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Industrial designs

An industrial design (design patent) is the result of creative actions of a man in the area of design development and styling.

The protected object may be a shape, an image, colour scheme or their combination, determining the appearance of the product for aesthetic or ergonomic purposes.

Industrial design registration is necessary to obtain the exclusive right to use the design and to prohibit its use by third parties.

In order to be valid, an industrial design must be new and have individual character.

Both individuals and/or legal entities may be the holders of the rights for an industrial design. An industrial design may simultaneously belong to several legal entities and/or individuals. However, an author or the authors have a nonproperty right of author for an industrial design, which is an inalienable right and is subject to permanent protection.

The design certificate (design patent) will include an image (images) of the claimed product, because it is the appearance that determines the scope of rights protected. Some countries also ask for the description of the protected design, which depending on the jurisdiction may or may not be published.

The territory covered by the protection of the registered design is always indicated in the title of protection. It may include one or several countries.

The validity of registration of the design patent is 5-25 years depending on the country (if relevant state fees are paid periodically).

It is important to remember the following: it is better to invest in protection of your original design before the start of sale of goods and services than to spend significantly more money in future to protect your products from unscrupulous competitors and intellectual property dealers.

Register a trademark for:
• reliable protection against unfair competition
• effective advertising campaign and brand awareness
• development of your design as a valuable intangible asset
• securing financing with the indusrtrial design as collateral (for example through a pledge)
• effective customs control and protection against export/import of counterfeit goods



UKRAINE

In Ukraine, the design patents are issued under responsibility of an applicant (i.e. registration system). This means that the Ukrainian Institute of Intellectual Property ("UKRNOIVI") shall formally examine if the application documents meet the requirement of the current legislation, namely: it determines the date when the application was submitted, verifies if the claimed subject matter belongs to industrial designs, checks if the claimed design corresponds to the principles of morality, etc.)

In Ukraine industrial design, which is usually prepared by a patent attorney.

The maximum validity of a design patent is 25 years. Design patent maintenance fee must be paid every year.


STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION

Preparation and filing of the application 1-2 days
Application examination and certificate delivery (if there are no objections from the third parties) 6-12 months
Certificate delivery 0,5-1 months
Design term extension 1-1.5 months

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
Full name and address of the applicant
Full name and address of the author
Image(s) of the design
Name of the design (if possible, together with the Locarno class of the design)
Priority document (if necessary)
Power of Attorney
Payment of official fees and patent attorney fees

AS A RESULT, YOU WILL RECEIVE
Registration certificate
Extract from the official register

THE SERVICE INCLUDES 
Monitoring of third parties' registrations filing of opposition against the registration of the third persons
Entering a registered ID into the Customs Register - for border measures against infringing imports.
Valuation of intangible assets
Invention protection
TM registration
Registration of domain name



BULGARIA

In Bulgaria, the certificates of registration for an industrial design are issued under responsibility of an applicant (i.e. registration system). This means that the Bulgarian Patent Office (BPO) examines a claimed industrial design only for meeting absolute criteria (application correctness, correspondence to the principles of morality and ethics, etc.)

In this case, the feature of novelty is not considered to be violated if an applicant has introduced its product twelve months before submitting an application for registration.

The maximum validity of a certificate is 25 years. Maintenance fee for a certificate of registration for an industrial design must be paid before the end of the 10th, 15th, and 20th year of its validity.

STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Preparation and filing of the application 1-2 days
Application examination and certificate delivery (if there are no objections from the third parties) up to 6 months
Certificate delivery 0,5-1 months
Design term extension 1 month

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
Full name and address of the applicant
Full name and address of the author
Image(s) of the design
Name of the design (if possible, together with the Locarno class of the design)
Priority document (if necessary)
Power of Attorney
Payment of official fees and patent attorney fees

AS A RESULT, YOU WILL RECEIVE
Registration certificate
Extract from the official register (only in electronic form)

THE SERVICE INCLUDES 
Monitoring of third parties' registrations filing of opposition against the registration of the third persons
Entering a registered ID into the Customs Register - for border measures against infringing imports.
Valuation of intangible assets
Invention protection
TM registration
Registration of domain name



EU

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) applies the registration system when granting legal protection for an industrial design. This means that the EUIPO examines a claimed industrial design only for meeting absolute criteria (application correctness, correspondence to the principles of morality and ethics, etc.)

In this case, the feature of novelty is not considered to be violated if an applicant has introduced its product twelve months before submitting an application for registration.

The European industrial design registration is in effect on the territory of all EU member countries and has the same status as national or international registrations.

The maximum validity of a design patent is 25 years. Maintenance fee for the certificate must be paid every five years.


STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Preparation and filing of the application 1-2 days
Application examination and certificate delivery (if there are no objections from the third parties) and certificate delivery 0,5-1 months
Design term extension 1 month

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
Full name and address of the applicant
Full name and address of the author
Image(s) of the design
Name of the design (if possible, together with the Locarno class of the design)
Priority document (if necessary)
Power of Attorney
Payment of official fees and patent attorney fees

AS A RESULT, YOU WILL RECEIVE
Registration certificate (only in electronic form)
Extract from the official register (only in electronic form)

THE SERVICE INCLUDES
Monitoring of third parties' registrations filing of opposition against the registration of the third persons
Entering a registered ID into the Customs Register - for border measures against infringing imports.
Valuation of intangible assets
Invention protection
TM registration
Registration of domain name



UNITED KINGDOM

The UK intellectual property office (UKIPO) applies the registration system when granting legal protection for an industrial design. This means that the UKIPO examines a claimed industrial design only for meeting absolute criteria (application correctness, correspondence to the principles of morality and ethics, etc.)

In this case, the feature of novelty is not considered to be violated if an applicant has introduced its product twelve months before submitting an application for registration.

The maximum validity of a design patent is 25 years. Maintenance fee for the certificate must be paid every five years.

STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Preparation and filing of the application 1-2 days
Application examination and certificate delivery (if there are no abjections from the third parties) 4 months 
Certificate delivery to 1 month
Design term extension 1 month

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
Full name and address of the applicant
Full name and address of the author
Image(s) of the design
Name of the design (if possible, together with the Locarno class of the design)
Priority document (if necessary)
Power of Attorney
Payment of official fees and patent attorney fees

AS A RESULT, YOU WILL RECEIVE
Registration certificate (only in electronic form)
Extract from the official register (only in electronic form)

THE SERVICE INCLUDES
Monitoring of third parties' registrations filing of opposition against the registration of the third persons
Entering a registered ID into the Customs Register - for border measures against infringing imports.
Valuation of intangible assets
Invention protection
TM registration
Registration of domain name



HAGUE SYSTEM

The international industrial designs are registered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under the Hague Agreement, which allows the registration of a design in 94 countries (as of November 2022).

An international application shall be submitted directly to the International Bureau of WIPO. When submitting the application, a single international fee shall be paid depending on the number of selected countries.

The International Bureau of WIPO examines a claimed design only for meeting absolute criteria (application correctness, correspondence to the principles of morality and ethics, etc.) Based on the results of the examination, the certificate is issued which de facto has the status of the priority document.

Further, the International application shall be examined by every national authority selected by the applicant for meeting provisions of the local legislation. Based on the results of the examination by the International Bureau of WIPO, an applicant receives a notice on design registration or a provisional refusal to register the design.

A provisional refusal of the design registration may be contested in the relevant authority, usually by engaging a national patent attorney.

An international registration can be renewed by submitting a request for the renewal to the International Bureau of WIPO and after paying the due fee.

The maximum validity of a certificate is 25 years but each member country defines its own term of the certificate. Certificate maintenance fee must be paid every five years.


STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
Preparation and filing of the application 1-2 days
International (formal) examination and delivery of a certificate of application registration usually up to 3 months
National examination in the member countries of the Hague System usually up to 6-12 months
Design term extension 1 month

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
Full name and address of the applicant
Full name and address of the author
Image(s) of the design
Name of the design (if possible, together with the Locarno class of the design)
List of countries to register
Priority document (if necessary)
Power of Attorney (if necessary)
Payment of official fees and patent attorney fees

AS A RESULT, YOU WILL RECEIVE
Registration certificate (only in electronic form)
Certificates of ID registration in selected countries (only in electronic form)
Certificate of National ID Registration (USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and some other countries)
Extract from the international register on the extension of the validity period of registration (only in electronic form)

THE SERVICE INCLUDES
Monitoring of third parties' registrations filing of opposition against the registration of the third persons
Entering a registered ID into the Customs Register - for border measures against infringing imports.
Valuation of intangible assets
Invention protection
TM registration
Registration of domain name



WORLD

Patent Bureau "Dr. Emil Benatov & Partners" maintains partner relations with leading patent companies of all countries. We can register your industrial designs in even the most distant parts of the world.

With us, you will get quick and reliable service for the protection of your industrial design worldwide!


STAGES OF IMPLEMENTATION
The duration of the design registration process depends on the individual jurisdiction.

NECESSARY DOCUMENTS AND REQUIREMENTS
Full name and address of the applicant
Full name and address of the author
Image(s) of the design
Name of the design (if possible, together with the Locarno class of the design)
Priority document (if necessary)
Power of Attorney
Payment of official fees and patent attorney fees

AS A RESULT, YOU WILL RECEIVE
The type and form of documents depends on the respective jurisdiction

THE SERVICE INCLUDES
Monitoring of third parties' registrations filing of opposition against the registration of the third persons
Entering a registered ID into the Customs Register - for border measures against infringing imports.
Valuation of intangible assets
Invention protection
TM registration
Registration of domain name

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