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paragraph 3, the date of its first commercial exploitation anywhere in the world,
as well as the owner’s name and address and the other required information.
Any interested person may consult the register of layout designs and obtain
extracts thereof, subject to payment of the prescribed fee.
Article 230: Registration of a layout design shall be published in the Official Journal of
Burundi and on the Internet site of the Ministry responsible for trade.
Section 3. Invalidation
Article 231: Any interested person may request that the registration of a layout design be
invalidated on the grounds that:
- the layout design may not be protected under Articles 219, 220, 222 and 223
of this Law;
- the owner is not eligible for protection under Article 221 of this Law;
- if the layout design has been the subject of commercial exploitation anywhere
in the world, prior to the filing of the corresponding application for
registration, this application was not filed within the period set in Article 220.
In the event that the grounds for invalidation only affect part of the layout
design, only the corresponding part of the registration shall be invalidated.
Article 232: The request for invalidation of the registration of the layout design must be
filed with the competent court. It must be substantiated.
In case of a legal dispute concerning the right to register the layout design, the
interested person may ask the court to transfer the title rather than invalidating it.
Article 233: Any registration or part of the registration of an invalidated layout design shall
be considered to be null and void as from the date on which protection took
effect.
Article 234: The final decision of the court shall be notified to the Industrial Property
Director, who shall enter it in the register and publish a corresponding notice in
accordance with the provisions of the regulations.
Chapter III. Rights conferred by certificates for layout designs of integrated circuits
Section 1. Rights conferred
Article 235: Certificates for the layout designs of integrated circuits shall confer on their
owners the right to prevent third parties from exploiting the layout design of
integrated circuits registered in Burundi.
Exploitation of the layout design of integrated circuits shall be understood as the
following acts: