Registered Designs - Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick | Intellectual Property Law Firm - Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys
Registered Designs |
| For the purposes of registration, design means the overall appearance of a product resulting from one or more visual features of the product. These features may include the shape and configuration (three dimensional features) and the pattern and ornamentation (two dimensional features). A “product” is a thing that is manufactured or hand made. A component part of a complex product is considered a product in its own right. Design registration does not protect how a product is made, what it is made from or how it functions or performs. |
Which designs can be registered? |
| A design may be registered if it is new and distinctive. A design is ‘new’ if it is not identical to a design publicly used in Australia or published in a document anywhere in the world. However, in certain circumstances where copyright subsists, publication of a design in a document may not prevent a design from being considered new. A design is ‘distinctive’ if it is not substantially similar in overall impression to another design publicly used in Australia or published in a document anywhere in the world. Some designs cannot be registered. These include designs for medals, designs including the word “ANZAC”, designs including the Arms, or a flag or seal of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory or designs that are scandalous. It is important that as soon as a commercially viable design is created, a decision be made on applying for registration. Although confidential disclosure of the design does not destroy its newness or originality, there is the risk of the disclosure being misused by others. Also, the filing of a design application establishes a priority date for any potential rights in the design. The priority date is important because it is the date on which ‘newness’ and ‘distinctiveness’ of the design is assessed. |
| For further information on registered designs, download our brochure as a PDF. |
