For most businesses, creating appealing and unique designs will be a vital element of the marketing plan. A good design can help you stand out from the competition, compete with bigger businesses, and get more market awareness and exposure. Industrial Design is a critical element in attracting our attention to a product or convincing us to choose one over another. This article will touch upon all the requirements that are essential to protect a design and its owner.
What is Industrial Design?
In a legal sense, industrial Design refers to an article’s decorative or attractive appearance. An industrial design may include three-dimensional elements, such as shape, or two-dimensional elements, such as patterns, lines, or colour. Federal Law No. (31) for the Year 2006 on the Industrial Regulation and Protection Patents, Industrial Drawings, and Designs (after this “UAE Design Law”) defines Industrial Design under Article (1).
Industrial Design is defined as any novel three-dimensional form that has industrial or craft applications. It also includes Industrial drawing. Industrial drawing refers to any novel use of lines or colours that create a product utilized in industry or art.
Why is it essential to protect the Design?
Industrial design protection is an essential component of any company strategy. The following are the primary grounds for industrial design protection:
- Return on Investment:
Creative and attractive Design helps businesses return on their efforts to develop and sell appealing, innovative goods.
- Provide Exclusive rights:
Protection of Design confers exclusive rights on the industrial Design for at least ten years, preventing or impeding others from economically exploiting or duplicating it.
- Enhance brands:
Industrial Design may play a significant role in the branding of a business. Protecting industrial designs helps a company protect its brand.
- Option to licence or sell:
Design protection creates rights that may be sold or leased to another business, generating revenue for the rights owner.
- Promote goodwill of business:
Industrial designs are commercial assets that may enhance the market worth of a firm and its goods. Thus protection needs to reach a favourable image of the organization. Protecting industrial designs promotes and rewards innovation.
- Promoting New Design:
Industrial design protection incentivizes and promotes innovation in the industry of designs.
How is Design different from Trademark?
There is a significant distinction between a trademark and design registration. Both Trademark and Design considered being an intellectual property. Although both may seem to be the same, understanding the differences between them is critical to ensuring that your IP is adequately protected. Trademark registration safeguards the symbol or mark representing your company, whereas design registration safeguards the appearance of your goods.
Which law protects a design in the UAE?
Federal Legislation No. (31) of 2006 on Industrial Regulation and Protection of Patents, Industrial Drawings, and Designs is the law that governs Industrial Design in the United Arab Emirates.
Is registration of Design mandatory in the UAE?
In the UAE, an industrial design must be registered to protect it as a “registered design” under industrial design legislation. According to Article 44 of the UAE Design Law, Industrial Design does not benefit from the protection defined in the design law unless registered in the appropriate register at the Administration. And the registration application is submitted and examined following the procedures and fees specified in such law’s bylaws in this regard.
Why to register Industrial Design?
If you fail to safeguard your industrial Design(s), you risk losing your exclusive rights to them. As a result, your rivals may bring a product to market without first obtaining your approval. Therefore, if a competitor or third-party manufacturers, sells, or imports goods bearing or incorporating a design that is a duplicate (or essentially copy) of your industrial Design without your permission, you will have no legal recourse.
Additionally, industrial design imitations are offered at a lower price since it does not require rivals to recover their creative costs. It may result in a loss of market share for the product in issue, which would be detrimental to both your firm’s and your goods’ reputations.
Is industrial design registration valid in other countries as well?
Industrial design rights are territorial. It means that these rights are limited to the country (or region) where protection is granted.
What criteria are required for industrial design protection?
There are specific requirements that are required for the protection of Industrial Designs. According to Article 47 of the UAE Design Law, the industrial drawing or Design must be:
- novel,
- creative, and
- useful as an industrial / handicraft product,
- Not violative of state law or morality.
In other words, independently developed industrial designs must meet one or more of the criteria of novelty and originality. The definition of novel and originality differs by nation. An industrial design is regarded as new or innovative if it has not previously been revealed to the public. It may also be considered unique if it substantially varies from previously published designs or combinations of previously published designs.
LANDMARK CASE OF APPLE INC. V. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., ET AL
For protecting design, the most landmark case is of Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., et al., decided by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (No. 11-CV-01846-LHK). In this case, wherein 2018, a federal jury found that Samsung owes Apple $533,316,606 in damages for violation of three Apple-asserted design patents. In this case, Apple sued Samsung in 2011, claiming various utility patents, including the three design patents, which include essential features of smartphone devices, such as their shape and graphical user interface. Apple was awarded $399 million in damages for infringement of the design patents after jury trials in 2012 and 2014—equivalent to Samsung’s total revenues from the infringing devices. Samsung appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which affirmed the design patent infringement damages in 2015. Samsung subsequently challenged the design patent damages decision to the United States Supreme Court, overturning it in 2016.
The purpose of this article is to provide a general overview about the protection of Industrial Design, if you are looking for someone who could assist you in protecting your Industrial Design, HHS lawyers in Dubai, is the best option. attorneys have clear and realistic solutions to safeguard your innovative and novel Design as an intellectual property. To know more about Industrial design, don’t hesitate to contact for further consultation.
