Registering a design is a legal action aimed at protecting the aesthetic characteristics of a product or part of it, such as its lines, contours, colors and shapes, provided that they are new and have an individual character. The creator of a design, through registration, guarantee themselves the right to exclusive use of the outcome of their creative and innovative effort. The registration of a design gives its owner the exclusive right to use it and to prohibit its use by unauthorized third parties.
Brunacci & Partners assists its clients through all phases of preparation and filing of design applications, both in Italy and worldwide, thus enhancing the aesthetics of the product in accordance with the specific needs of each client.
Would you like more information on how to register a design? Contact us!
Faq
Registering a patent means protecting an invention capable of fixing a technical problem. The solution can be identified in a product of any kind, such as machinery, items, devices, or in processes which allow obtaining a certain product.
Patents for inventions must meet certain characteristics: they must be novel, involve an inventive step and have an industrial application.
Registering a design, on the other hand, means protecting the aesthetics of a product. Specifically, the model protects the shape of the product while the design protects the drawing of the same. In order to be registered, the design must be novel, that is, it must not be identical or similar to others but it must differ as far as non-irrelevant details are concerned.
Design registration protects the aesthetic characteristics of a product or part of it, such as lines, contours, colors and shapes. Ornaments of the product, i.e. two-dimensional elements such as drawings, decorations, etc., can also be covered by design protection.
Two- and three-dimensional industrial products or handicraft products are considered registrable designs. Visible components such as graphic symbols, packaging, typefaces or presentations that constitute novelty and have an individual character can also be registered.
Is it possible to defend a design that has been used for a long time, but has never been registered?
In the European Union it is possible to register a design within a period of 12 months from the first disclosure within that territory. The same rule also applies to the registration of an Italian design. Once this term has expired, it is possible, both in Italy and in the European Union, to protect the aesthetics of an invention through the protection granted to unregistered designs equal to 3 years from the first disclosure.
The design protection lasts 5 years from the application date. Protection is renewable for multiple periods up to a maximum of 25 years.
Two types of applications for design protection may be filed: single filing and multiple filing. With the latter, the applicant may file, with a single application for protection, several designs or models, provided they all belong to the same class of the Locarno Classification.
For example, it is possible to file a multiple application for the registration of furniture elements such as a table and related chairs, because they belong to the same class, but not of a table and a chandelier which, on the contrary, belong to different classes.