Oifig Maoine Intleachtúla na hÉireann

Intellectual Property Office of Ireland

General Information Concerning

Registration
of Industrial Designs
 Contents
Introduction 3

01. What is an Industrial Design? 4

02. Why protect designs? 5

03. What can be registered as an industrial design? 5

04. What cannot be registered as an industrial design? 6

05. How do you obtain protection for industrial design? 6

06. Who may apply to register an industrial design? 7

07. How to apply for registration of an industrial design? 8

08. Classification of Designs 10

09. Priority 11

10. The Application Process 11

11. How long does industrial design protection last? 12

12. The Register of Designs 12

13. The Application Process 13

14. Statutory Design fees 14

15. Agents - Patent and Trade Mark Agents 15

16. Protection Abroad 15

17. Contact Details 19

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Introduction
The information available in this booklet is not intended to be fully comprehensive. It is
a general guide and not a legal interpretation of the law relating to Industrial Designs.

It summarises certain important provisions and requirements of the Industrial Designs

Act, 2001 and the Industrial Designs Regulations 2002 with regard to the registration of
Industrial Designs.
It also includes information about the Community Design system. It does not analyse
every aspect of the process of registering a design of address particular legal provisions,
which may affect a particular application. As with all guides it, of necessity includes
a number of generalisations and simplifications and should not be regarded as a
substituted for the legislation itself.

The Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI) cannot undertake to prepare an

application to register a Design on behalf of the applicant.

Copies of the Acts, Rules and Regulations can be accessed on www.ipoi.gov.ie or

purchased directly from the Government Publications Office.

Their Call centre is open Monday to Friday.

Telephone number is 046 942 3100 or email publications@opw.ie.

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01 What is an Industrial Design?
Section 2 of the Industrial Designs Act 2001 defines “design” as meaning the
appearance of the whole or part of a product resulting from the features of,
in particular, the lines, contours, colour, shape, texture or materials of the
product itself or its ornamentation. “Product” is defined as any industrial or
handicraft item, including parts intended to be assembled into a complex
product, packaging, get-up, graphic symbols and typographical typefaces,
but not including computer programs.

In everyday language, an industrial design generally refers to a product’s

overall form and function. An armchair is said to have a ‘good industrial
design’ when it is comfortable to sit in and we like the way it looks. For
businesses, designing a product generally implies developing the product’s
functional and aesthetic features taking into consideration issues such as the
product’s marketability, the costs of manufacturing or the ease of transport,
storage, repair and disposal.

From an Intellectual property law perspective, however, an industrial design

refers only to the ornamental or aesthetic aspects of a product. In other
words, it refers only to the appearance of the armchair. Although the design
of a product may have technical or functional features, industrial design, as
a category of intellectual property refers only to the aesthetic nature of a
finished product and is distinct from any technical or functional aspects.
Industrial design is relevant to a wide variety of products of industry, fashion
and handicrafts from technical and medical instructions to watches, jewellery,
and other luxury items; from household products, toys, furniture and electrical
appliances to cars and architectural structure; from textile designs to sports
equipment. Industrial design is also important in relation to packaging,
containers and the “get-up” of products.

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02 Why protect designs?
An industrial design can add value to a product. It can make a product
attractive and appealing to customers, and it may even be its unique selling
point. So protecting valuable designs should be crucial part of the business
strategy of any designer or manufacturer.

• By protecting an industrial design through its registration the owner

obtains the exclusive right to prevent it unauthorized copying imitation
by others. This makes business sense as it improves the competitiveness
of a business and often brings in additional revenue in ono or more of the
following ways.
• By registering a design you are able to prevent it from being copied and
imitation competitors, and thereby strengthen you competitive position.
• Registering a valuable design contributes to obtaining a fair return
on investment profits. Industrial designs are business assets that can
increase the commercial value of a company and its products. The more
successful a design, the higher is its value to the company.
• A registered design may also be licensed (or sold) to others for a fee.
By licensing it, you may be able to enter markets that you are otherwise
unable to serve.
• Registration of industrial designs encourages fair competition and honest
trade practices, which, in turn, promote the production of a diverse range
of aesthetically attractive products.

03 What can be registered as an industrial design?

Section 11 of the Act provides that a design that is new and has individual
character is registrable under the Act

The design must be “new”. A design is considered to be new if no identical

design has been made available to the public before the date of filing of the
application for registration or, where priority is claimed, the date of priority.
The IPOI does not carry out a novelty check on design applications and the
onus is placed on the applicant to establish the novelty of the design which
is the subject of the application for registration.

The design must have individual character. This requirement is met if the
overall impression produced by a design on an informed user differs from
the overall impression produced on such a user by any earlier design that
has been made available to the public.

