What are industrial designs?
An industrial design protects elements of the external appearance of a product or part of a product. To be protected, the design must be distinguished by particular external characteristics which may relate to the shape, contours, colours, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornaments.
What objects can obtain industrial design protection?
With few exceptions, almost any industrial or craft product can benefit from protection of its design as long as it is new and/or original.
In addition to whole products and parts of component products, industrial designs can include packaging, web designs, logos, graphic designs, fonts, computer icons, maps and much more.
Among the most famous examples of industrial designs are the globally recognisable designs of Vespa scooters, Mini Cooper cars, Kelly bags from Hermès, Apple products, the contours of Coca-Cola bottles and many other products that we see around us every day.
How long do I get protection for my design?
Successful registration grants a term of protection with an initial validity of 10 years. At the end of the 10-year period, the same can be renewed 3 more times for a period of 5 years each (i.e. the maximum duration of the registration is 25 years).
How can I obtain protection of my industrial design?
The applicant for the design protection must decide in which territory they will seek protection of their IP rights and file an application with the relevant office. They can choose from the following options:
National protection
Valid only on the territory of a single country, e.g. Bulgaria.
EU protection
By filing a single application, the applicant receives protection simultaneously in all 27 countries of the European Union.
International protection
By filing a single application, the applicant can obtain protection in up to 93 countries of their choice.
However, for registration to be successful, the design must be (depending on the territory):
- Novel = no other identical design is known to have become generally available anywhere in the world at an earlier stage;
- Original = the overall impression the design creates in the user differs from that of other earlier designs.
Why is important to register my industrial design?
Upon successful registration, the applicant receives exclusive rights to their design. This effectively means that without their consent, third parties may not copy, imitate, produce or otherwise use the registered design in their commercial activities.
However, if this is to happen, we can help with the protection of your rights – in addition to injuction, the applicant of the design can claim monetary compensation for the damages suffered.
Also, industrial designs are a good tool to successfully build the marketing identity and overall branding of a business.
The original and creative design undoubtedly makes the product more attractive, easily recognisable and memorable for consumers. In this way, businesses can stand out from their competitors, attract more customers and increase sales.
What else can we help you with?
In addition to full assistance before, during and after the procedure for registration of an industrial design at the relevant office, we can offer you:
- Drafting a detailed legal opinion
- Renewal of industrial design registration
- Infringement protection of a registered design
- Drafting oppositions and responses related to similar/identical designs
- Drafting warning letters and negotiating with competitors
- Surrender of the right to a registered design
- Drafting and review of contracts
- Licensing of an industrial design
- Developing a strategy for the exploitation of intellectual property as a business asset