Industrial design is an ornamental or aesthetic solution to the appearance of an object. Design can be dimensional, such as the shape or surface of an object, or have two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines, or colors. Industrial designs are a variety of industrial and household products, from technical and medical equipment to watches, jewelry, and other valuables, from household items and electrical equipment to automobiles and architectural structures.
 

Industrial design makes the thing attractive and interesting, as a result, the commercial value of the product and the probability of its sale in the market increases. When an industrial design is protected, the patent owner - the individual, sole businessman, or organization that patented the design - acquires the exclusive right to prohibit the illegal reproduction or imitation of the design by third parties. It contributes to getting a fair reward for the investment that has been made. 
An effective preservation system also benefits consumers and the wider public, as it ensures fair competition and fair trade, fosters creativity, and attracts consumer attention to aesthetic products. The protection of industrial designs contributes to the development of the economy by encouraging creativity in the industrial and household industries, as well as in traditional arts and crafts. They, in turn, contribute to the expansion of commercial activities and the export of national products.

The application is submitted to the Intellectual Property Office of the  Ministry of Economy of the RA (hereinafter referred to as the Office) by the author, employer, or their successor, i.e. the person who owns the right to obtain a patent and in whose name the patent is requested (hereinafter referred to as the applicant).
The mentioned people can apply personally or through a patent attorney registered in the authorized body. 
According to the current legislation, foreign legal entities and natural persons permanently residing outside of the Republic of Armenia carry out the paperwork with the Office through patent attorneys registered in the Office, unless otherwise stipulated by the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia.
Such an approach is highlighted by the fact that the paperwork carried out with the applications of the above-mentioned applicants becomes easier and economically more expedient. On the other hand, such an approach serves as a basis for the principle of reciprocity to be applied in the international agreements of the Republic of Armenia, according to which people with a permanent place of residence in the Republic of Armenia and legal entities of the Republic of Armenia also receive the same rights in the country that is a party to the agreement. 
Currently, the Republic of Armenia has an agreement with several CIS countries, including the Russian Federation and Georgia. On the other hand, the law allows legal entities and natural persons of the Republic of Armenia to directly apply to the Office, without resorting to the help of a patent attorney, if they have sufficient experience and skill in handling matters related to obtaining a patent on their own.
 

Following Article 42, Parts 2-3 of the RA Law "On Industrial Design", the application for obtaining a patent is submitted in Armenian.
Other application documents can also be submitted in other languages. In this case, the applicant is obliged to submit their Armenian translation to the Office within three months after the date of submission of the application.
 

An industrial design application may relate to one or more industrial designs, provided that they relate to one class of the International Classification of Industrial Designs (ICDC), except ornaments.

An industrial design application includes:
1) application for obtaining a patent (see the application form in the Forms section);
2) information that allows to personalize the applicant;
3) photo(s) or graphic image(s) fully revealing the appearance of the item or several items included in the application and capable of reproduction;
4) indication of the product in which the industrial design may be embodied or used.

An industrial design application may include:

1) information that allows to identify the author(s). In case the author refuses to be mentioned in the application, the applicant's statement that the author has refused to be mentioned as such in the application;
2) information that identifies the patent attorney or other representative of the applicant (if there is a representative);
3) information about the requested priority (if applicable);
4) ICDC indicator following the Locarno Agreement;
5) a request to postpone the publication of an industrial design application following Part 2 of Article 44 of the RA Law "On Industrial Design".

Attached to the industrial design application are:

1) power of attorney in case of applying by a patent attorney or other representative;
2) description of the industrial design at the request of the applicant;
3) the document confirming the priority of industrial design, in case of requesting the championship;
4) the receipt for the payment of the state duty established by law, in appropriate cases also the grounds for payment at a reduced rate, following Article 28 of the Law "On State Duty".

Filing an industrial design application can be assisted by patent attorneys registered in the Office, a list of which can be found here.
 

The process of obtaining a patent begins by filling out the necessary documents and submitting the appropriate application to the Office.
 

The industrial design application can be submitted to the Office directly (by hand), by postal delivery or through the electronic system of the Office's website. The address of the office is: Republic of Armenia, Yerevan 0010, M. Mkrtchyan 5/1.
 

To register an application for an industrial design patent, conduct a preliminary examination of the application, and make a decision based on its results, the RA Law "On State Fee" defines a state fee:
• for individuals and legal entities with up to 25 employees: AMD 5,000 (five thousand).
• for legal entities with 25 to 100 employees: 10,000 (ten thousand) AMD.
• for legal entities with 100 or more employees: 20,000 (twenty thousand) AMD.

For each industrial design included in the submitted application, an additional 8000 (eight thousand) drams (the system of discounts applies).
Simultaneously with the above-mentioned state duty the following state fees are paid:
• the state fee set for the examination of the merits of the industrial design application and making a decision based on its results: 30,000 (thirty thousand) drams (the stated state fee is not discounted), and
• state duty for each more than one industrial design included in the application: an additional 20,000 (twenty thousand) AMD (state duty is not discounted).
For example, if the application is submitted by an individual and 3 industrial designs are included in the application, the state fee for registering the application will be 5000 AMD + 1250 AMD + 1250 AMD = 7500 AMD.
The state fee set for examining the merits will be 30,000 AMD + 20,000 AMD + 20,000 AMD = 70,000 AMD.
The established state duty must be paid to the state budget bank account No. 900005016200.

Patent protection means that an industrial design cannot be made, used, distributed, or sold for commercial purposes without the consent of the patent holder. These rights are usually protected by court order. In many systems, courts have the power to stop patent-infringing activities. On the contrary, the court can invalidate the patent based on the substantiated evidence of a third party. A patent gives an exclusive right to an industrial design, it preserves the patent holder's right to an industrial design.

The period of validity of the industrial design protection patent is five years, counting from the date of submission of the application.
The period of validity of an industrial design patent can be extended one or more times, each time for five years, in total until the expiration of twenty-five years from the date of submission of the application.
 

For the extension of the validity period of the industrial design patent, state fees are paid, the amounts and payment terms of which are defined by the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On State Fees".
The validity period of a patent for a complex (compound) item can be extended as a whole, as well as partially, only for some of its components.
The validity period of a patent for more than one industrial design may be extended for some of them.
An application for extending the term of validity of an industrial design patent shall be submitted to the Office during the last year of the current five-year term of validity of the patent.
The period of validity of an industrial design patent may also be extended after the end of the term within six months, based on the submitted application, in case of payment of an additional state duty (in the amount of 50% of the established state duty).
 

An industrial design created in the Republic of Armenia can be patented in foreign countries by applying directly to the department of the country where an industrial design patent is requested or following the international treaties of the Republic of Armenia according to the protocol attached to the Hague Agreement or the Eurasian Patent Convention.
You can contact the Office's Inventions and Industrial Designs Examination Department for details on patenting industrial designs in foreign countries.