The examination process

The Office examines whether the industrial design application as filed complies with formal requirements prescribed by the Law and the Regulations, and examines whether the prescribed procedural costs are paid. In the case where the application does not comply with the prescribed requirements, the Office invites you to remedy the found deficiencies. Failing this the application will be rejected.

The correct application is further examined ex officio in respect to certain requirements for the registration of an industrial design, so the registration can be refused entirely or partially if:

• the design does not comply with the definition itself of a design
• the design is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality
• the design contains elements comprising national symbols, badges, emblems or escutcheons (coats of arms).

If your application is not contrary to requirements of the Law, the industrial design will be registered, and the data concerning the industrial design will be published in the Office official gazette (the Croatian Intellectual Property Gazette).

The Office does not examine ex officio the novelty of a design applying for registration, nor its individual character, which can be established as a possible legal invalidity subsequently, in the procedure for declaring the industrial design invalid.