Product Design

Design registrations (or design patents as they are know in some countries) protect the appearance of a product. The intention of this intellectual property right is to protect the aspect of product innovation that provide some aesthetic, ergonomic and/or visual impact on the customer.

Product appearance is often a key factor in a customer's choice of product. This is particularly true of consumer goods, but aesthetics, ergonomics and visual impact generally play a significant role in a customer preference for any product.

The design of a product or its packaging is often associated with quality or image. Value in product design can be created by design features that are appealing to the target customer and this is the generally accepted purpose of design registrations.

However, there is no requirement for 'visual appeal' for a design to be eligible for protection under design registration. While this was previously a requirement under UK law, the requirement was removed from the legislation. Today, the design must only be sufficiently different to meet a certain bar that varies slightly from country to country (e.g. it must have 'individual character' under European legislation and must be 'non-obvious' under US legislation).

Design registration can therefore provide significant protection for any product that incorporates a novel design that serves no aesthetic, ergonomic or visually appealing purpose. Such registrations should always be considered, where appropriate, to complement or as an alternative to standard (utility) patent protection.