Is Design Registration Worth It?
Design registration, which protects the visual appearance of products, is often perceived as having lower necessity and effectiveness compared to patent or trademark protection. This is because design rights have a narrow scope, making it difficult to claim infringement when even minor differences exist between designs.
Additionally, the nature of product design—which complicates searches for prior designs—can sometimes result in the nullification of registered designs.
Why Register a Design?
Despite these challenges, it is better to register a design than not to register at all.
For original designs, registration is highly recommended. While the scope of protection may be limited, registration allows you to request the prohibition of use when imitations are found. Without registration, you have no enforceable rights, even for your own creations.
Strategic and Effective Design Registration
Given the short product cycles and high risk of imitation in many industries, a more strategic approach to design registration is essential. The Industrial Design Protection Act supports this by offering multiple systems to enhance protection.
One key example is the system of granting design rights for parts of an article. This system allows companies to register the most critical and distinctive design elements without covering the entire product.
Even if the overall product appearance differs, infringement can still be claimed if the key factor of the registered design is imitated.
Example: Smartphone Case Design
For products like smartphone cases, registering essential design elements, such as unique shapes or patterns, provides stronger protection. Additionally, proper management of article-specific designs and vinyl designs can help secure rights and control disclosure timing.
It is also important to establish a strong foundation by filing claims for exceptions to lack of novelty and taking steps to prevent nullification.
Our Expertise
At Sarang IP Law Firm, we recommend avoiding design registration without careful consideration.
We leverage years of research and accumulated know-how to develop optimal registration strategies tailored to your needs. Our goal is to help you secure the broadest and most effective design rights possible.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your design registration process!