Design

Industrial design means any new arrangement or set of lines or colors that, for industrial or commercial purposes, can be applied to the ornamentation of a product by any manual, mechanical, chemical, simple or combined process.

The registered design confers to the owner the right to prevent third parties that do not have their consent from using it. The aforementioned use shall cover, in particular, the making, offering, putting on the market, importing, exporting or using of a product in which the design is incorporated or to which it is applied, or stocking such a product for those purposes.

Industrial designs

Industrial models and designs are protected by special industrial property rights. An industrial model or design consists in the forms embodied in or the aspect applied to an industrial or artisan product, which confer an ornamental character to such product.

Exclusive rights on industrial models and designs result from registration of the relevant model or design.

Not applicable.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Design rights protect the appearance of a product, to the extent that it is new and has individual character. This appearance of the product shall be imparted, in particular, through the features of the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation.

A registration is necessary to obtain a design right. A design can be registered with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property as a Benelux design or with the European Intellectual Property Office as an EU Design. The new EU Design Package will amend the existing rules for both Benelux designs and EU Designs, through a new Regulation 2024/2822 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2024 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2246/2002, and a new Directive 2024/2823 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 23, 2024 on the legal protection of designs. It aims to strengthen, simplify and modernize standardize existing design protection across the EU. Key changes involve a new definition of a "design", to include moving elements and any other sort of animation. The definition of "products" will also be broadened, so as to go beyond physical objects. A design right will now also protect against 3D-printing, to take new technologies into account. Finally, a new repair clause excludes design protection for a design that constitutes a component part of a complex product, upon whose appearance the design of the component part is dependent, and which is solely used to enable that complex product to be repaired so as to restore its original appearance.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Industrial designs

A registered industrial design protects a product’s unique appearance, not what it is made of, how it is made or how it works. It provides protection for features, including the shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation in a finished article that relate to appearance, rather than functional features. This is similar to a U.S. “Design Patent”, although there are several differences.

Industrial designs and industrial drawings

Industrial designs are 3-dimensional shapes associated or not with colors, and any industrial or handicraft article that serves as a pattern for manufacturing other units and that is distinguished from others, by its shape, geometric configuration, ornamentation or a combination thereof, provided that these characteristics give it a special appearance perceptible by sight, in such a way as to produce a new physiognomy. Industrial drawings include any arrangement, set or combination of figures, lines or colors that are developed in a plan for their incorporation into an industrial product for purposes of ornamentation, and that gives the product a new appearance.

The designs or drawings must be new to be protected as such; they are considered new to the extent that they differ significantly from known industrial drawings or designs or combinations of characteristics of known industrial drawings or designs. Provided that this requirement is met, packaging, prints on fabrics, cloth or any laminated material may also be protected as industrial design. The law expressly excludes certain items that cannot be registered as industrial design and industrial drawings (eg, if their appearance is dictated entirely by technical or functional considerations, without any arbitrary input from the designer).

Every drawing and industrial design shall visibly bear the words " Dibujo Industrial" or "Diseño Industrial" or the initials "D.I." and the registration number – for example, on the packaging – provided that this is presented to the consumer sealed in such a way that it is necessary to destroy it in order to gain access to the product. The omission of this does not affect the validity of the industrial design or industrial drawing but will deprive the holder of the right to enforce criminal actions against infringements.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Industrial designs

According to Decision 486, an industrial design grants the right to exclusively exploit the appearance of a specific product without changing its purpose. In this regard, an industrial design makes the product more attractive to customers. For this reason, rights over an industrial design protects the aesthetic features of the product and not its technical aspects. Any legal or natural person has the right to prevent any 3rd party from exploiting its design without prior consent.

Industrial designs may be denied in case:

• Industrial designs that are contrary to public order or morals.
• Industrial designs that are related to technical features or technical functions without entailing any arbitrary involvement of the designer and
• If industrial design is the only way the product may be mechanically pieced or connected.