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04 What cannot be registered as an industrial design?
Designs that are prohibited from registration include the following:

• Designs that do not meet the requirements of novelty and individual

character (as explained above in paragraph 3).
• The features of appearance of a product which are solely dictated by
its technical function.
• Designs that are in conflict with a prior design.
• If the applicant for registration of the design is not the proprietor
of the design.

The Controller may refuse an application for the registration of a design

as follows:
• Designs incorporating protected official symbols or emblems (such as
the harp).
• Designs that are considered to be contrary to public order or morality.
• Where the design constitutes an infringement of a copyright work under
the Copyright and Related Rights Act, 2000.

05 How do you obtain protection for industrial design?

Design protection is territorial; in effect a design registered in Ireland is only
valid in Ireland. To register an industrial design you must file an application
with the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland.

If you wish to register an industrial design in the European Community then

the application may be filed directly with the European Union Intellectual
Property Office (EUIPO). For protection abroad, see paragraph 16.

In the European Union, legislation has made it possible to obtain limited

industrial design protection for unregistered designs for three years from
the date on which the design has been published in the European Union.

The unregistered design provides companies with the opportunity to test

market their products before going through the effort and expense of
registering all designs, many of which may not succeed in the marketplace.
In addition, some designs may remain on the market for a very short time,
especially in the fashion industry. For such products, the unregistered
design provides a good alternative. However, once the design enters the
public domain, designers have up to 12 months in which to register it. The
protection provided to an unregistered design is limited, in that it is more

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 difficult to enforce than for a registered design, and shorter, as it lasts for
three years as opposed to the 25 years provided to registered designs in the
European Union.

While this information booklet focuses mainly on registered industrial

designs, it is important to point out that, there may be alternative ways of
protecting industrial designs:

• One such alternative for protecting designs is copyright law. Copyright

generally provides exclusive rights for literary and artistic works. As
some designs may, be considered works of art or applied art, copyright
protection may apply and may represent an attractive option for
Proprietors.
• In addition, if an industrial design functions as a trade mark in the
marketplace, then it may be possible to protect it as a three-dimensional
mark. This may be the case when the shape of the product or its
packaging is considered to be distinctive.

If you wish to protect your industrial design under a registration system,

keeping the design confidential is absolutely crucial. The reason for this
is that the central requirement for design protection is generally, that the
design must be “new”. If you show your design to others it is advisable to
have confidentiality clauses in written agreements, clarifying that the design
is confidential.

A design that has already been disclosed to the public by, for example,
advertising it in your company’s catalogue or brochure may no longer be
considered “new”. It becomes part of the public domain and cannot be
protected, unless the application for design registration is filed within 12
months of the design being made available to the public or the priority of an
earlier application can be claimed.relation to packaging, containers and the
“get-up” of products.

06 Who may apply to register an industrial design?

The applicant for the registration of the design must be the proprietor i.e.
owner of the design.

The author (person who creates the design) is regarded as the proprietor
of the design unless the design is created by an employee in the course of
employment, in which case the employer is the proprietor of the design,
subject to any agreement to the contrary.

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07 How to apply for registration of an industrial design?
A person claiming to be the proprietor of a registrable design(s) may apply to
register their design(s). The application should be made online via the IPOI
website www.ipoi.gov.ie.

This e-filing facility introduces an easy to navigate application form and

facilitates the electronic payment of the design registration fee by credit or
debit card. Alternatively, application forms may be downloaded from the site.

Under the legislation, it is possible to apply for up to 100 designs in a design

application. This is known as a Multiple Application. This is subject to the
condition that the products in which or to which it is intended to apply the
designs, all belong to the same class of the Locarno system of International
Classification, except in cases of ornamentation.

In addition to the basic application fee, a multiple application is subject

to payment of the additional application fee per design. These costs are
significantly less than the cost of filing a separate application for each design.

Where the multiple application contains a request for deferment of

publication, the additional fee for deferment of publication applies in respect
of each design that is subject to the request.

Each of the designs contained in a multiple application should be numbered

consecutively by the applicant using Arabic numerals inserted on the back
or reverse side of the representations of the designs filed. Where more
than one representation of a particular design is submitted, each of the
representations of that design should be assigned the same identification
numeral.

Minimum requirements for a filing date.

It is possible to secure a filing date without a fully completed application

form for registration of a design, so long as each of the following is
submitted:

• A request to register a design

• Representation/s of the design/s
• The Name & address of applicant
• The prescribed fee

An application made in this manner will have to be followed by a formally

completed application form.

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Representations

Any number of representations (illustrations, line drawings, photographs

etc.) may be submitted but must be suitable for reproduction.

Where more than one view if submitted, each one must be on a separate
page and identified as perspective view, front view, side view, etc.

