Amendments to Australian Design Act

The Australian Designs Amendment Bill has now been passed by Parliament on 30 August 2021.

These amendments to the Australian Designs Act 2003 include:

providing designers with a 12 month grace period to apply for design protection after publishing or using their design;
introducing an infringement exemption for prior use;
streamlining the design registration process by removal of the publication option;
extending the ‘innocent infringer’ defence;
giving exclusive licensees the right to bring infringement proceedings without relying on the owner of the design;
streamlining the process for updating formal requirements for applications; and,
other minor technical amendments to clarify and simplify the designs system.

Whilst some of the minor technical amendments will be implemented the day after the Bill receives Royal Assent, most of the changes will commence 6 months thereafter. We will update you when this occurs. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information or have any questions.