Denominations of Origin

According to Decision 486, a denomination of origin is a geographical indication that consists of the name of a country, region, specific place, or expressions referring to a specific geographical location used to designate a product originating from a zone, whose quality, reputation, or other characteristics are exclusively or essentially due to the geographical environment where it is produced, including natural and human factors. Please note:

• Denominations of origin can be requested for natural, agricultural, artisanal, or industrial products.
• In Colombian legislation, there is no differentiation between Geographical Indication and Denomination of Origin as exists in other jurisdictions.
• Denomination of Origin have a term of protection of 10 years from the filing date, which can be renewed for equal periods.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Designs

The appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation.

A design must fulfill the requirements of being "new" and having "individual character."

A design is "new" if no identical design has been made available to the public before the date of filing for registration or before the first launch of an unregistered design.

A design has "individual character" if the overall impression that the design produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any design which has been made available to the public prior to the date of filing/or priority date for registered designs or prior to the date the design was made available to the public for unregistered designs. There is a grace period of 12 months, meaning that, if the design application is filed within 12 months after the design was first made available to the public, it is still considered new.

Not applicable.

Registered designs

An industrial design is the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article. The design may consist of 3-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article, or 2-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or colors.

To be protected, an industrial design must be non-functional.

The design must not consist of features solely determined by the object's technical function. This means that an industrial design is primarily of an aesthetic nature and any technical features of the article to which it is applied are not protected.

In order to be able to register a design, the design must:

1. Be new if no identical design is known to have existed before. Designs must be considered identical if their features differ only in immaterial details
2. Have an "individual character" (caractère propre) if the overall visual impression it produces on the informed observer differs from that produced by any design or model disclosed before the date of the filing of the application for registration or before the date of priority claimed.

Databases

A database is defined as a collection of independent works, data or other materials arranged in a systematic or methodical way and individually accessible by electronic or other means.

Databases may be protected through copyright and/or a sui generis right.

Additionally, copyright protection may be awarded to the structure of a database if fulfilling the criteria for such copyright protection (fixation in a material form and originality).

Sui generis rights apply to the benefit of the database producer if there were qualitatively and/or quantitatively substantial investments, whether related to the collection, verification or presentation of the content of the database.

The sui generis protection lies on an economic vision and does not include moral rights.

Designs protect the 2- or 3-dimensional appearance forms of products which especially result from lines, contours, colors and shapes.

Designs enjoy protection by registration. National designs and EU-wide Community Designs exist in parallel. Community Designs must be registered with the European Intellectual Property Office however, Community Designs may also enjoy protection by making it public and known to the relevant professional circles.

A design rights holder has the right to exclude 3rd parties from making use of the design, including manufacture, offering, marketing, import and export of a product that incorporates the design.

In December 2020, a new so-called “repair clause” with regard to national German designs came into force which limits the design owner’s right to prohibit 3rd parties to use the design if a component part of a complex product (eg, an automobile) which incorporates the design is used by the 3rd party for the purpose of enabling the repair of such complex product so as to restore its original appearance.

Registered Designs

The registration of designs protects the appearance of products. A "design" means features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article by any industrial process. Once the design is registered, the registered owner will have the exclusive right to manufacture, import, use, sell or hire the design in relation to the article for which the design is registered.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Protection provided to the visual features of an article, such as the shape, configuration, pattern, ornamentation, or composition of lines or colors, whether in 2D, 3D, or both, applied through manual, mechanical, or chemical processes, that are judged solely by their visual appeal.

Industrial design

Under Industrial Design Law, an industrial design is a creation on the shape, configuration or the composition of lines or colors, or lines and colors, or the combination thereof in a 2- or 3-dimensional form which gives an aesthetic impression and can be realized in a 2- or 3-dimensional pattern and used to produce a product, goods or an industrial commodity and a handy craft. An industrial design right is a license issued by the government granted to a designer for their creation for a given period to exploit their creation or to give permission to another party to do so.

Design rights protect the appearance of a product which may include any industrial or handicraft item, including parts to be assembled into a complex product, packaging, get-up, graphic symbols and typographical type faces. Computer programs cannot be subject to design right protection.

A design must have a new and individual character in order to qualify for protection.

The registered proprietor of a design right has the exclusive right to use or authorize others to use the design including the rights of making, offering, putting on the market, importing, exporting or use of a product in which the design is incorporated or to which it is applied, or stocking such a product for those purposes.