Views of designs with a repeating pattern should be such to show the complete
pattern and include enough of the repeat to fully illustrate the entire design.

Representation must not be less than 9cm x 12cm or greater than 18cm x 24cm in
size and these should be on a A4 page.

In the case of multiple applications the design identification numeral must be

written on the back of each representation.

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08 Classification of Designs
The Locarno Agreement concerning the International Classification of
products for the purposes of their registration of designs is an international
agreement under the aegis of the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Its purpose as the name suggests, is to provide an international recognised

classification system of products in respect of which designs may be
registered. Ireland is a member of the Nice Union of countries and applies
the classification systems to the registration of Designs.

Under the Locarno Classification, products are categorised in classes each

of which relate to a particular field of related products, consequently it is
possible to search design databases using products as the search criteria.
The classification system is regularly updated to take account of changes
and advances in commercial practices.

This classification system can be accessed via the IPOI website www.ipoi.gov.
ie. You should consult this classification prior to completing your application
to register your design.

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09 Priority
A right to priority for a period of 6 months may be claimed by an applicant
who has already applied for registration of the same design in a country
party to the Paris Convention. The filing date of the earlier application
becomes the priority date of the new application. The rights of such
applicants takes precedence over other applications filed during the priority
period in respect of the same design.

Where an application to the IPOI claims priority, the ‘priority document’

i.e., a certified copy of the original application as filed in the original country
must be received not later than 3 months from the date of application.
This certified copy should be obtained from the office where this earlier
application was made.

Similarly, applicants may claim priority in other states based on an earlier

Irish application and in such cases, applicants can obtain for this purpose a
certified copy of the Irish design application from the IPOI on payment of
the prescribed fee.

10 The Application Process

The process of registration of an industrial design generally takes 3 -4
months or longer, depending on a number of issues, such as whether any
objections are raised or clarification is required by the design examiner.

For a multiple application all of the designs in that multiple application

are allocated application numbers, each one corresponding to one of the
designs contained in the multiple application. Similarly, each of the designs
is allocated a separate registration number upon registration.

The application is then checked by an examiner to determine that the formal

requirements are complied with. If an examiner has a query or requests
clarification, the applicant will be contacted and will be given time in which
to respond. It should be noted that an examiner does not carry out a novelty
check on design applications and the onus is on the applicant to establish
the novelty of the design prior to making the application for registration to
the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland.

When the application is accepted and in order for registration it is then

registered and a certificate of registration is issued to the proprietor.
The registration of the design is published in the IPOI Journal (published
fortnightly) although this will not happen immediately upon registration if

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 there has been a request for deferment of publication and the period of
deferment is still running. The notice published in the Journal includes a
representation of the design; if more than one representation of the design
is filed, the representation published is usually the first in the series filed,
unless the Applicant has requested otherwise.

Publication of a design may be deferred at the request of the applicant for a

period of up to 30 months from the filing date, or where priority is claimed,
for a period of up to 30 months from the date of priority on payment of the
prescribed fees.

Upon the expiry of the period of deferment, or at any earlier date on request
by the registered proprietor, the Register shall be open to public inspection
in respect of that design and the registration of the design will be published.

The IPOI Journal is available free online at www.ipoi.gov.ie or printed copies

may be purchased from the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland.

11 How long does industrial design protection last?

When a design is registered, protection is granted initially for 5 years.
Protection can then be renewed for four further periods of five years each
(on payment of the prescribed fee), giving a maximum of 25 years protection
from the date of registration.

12 The Register of Designs

The IPOI maintains a register for all designs registered under the Industrial
and Commercial Property (Protection) Act 1927.

This is a paper-based register.

The Industrial and Commercial Property (Protection) Acts, 1927 to 1958
continues to apply to registered designs and applications for registration of a
design that were pending on 1/7/2002 (other than pending applications where
conversion had been requested) when the new legislation came into effect.

The life of a design registered under the 1927 legislation remains a

maximum of 15 years from the date of registration.

A person inspecting the 1927 Act register must furnish either a registration
number or sufficient information to enable the design to be identified. As
this is a paper register, the Register can only be inspected in our office in
Kilkenny. It can only be done in the presence of a member of staff and on

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 payment of the appropriate fee. In practice, designs that are registered
for less than two years (except textile piece goods, which is five years) are
not open to inspection except by the proprietor or a person authorised in
writing by him, a person authorised by the Controller or by the Court. The
person inspecting the register cannot make copies.

Where the statutory period has expired, the design is open to public
inspection by any person, on payment of the appropriate fee and copies may
be made of the registered design.

The Intellectual Property Office of Ireland also maintains a register for all
designs registered under the Industrial Designs Act, 2001.

