International registration of a patent for an industrial design

An industrial design is the result of a person’s creative, intellectual activity in the field of artistic design. For the effective use of objects of intellectual labor, an international registration of a patent for an industrial design will be required. The lawyers of our company PRIKHODKO & PARTNERS will help you with this.

What is industrial design protection? This is protection against copying a part of an intellectual property object, its imitation without the permission of the owner. A patent for an industrial design is a document confirming the ownership of an industrial design.

Object of an industrial design: the appearance of a part of a product or its whole. It is determined by the contours, lines, shape, color, material, texture, finish of the product. Thus, as an industrial design, one can name: the style of clothes or shoes, the appearance of a telephone, a car, etc. industrial designs can be planar (drawing), three-dimensional (models) or combined.

International legal protection of industrial designs

Legal protection can be obtained by an industrial design, the use of which does not contradict the generally recognized principles of morality, public order, meets the criteria for protectability, that is, it has an individual character and is new.

In accordance with Ukrainian legislation, industrial designs may have the status of registered or unregistered.

• Registered industrial design

An industrial design receives the status of a registered one in cases where it is entered in the State Register of Ukraine and has received legal protection in accordance with an international treaty.

• Unregistered industrial design

We are talking about industrial designs that were not registered, but they were brought to general attention in the manner prescribed by the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Rights to Industrial Designs”.

In the case of an international registration of industrial designs, the applicant may obtain legal protection for industrial designs in one or more countries or international organizations on the basis of a single international application.

After passing all the necessary stages, the applicant receives a patent for an industrial design. A patent is a guarantee that an industrial design will be included in the International Register of Industrial Designs. Thanks to the use by the applicant of the international protection of industrial designs, the costs associated with the registration of exclusive rights to industrial designs in the international arena are optimized.

Features of the international registration of industrial designs

Registration of international applications is carried out through the World Intellectual Property Organization (center – Geneva, Switzerland).

To date, there is no single international protection document for an industrial design.

Important: a title of protection received in Ukraine is valid only on the territory of Ukraine. A similar procedure applies to other states. For example, a patent for an industrial design in Germany will only be valid in Germany. However, given the active development of international trade, the issue of international protection of industrial designs is very relevant.

Among the options for international registration of industrial designs:

• Passage of the national procedure in each individual country.
• International registration procedure in accordance with the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
• Regional procedure (obtaining an international patent on an industrial design valid in the territory of the resident countries of the European Union).

More often, registration is carried out under the Hague Agreement. It allows you to apply for an international patent for an industrial design simultaneously in several countries.

In total, an international application may include up to 100 different characters. The main thing is that all designs must belong to the same class in accordance with the Locarno Classification (International Classification for Industrial Designs). In financial terms, this is the best option for international design registration.

It will take 6-12 months to register an industrial design in accordance with the international procedure. The minimum term of a patent for an industrial design is 5 years with the possibility of renewal. The main condition is the payment of the fee for maintaining the validity of the Patent. The maximum term of the Patent depends on the legislation of a particular state (for example, in the USA – up to 15 years, in the EU countries – up to 25 years).

Important: if the Patent was obtained in one of the Member States of the European Union, it will be valid throughout the European Union, including new members of the organization (if registration was carried out in accordance with the regional procedure).

The international registration of a patent for an industrial design is a rather complicated procedure, which is important to entrust to real professionals. The lawyers of our company “PRIKHODKO & PARTNERS” will help you complete all the necessary documents quickly and efficiently! Sign up for a consultation and calculation of the cost of registering a patent for an industrial design in Ukraine and the world!