Industrial Design

An industrial design is an exclusive right to the appearance of a product. A design means the two-dimensional or three-dimensional appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from its features, in particular the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation.

A two-dimensional design relates only to the picture on the surface of a product (e.g. ornament, pattern, picture), and a three-dimensional design includes the shape of a product and pictures on its surface (e.g. furniture).

In order to be protected, a design needs to be suitable for industrial or handicraft production and:

√ be new – an identical design has not been made available to the public anywhere in the world prior to the filing date of the application for the grant of an industrial design for that particular design, or if there is not an earlier filed application for the grant of an identical design; designs differ among themselves in essential details.

√ have individual character – overall visual impression it produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such user by any other design.

The industrial design right is granted by a responsible state authority with the payment of the fee, and it lasts for a certain period of time in a certain territory.