Utility models are implements of work or objects to be utilized or parts of such implements or objects in so far as they are useful for the work or employment for which they are intended on account of a new configuration, a new arrangement or a new component device, and are industrially applicable.
Under what Conditions Can a Utility Model be Considered Invalid in Cameroon?
Utility Models in Cameroon shall be considered invalid in the following cases;
- If the utility model is not new, and is not industrially applicable;
- If the utility model cannot be registered under Article 4 of the law without prejudice to the penalties that might be incurred for the manufacture or marketing of prohibited articles;
- If the specification attached to the utility model does not conform to the provisions of Article 11 (d)(i) of the law, or if it does not state in a complete and honest manner the true methods of the applicant.
Improvements that are not connected with the utility model as provided for in the law will likewise be declared invalid.
Under what Conditions Can a Certificate of Registration of Utility Model Suffer a Forfeiture in Cameroon?
The owner of the certificate of registration of the utility model who has not paid his annual fees on the anniversary date of the filing of his application shall forfeit all his rights thereto.
The person concerned shall however be allowed a six months period of grace within which he may still validly pay the annual fees. In this case, he shall also pay additional fee.
Payments made to complement annual or additional fees during the six-month period mentioned above shall be considered valid.
Payments made as annual or additional fees payable for an application for registration of a utility model resulting from conversion into an application for a certificate of registration of a utility model under Article 14 of the law shall also be considered valid provided that the payments are made within a period of six months from the date of the application for conversion.
Restoration of a Utility Model in Cameroon against Invalidity and Forfeiture
Where the protection conferred by a registered utility model has not been maintained owing to circumstances beyond the control of the owner of the said utility model, the owner or entitled persons may apply for its restoration against payment of the requisite annual fee and of a surcharge the amount of which shall be fixed by regulation, within six months from the date on which the said circumstances ceased to exist, and at the latest within a period of one year from the date on which renewal was due.
The applicant has to give grounds on which the restoration should be considered by the organization.