Infringement of an unregistered design right can only arise where there is intentional copying of the protected design.

Designs

The Designs Law 2017 (“Design Law”) grants protection to registered and unregistered designs. A design protects the appearance of a product or part of a product, including the outline, color, shape, decoration or texture, or the material from which they are made. According to the Design Law, a product may be a set of items, packaging, graphic symbols or screen displays (but not a font/typeface or computer program). Examples of items for which design rights have been granted include jewelry, clothes, toys, screen displays, and furniture. A design is eligible for registration if it is novel and unique (ie, creates a different general impression among informed users in comparison with existing designs or products of any kind and of the same kind). An unregistered design, which is eligible for registration, is entitled to partial protection, mainly with regard to commercial manufacturing.

A product or a part of it may be registered as a design provided that they are new and that they have individual character.

A design is deemed to be new if no identical design has been widespread among the public before the application is filed (or, in case a priority is claimed, before the latter had been widespread among the public).

A design is deemed to have individual character if it generates a different impression in the informed user compared to other designs previously widespread. To assess the individual character, the margin of freedom in the realization process of the product should be taken into consideration.

The registration of a design attributes to its owner the right to use it and to prevent others from using or exploiting it in any manner without their consent. Private and didactic use are allowed.

Some less extensive forms of protection are granted to unregistered EU designs (eg, the right to prevent 3rd parties from using the design is limited to cases in which the latter are aware of the existence of that design).

Designs and models that appear in an official exhibition, or an exhibition officially recognized, held in the Italian territory or in the territory of a foreign State that grants reciprocity of treatment can receive temporary protection. Such temporary protection allows designs to be protected from the date of their exhibition, provided that the relevant application is filed within 6 months from such date.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Registered designs

A design shall be protected to the extent that it is new and has individual character. The appearance of the whole or a part of a product shall be regarded as a design.

To be protected, an industrial design must be non-functional

Not applicable.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Passing off

The common law tort of passing off generally concerns the false or misleading representation that another trader's goods or services are, or are connected with, those of the plaintiff. The tort can also include misrepresentations as to quality and authority or endorsements.

The misrepresentation can be an express statement, but often arises from the defendant's use of a mark, trade name or "get-up" with which the goods or services the plaintiff are commonly associated, in the minds of the relevant customers or other traders.

There must be damage, to the plaintiff's business or goodwill or likely damage if the conduct continues.

Designs

A design is defined as the new or original features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article by any industrial process or means. However, this cannot be a solely functional element. The design must not be published prior to the filing date.

Design rights owners have the exclusive right in New Zealand to make or import for sale or for use for the purposes of trade, or to sell, hire or offer for sale, an article in respect of which the design is registered. Design rights can be assigned and licensed. In some cases a compulsory license in respect of a registered design can be granted by the Commissioner or a court.

Geographical Indications

A geographical indication is an indication that identifies a wine, spirit or other good (as the case requires) as originating from a particular geographical region, where a given quality, or reputation or other characteristic of that good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

Geographical indications are collective rights as there is no single “owner” of a geographical indication. Any producer or trader who complies with the requirements governing the use of the geographical indication may use it on their relevant products.

Once issued, the creator acquires a monopoly in respect of any of the following acts:  

• Reproducing the design in the manufacture of a product or
• Importing, selling, utilizing for commercial purposes a product reproducing the design and holding such product for sale or commercial purposes.

The scope of protection is determined by the claims contained in the application for registration.

Industrial designs

Industrial designs are any combination of lines or colors or both, and any 3-dimensional form, whether or not associated with colors, intended by the creator to be used as a model or pattern to be multiplied by industrial process and which is not intended solely to obtain a technical result.

To qualify for protection in Nigeria, the design must be new and not contrary to public order or morality.

Design

A design is defined as the looks or part of a product that is characterized by its lines, contours, colors, form, structure or material to the product or its decoration. The design must be "new" and have "individual character" in order to be able to be protected.

The designer can protect their exclusive right to the design through registration with the Norwegian Industrial Property Office. Registration of a design does not, however, limit the design's protection under other law, such as trademark, copyright or patent law.

