Protect
Design Your Future
Understanding design protection is crucial for safeguarding your creative innovations and maintaining competitive advantage.
Protect
Protect your Design with TJIP Patents, Trade Marks & Designs
Understanding design protection options is crucial for safeguarding your creative design innovations and maintaining a competitive advantage on the look of your product.
At TJIP, we specialise in guiding you through the design registration process, seeking strong enforceable design rights.
- Expert advice on seeking design registrations
- Tailored strategies for your unique design product needs, including international design rights.
- Comprehensive support through the design protection process.
Designs
What is Design Registration
Designed a great-looking or innovative product? For example, the shape of a water bottle, the design of a T-shirt, or the look of an electrical gadget may all be registrable “designs” provided they are “new and distinctive” . Others may wish to copy the design and use it themselves to steal your hard work in thinking up your design.
Design registration is one way to seek protection to give a monopoly to use a design, and a way to be able to ask other traders to stop using your design unless you grant them permission eg a license.
Can I rely on Copyright?
Short answer- no. Copyright is a naturally occurring right in an artistic thing but usually copyright is lost as soon as you start to make and sell a product. We can advise you on your product to see if the stronger protection of Design registration may be an option.
How does the process work?
To register a Design, there are three stages:
- File Application
- Registration
- Examination
Process
File Application
Design applications are filed with representations of the design, details of the application, the applicant, designer and payment of official fees. The drawings are the cornerstone of design protection and we will assess how to apply on a case by case basis.
Registration
Provided all the formalities are dealt with the design application will proceed to registration. The registration will be published to allow an opportunity for third parties to oppose the registration.
Search and Examination
Unlike trade marks and complete patents, designs are not searched or examined until after registration. For this reason the design system is a relatively quick and cheap way to achieve protection for the look of an industrially produced article, for 5 to 10 years.
Typically, an Australian design registration costs from A$1500 but varies case by case, and excludes examination and preparation of the formal drawings. The cost of registering designs overseas is variable depending on the nature of the right obtained, for example.
Protect Your Designs Today
Starting the process is quick and easy. Simply complete the ‘Contact Us’ form preferably with images of your design, or book an appointment.