Search this site
Registered and unregistered designs
So you’ve developed and built a great new product and you’re nearly ready to take it to market. Let’s explore what protection there might be for your product, whether a physical product or a software product, and what you can do to put your product in the best position to be a success. Protect the way […]
If you’ve developed a product, or you’re even selling a product on the market at present, you may have unregistered design rights that protect the shape and appearance of the product. What’s protected? Unregistered designs protect the way a product looks. This can be its shape, or appearance including surface decoration. When we refer to […]
“Design patents can be the first line of defence in preventing “knockoffs” by infringers that wish to capitalise on a successful and popular product.” Philip Soo, Patent Counsel, 3M There is no doubt, when it comes to protecting a new product, patents are the most powerful asset because they protect aspects of the way in which the […]
You’ve created a great-looking new product and you hope it’ll be popular around the world. As with other intellectual property (IP) rights, design protection is territorial. Deciding where to apply for design protection is a balance between cost and coverage. It can become very expensive to seek protection worldwide, so we’ve put together our suggestions to […]
So you’ve decided you want to file a registered design to protect the look of your product. Designs are registered by filing an application. Compared to patents, the process of obtaining a registered design is relatively quick and inexpensive. Of course, the main part of the application is showcasing the design itself, i.e. providing drawings […]