The Andean Community is an international organization that establishes mechanisms and policies for development through Andean integration. 

Peru, Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador are the 4 member countries of the Andean Community, which, in its development efforts through Andean integration, has established a series of common rules for intellectual property such as the Industrial Property Act (Decision 486 and 689) and Copyright Act (Decision 351), among others.

In order to obtain full protection, filing is required in each country as there is no common registry. However, there are some common benefits for the members of the Andean Community regarding IP rights, such as:

• Andean opposition: A trademark filed in 1 of the 4 member countries of the Andean Community is valid to oppose any similar or identical trademark applied for in another country member of the Andean Community. However, once the opposition is filed, the opponent is obliged to simultaneously file its trademark in the country of opposition in order to prove their legitimate interest. The Andean opposition does not prevent the opposed party from using the trademark.
• Non-use cancellation action: The use of a trademark in 1 member state is valid in all member states. A trademark owner can file evidence of use in any of the 4 Andean countries as defense against a non-use cancellation action.
• Highly renowned/well-known trademarks: When the well-known nature of a trademark is declared in a member country of the Andean Community, it is recognized by the other member countries. The well-known nature must be declared by the competent authority of the member country if a trademark is renowned in its sector and can only be requested within a contentious procedure.

Not applicable in this jurisdiction.

Industrial design is the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation. An industrial design will be granted protection if it is new and has an individual character.

In Poland, there are 3 regimes of registered industrial designs:

• National industrial designs (registered by the Polish Patent Office)
• International industrial designs (registered through the World Intellectual Property Organization and approved by the Polish Patent Office)
• Community designs (registered through the EU Intellectual Property Office)

In Poland, a person seeking protection of his or her design does not have to register the design through any office. This person may benefit from an unregistered community design right that lasts for 3 years from the date on which the design was first made available to the public within the community. Furthermore, an industrial design may be protected as a copyrighted work under the rules established in the Act on Copyrights and Related Rights (provided it meets the requirements described in the definition of a work). Additionally, the appearance of a product may be protected under unfair competition law (Act on Combating Unfair Competition) against its copying by industrial means, if such copying causes the likelihood of confusion.

The right of registration to an industrial design gives its owner the exclusive right to use the design in a commercial and professional way in Poland (or in the EU, in the case of registered community designs). The holder of the right to a registered industrial design may prohibit any 3rd party from manufacturing, using, offering, marketing or importing and exporting and stocking for these purposes, products whose appearance does not produce on the informed user a different overall impression.

Logo

A logo is a sign (or a combination of signs) capable of being represented graphically, in particular by words or figurative elements or by a combination of both, or a sign (or a combination of signs) which may be represented in a manner which enables to determine the clear and precise subject matter of the protection afforded to its proprietor, provided that such signs are capable of distinguishing an entity.

The registered logo confers to the owner, the right to prevent 3rd parties not having their consent, from using any identical or confusing sign which is designed to identify an identical or similar activity and where, because of its similarity, there is a likelihood of confusion or association on the part of the public.

Designs or Models

Designs’ or models’ rights cover new designs or models which have a unique character. The legal protection extends to designs or models which are not entirely new but involve new combinations of known elements or different arrangements of elements already used in such a way as to give the respective products their unique character.

Upon registration, the holder of a design or model is granted exclusive rights, empowering them to use and prevent 3rd parties from using it without consent. This usage includes activities such as making, offering, placing on the market, importing, exporting, or using a product in which the design or model is incorporated or to which it is applied. Additionally, it encompasses the storage of such a product for the same purposes effective against 3rd parties.

Industrial designs

Industrial design holders are protected against infringement. The term “industrial design” is defined as the appearance of a product or a 2- or 3-dimensional part of it resulting from the combination of its main features – especially lines, contours, colors, shape, texture and/or ornamentation of the product itself.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Utility models

Utility models shall mean a protection of new technical solutions that have been created through inventive activity in any field of technology. A technical solution is capable of being protected as a utility model if it is new, if it is a result of inventive activity and if it is industrially usable. Certain objects are not capable of being protected as utility models, such as:

• Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods

• Aesthetic creations

• Plans, rules and methods of performing intellectual activity, games or business activity

• Computer programs

• Pure statement of information

Designs

A design is an external layout of a product or its part that consists of elements which are, predominantly, lines, contours, colors, shapes, structures or materials of the particular product or its decoration. A product is any material thing made in an industrial or crafted way, together with a package, a layout, graphical symbols, topographical symbols or parts that are intended to be used for compilation of a composite product, apart from computer programs.

