The design of your product, and its packaging, gives your products a unique advantage over all others. After all, the packaging of a product is one of the main elements attracting consumers to your products. It makes them stand out. But, before you unleash your creativity and make exceptional designs, you should consider the following 5 things to protect your designs from being stolen.
How to Call An Industrial Design Your Own?
What Classes Do You have To Register Under?
Which Countries Should You Register In?
How to Register in Many Countries at once and Save?
1. What is an Industrial Design?
Industrial designs are deigns used by different industries for their product or product packages. They are defined as new designs that are industrially applicable and are either:
An array of lines with or without color, or
A three-dimensional form.
The definition of industrial designs is so broad under Egyptian law, it includes the design of the product itself like a piece of furniture, a carpet design, jewellery or a bag.
Examples of Product Packaging – Industrial Designs
2. How to Call An Industrial Design Your Own?
You can apply to register an industrial design with the Industrial Designs Office. But first, your design should satisfy certain conditions: (1) It has to be new and unpublished, (2) it has to be industrially applicable, i.e. can be used in industry and not a mere aesthetic or artistic work, and (3) it cannot be functional i.e. the design is essential for the product to perform a certain function, such as the basic design of a chair.
To be new the design should be new to the market, and have not been subject of an application to the Industrial Designs Office by another person. If the design was published (in an advertisement or press release or offered in the market) before the date of the application, then the designer will lose the right to register the design in the designer’s name, and the design is only protected by copyright (which is a weaker protection compared to industrial design). Publication after filing an application to register an industrial design in one of the member countries (in the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO), gives you six months to disclose and use your design in the market before you have to file the application with the Egyptian Industrial Design Office. It also loses newness, if the design is substantially similar to a registered industrial design, even if it will not be used for the same class of goods.
Registration grants you, the exclusive use and exploitation of your design for ten years term, which can be renewed for a term of five years, giving you a total of fifteen years from the date of the application. After the fifteen years the design falls in the public domain, and is free for any person wishing to use it.
3. Do you have to file under a certain class of goods and why?
In 1968 a number of countries signed the Locarno Agreement, under the umbrella of the WIPO, agreeing to classify any industrial application in any of their countries under 32 classes. The classes include the design of food stuff under class 1, clothing and footwear under class 2, furniture under class 6, electrical appliances under class 7, packaging and containers under class 9, and jewellery under class 11. To date, 92 countries joined the Locarno Agreement including Egypt. Any business wishing to apply to register an industrial design in any of the 94 countries must specify which class or classes of goods the industrial design falls under. For example a company in the automobile industry would apply to register the car design under class 12 for vehicles and apparatus for the transport of people. A manufacturer of dental fixtures would on the other hand apply to register a new design under class 24.
furniture design
The next criteria you need to consider is where will you will market the goods or products with the new designs.
4. Which Countries Should You Register In?
There are 195 countries in the world according to the United Nations. Registration of industrial designs is local and hence protects your design from imitation in relation to similar goods in the countries that you have registered in. Hence, when you plan to register your design you should consider where your business will expand geographically in the future (within the next year) to register therein. If you fail to do so, you risk that others register your design in another country and block you from using your design in that and possibly other countries. This is not farfetched – there are many businesses who copy successful jewellery, furniture, and product designs in other countries.
The only hinderance in relation to registration in many countries is cost. This is where your knowledge of the Hague industrial designs’ international registration system would come handy.
5. The Hague International Registration System for Industrial Designs
Many countries, members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) met in the Hague, Netherlands in 1960 and signed the Hague Agreement, committing to an international filing system for industrial designs with central processing through the WIPO. At that time only few counties signed, until more countries joined the Hague System signing the Hague Agreement in Geneva in 1999. With a place of business in Egypt (or domicile in Egypt for individuals) you can file an industrial design application in around 75 countries. The Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs provides a practical business solution for registering up to 100 designs in 75 contracting parties, with a single international application with over 40% discount in fees.
Though filed in Geneva, and handled by WIPO, the application is examined by the Industrial Office of every country, which in turn communicates its acceptance or rejection decision through WIPO. You will not have to deal with any of the local offices, unless and until, your application is refused and you need to file a petition to try and overcome the reasons of refusal. Otherwise, designs will be registered in the counties you designate. Of course, any countries that you cannot access through the system you will have to apply to register an industrial design through a local agent. That being said, you can still access many countries based on having your place of business in, or being a national of, Egypt. These include Australia, China, European Union countries, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and United States.
So, what are you waiting for??? Unleash your creativity and apply before you launch.
