A registered design protects the way a product looks: its shape, configuration, pattern and ornamentation. It's the right that stops a competitor putting out something that looks like yours, and for a lot of consumer products it does more commercial work than a patent, for a fraction of the cost and in weeks rather than years.
Protection runs five years from your filing date and can be renewed once, to a maximum of ten. One point worth knowing early is that registration on its own isn't enforceable, and a separate step called certification is what makes it so.
Feel free to get in touch if you've designed something and you're heading towards launch. Preparing and filing design applications is one of my core services and I'd be pleased to talk through what's worth protecting.
Registered design services in Australia
“Warren was engaged to assist file a design registration for Australia. He was fantastic to work with. Warren is very knowledgeable and has a thorough understanding of the process. He was very patient and provided great guidance well beyond the scope. I would have no hesitations in working with Warren again."
- Nik Lee
Written by Warren Wong
Registered Australian and New Zealand Patent Attorney and Trade Marks Attorney.
Where should you start?
You're not sure whether you need a design or a patent.
Common question, and the answer is sometimes both.
→ Designs or patentsYou've designed a product and haven't filed anything.
File before the trade show, the crowdfunding page or the shop. Australia has a grace period, though relying on it carries a risk worth understanding first.
→ Design registrationYou hold a registered design and somebody is copying it. The first question is whether your design has been certified, because that determines what you're able to do next. → Design certification
If none of these sound like you, book a call and we'll work out what you actually need.
What a registered design protects
Under the Designs Act 2003, a design is the overall appearance of a product resulting from one or more visual features. Those features are its shape, configuration, pattern and ornamentation.
A few things follow from that.
It attaches to a product. Designs protect the appearance of a physical article, so an abstract concept, a method or a business idea can't be registered as a design.
The look doesn't have to be decorative. A purely functional shape can be registered as long as it's visually distinguishable from what came before. Plenty of good design registrations cover products nobody would describe as beautiful.
It's the overall impression that counts. Both registrability and infringement turn on whether two designs are substantially similar in overall impression to a person familiar with products of that kind. Changing one feature and keeping the rest doesn't necessarily put a competitor in the clear.
It has to be new and distinctive compared with the prior art base as it stood before your priority date. New means not identical to something already out there, and distinctive means not substantially similar in overall impression.
What it doesn't protect
A registered design won't explicitly cover how your product works, which is patent territory, and it won't cover your brand name or logo, which is trademark territory.
→ Designs or patents
→ Trademark services
Plenty of products are worth protecting with more than one right. A new appliance might carry a patent on the mechanism, a design on the housing and a trademark on the name, with each one stopping a different kind of competitor.
How registration works (in Australia)
Filing. You submit representations of the design, usually formal black and white line drawings, and identify the product. The representations define what you own, and thus are crucial to get right.
A formalities check, then registration. IP Australia checks that the application is in order rather than assessing whether the design is new or distinctive. Registration usually takes at least three months. If you don't request registration at filing, the application registers automatically at about six months from the priority date unless you withdraw it first.
Certification (optional). This is an optional examination to see if your design is indeed new and distinctive. Your design right is not enforceable without first being certified by IP Australia. → Design certification
Renewal at five years, once only, taking you to a maximum term of ten years.
What it costs
IP Australia's official fees are modest by comparison with patents. At the time of writing:
$200 to file and register the first design
$150 for each additional design in the same application
$500 to request examination (optional), which is what leads to certification
$400 to renew at the five-year mark
My service fees can vary based on the complexity of the design, and whether multiple filings are required. Rest assured that I will scope the job and provide a fixed fee upfront for your review before proceeding.
Filing several designs in one application can be worth doing where you have a product family or a few variants of the same idea, since each additional design costs less than the first.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a registered design last in Australia?
Five years from the filing date, renewable once for a further five, so ten years at most. There's a six-month window for late renewal with a penalty. After ten years the design enters the public domain and can't be extended.
Is my registered design enforceable?
Only once it's been certified. Registration establishes the right, and certification is the step that makes it enforceable. Either you or a third party can request the examination that leads to certification.
Can I register a design if I've already launched the product?
Possibly. A twelve-month grace period covers your own publication or use of the design from 10 March 2022 onwards. There's a catch worth understanding before you rely on it, which the registration page sets out.
Do I need a design or a patent?
A design protects appearance and a patent protects how something works. If the value is in how the product looks, a design is the place to start. Many products justify both.
Does an Australian registered design protect me overseas?
No. Design rights are territorial and each country needs its own application. You generally have six months from your Australian filing to claim priority elsewhere, which is half the patent equivalent.
Can I register several designs at once?
Yes. Multiple designs can go into a single application, which is efficient where you have a product family or several variants. Official fees are lower for each design after the first.
Protecting how your product looks
If you've designed something and you're heading towards launch, the useful conversation happens before the product is out in the world. Feel free to get in touch.