A design shall be capable of being protected if it is new and if it possesses a distinctive character.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.

Industrial designs

Industrial design is a result of creative activity of an individual in the area of industrial designing. The industrial design may be the appearance of the product or part thereof, which is determined, in particular, by lines, contours, color, shape, texture and/or material of the product, and/or its finishing. For industrial designs, Ukrainian laws contain the protectability requirements of novelty and individual nature.

The industrial design may receive legal protection as:

• Registered industrial design (upon its registration with the Ukrainian IP office and receipt of certificate);

• Unregistered industrial design, provided that such design has been disclosed, meaning that such design has been published, exhibited, used in trade or otherwise made available to the public in a way that, within the normal course of business, such measures may, for objective reasons, become known in circles which specialize in the relevant field and carry out their activities in Ukraine.

The owner of a registered industrial design has the exclusive right to prohibit 3rd parties from using the industrial design (ie, manufacture of a product using the industrial design, use of such product, offer for sale, including via the Internet, sale, import, export and other introduction into civil circulation or storage of such product for these purposes). The owner of the unregistered industrial design that was disclosed has the right to prohibit its copying and use (as described above), provided that such use is a consequence of copying an unregistered industrial design.

Not applicable.

Passing off

The tort (or delict in Scotland) of passing off relates to misrepresentations made by one trader that damages or may damage the goodwill of another. It can be used to protect unregistered business and product names, logos and "get-up."

The "classic form" of passing off is generally defined by reference to 3 requirements:

Goodwill in the UK attached to goods or services

• A misrepresentation by the defendant to the public (intentional or not) leading the public, or likely to lead the public, to believe its goods or services are those of (or connected with) the plaintiff

The plaintiff suffers or is likely to suffer damage due to that misrepresentation.

However, the misrepresentation may be as to other matters, such as:

• That the plaintiff's goods are those of the defendant (ie, reverse passing off)

• Misrepresentations as to quality
• False endorsement

The misrepresentation must be one which confuses or deceives the public or is likely to do so. Goodwill has been described as the "benefit and advantage of a good name or reputation..." or the "attractive force that brings in customers." Goodwill can be limited to certain areas or geographic locations.

An extended form of passing off requires:

• A misrepresentation made by a trader in the course of trade to prospective customers or ultimate consumers, which is calculated to injure the business or goodwill of another (ie, such injury must be reasonably foreseeable)

• Which causes actual damage to a business or goodwill

Designs

There are 2 main types of design rights in the UK: registered designs and unregistered design right.

A registered design is a monopoly right and can protect the whole or part of a product resulting from features of lines, contours, colors, shape, texture or materials of a product or its ornamentation. This can include, for example, packaging, get up, graphics and typefaces parts of products, icons, maps or web design.

Registered designs must be new (ie, not previously disclosed or available to the public anywhere in the world) and have individual character (ie, creating a different overall impression on the "informed user" taking into account design freedom). There are exceptions to this, and features dictated by function (“must fit” and “must match” exceptions) cannot be protected. To obtain a registered design, it is necessary to register with the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). The UK is a first-to-file system, although a registration may be refused or revoked if it conflicts with prior rights.

Unregistered design right arises automatically when a design is recorded in a design drawing or an article has been made to the design.  Unregistered design right subsists in the shape or configuration of the whole or part of an article that is original and not commonplace and has been recorded in a design document or an article made to the design and that has been created by a qualifying person.  Unregistered design right protects the appearance of functional products and does not protect any surface decoration, nor does it protect methods or principles of construction, which should (if eligible) be protected with patents.  Unregistered design right is not a monopoly right, as it only prevents copying.

Not applicable for this jurisdiction.