5.1.9. Applicant name: Designer

Every design application must identify the designer of the design. Under s 13(1)(a), a designer is entitled to be the registered owner of the design.

A designer should ordinarily be identified by the name of the natural person, or persons, who created the design. Companies and other legal entities are not natural persons and should generally not be identified as designers.

A design may have more than one designer. Where this occurs, each designer should be identified individually in the application.

In some circumstances, it may not be practicable to identify the individual designer or designers. For example, a design may be developed through the contributions of multiple teams within a large organisation, or by numerous individuals contributing to a common design project.

If a designer is not identified in the application, a written notice should be issued requesting the name of the designer, or of each designer, be provided. Where the applicant demonstrates that identification of the individual designer or designers is not reasonably practicable, a collective description may be accepted in exceptional circumstances. This reflects the practical difficulty of identifying all individual contributors and should not be taken as indicating that a company, organisation, or group is itself the designer. Examples include:

• Members of the Design Team of XXXX Pty Ltd; or

• Employees of XXXX Pty Ltd.

Similar wording may also be accepted where it sufficiently identifies the group responsible for creating the design. The reasons for accepting should be recorded.