive" which means that it is not known to the circles specialized in the sector concerned and through the overall impression it displays in the eyes of the relevant public it distinguishes itself from any other design known to such circles. It will be recalled that this rather strange definition is similar to the definition proposed for the European design registration if and when this comes into effect (see our Information Letter N.S. 181).

One of the grounds of rejection is that the design contains or can be confused with distinctive symbols belonging to a third party thus imparting something of a trademark concept to the protected subject matter.

Since Iceland is a member of the Paris Convention, design applications in Iceland can be filed claiming priority from applications filed in other Paris Convention countries within six months of the date of the original filing.

A single application covering multiple designs is possible as long as all of the designs fall within the same class of the Locarno Agreement on international classification of designs.

Design protection is initially granted for a period of S years from the filing date and is subject to possible extension by further 5-year periods up to a maximum duration of 25 years from the filing date.

June 1994 Index