Australia, New Design Act

The new Designs Act 2003 has come into force as of June 17th, 2004. The new Act seeks to address the shortcomings of the previous 1906 Act by introducing: – a broader definition of what constitutes design infringement – a single application for multiple designs – the adoption of a post-registration examination system, and – the reduction of term of protection from 16 years to 10 years for registered designed.