Designs
A model or design is the appearance of a product: its shape, its patterns and colors.
How to get a design
Filing
Exam
Granting
The filing
The filing of a design (design or model) allows, once the registration has been obtained, to take advantage with exclusive rights of the particular aesthetic aspect of a product. The title can be renewed every 5 years up to a maximum duration of 25 years.
Depending on the needs it is possible to deposit different types of designs:
- an Italian design, at the Italian Patent and Trademark Office (UIBM);
- a European design, at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ;;
- an international design, at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); or
- a foreign national design.
The essential requirement for the validity of a design is novelty.
Multiple designs can be included in the repository, presenting different views for each in order to give a complete representation.
Views can be photos or even simple drawings.
It is important to remember that the design only protects what is present in the deposited views .
The exam
During the exam, the formal requirements that the design filings must respect are checked, such as the consistency between the different views or if the representation is not clear.
The competent offices do not carry out research on novelties during the examination phase and therefore, if the formal requirements are met, the design will proceed with registration.
The granting
Once granted, the design will be readily spendable towards any counterfeiters guaranteeing a strong asset to its owner.