This is an electronic register.

• This register may be viewed online at www.ipoi.gov.ie and is also open to

inspection in the IPOI Information Centre in Kilkenny. Copies of entries
in the register can be obtained, on payment of the prescribed fee.
• The following information is available:
• The registration number;
• The name, address and nationality of the registered proprietor;
• The address for service;
• The description of the design;
• The product or products to or in which the design is to be applied or
incorporated and the class or classes thereof, including sub-classes;
• The date of registration;
• The date of publication of the registration. Where deferment of
publication is requested, the date of publication shall only be entered on
the Register upon such publication;
• The priority date (where any) claimed, the name of the state, country,
territory or area and the filing number;
• Any disclaimer or limitation subject to which the design is registered;
• Where the first proprietor is not the author of the design, the name of
the author;
• The representation or representations of the design;

13 Design searches
The Register established under the 2001 Legislation is in electronic format
and contains details of all published designs and can be searched free of
charge online at www.ipoi.gov.ie. In addition to viewing the design register it
is possible to carry out a search of the designs database.

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 In relation to a design registered under the 1927 legislation, a search can
be made of the paper register in the Office to ascertain whether or not a
Registered Design is still in effect. Applications for a search should provide
sufficient information, in writing, to enable the design to be identified. This
may be done by submitting the following:

• The name of the design,

• A representation of the design and
• The class, if known,
• The prescribed fee of €15.00

The applicant for the search is informed if the design, the subject of
the search, is still registered, the classes of goods for which the design
is registered, the date of registration and the name and address of the
registered proprietor.

14 Statutory Design fees

The fee for an application to register a single design is €70.00. In the case of
a multiple design application, the fees payable are the basic registration fee
(€70) plus the additional fee of €25 for each design included in the multiple
application for registration e.g. a multiple application consisting of 10 designs,
the amount is €70.00 plus €25.00 x 10. Total = €320.00.

Deferment of publication of the design registration may be requested

and is subject to payment of the following fee:

For a period of up to 30 months €35

In order to keep a registered design in force it must be renewed on the

fifth anniversary of the registration date and every five years after that,
up to a maximum of 25 years. The fee for the renewal of a design for:

A second period of 5 years €50

A third period of 5 years €70

A fourth period of 5 years €80

A fifth period of 5 years €100

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 There are various other fees for matters such as requests to amend
an application and requests to record transactions such as assignments
and licenses etc. A copy of the schedule of fees relating to designs is
available online at www.ipoi.gov.ie or on request from the IPOI.

Payment

The following methods of payment will be accepted.

• Online - this option should be used for all fees relating to national
Designs registered under the Industrial Design Act 2001. You can pay by
Debit or Credit card on www.iopi.gov.ie
• By telephone - For Office opening hours please check the “Contact Us”
page on our website
• EFT - Please see www.ipoi.gov.ie/en/manage-ip/pay-or-renew/payment-
options/

If you choose to use the services of a registered patent agent or registered

trade mark agent to file your application, there will also be costs associated
with the hiring of the services of the agent.

15 Agents - Patent and Trade Mark Agents

Design law, procedural rules and the operation of time limits can be
complicated. Proprietors of designs may find the assistance of an intellectual
property professional beneficial when filing an application for design
registration or generally advising in relation to intellectual property rights.

A registered patent agent or a registered trade mark agent may represent

their clients in dealing with the IPOI in relation to design registration.

Where an agent is appointed by an applicant, all enquiries should be

directed to that agent and all official communications from the IPOI
are with the appointed agent.

A list of registered patent agents and a list of registered trade mark agents
are available on the IPOI website (www.ipoi.gov.ie) or on application from
the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland.

16 Protection Abroad
If you intend to export products bearing an original design, or intend to
license the manufacture, sale or export of such products to companies in

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 other countries, you should consider protecting your designs in such countries
in order to enjoy the same benefits of protection abroad. You may seek
protection by applying separately to the national Industrial Property offices
of each country in which you wish to obtain protection. The process can be
rather cumbersome and expensive as translation into the national languages
is generally required as well as payment of administrative (and sometimes
legal) fees. The IPOI website www.ipoi.gov.ie provides links to many of these
countries’ websites.

The Registered Community Design

European Union Intellectual Property Office

(Trade Marks & Designs)
Avenido de Europa 4,
E-03080 Alicante, Spain

A useful possibility for proprietors wishing to obtain design protection in

Europe is the Registered Community Design (RCD). This is a single design
registration valid in all the countries of the European Union. Holders of
Registered Community Designs have exclusive rights to use the design
concerned and to prevent any third party from using it anywhere within the
European Union.

The Registered Community Design

• Gives the exclusive right to use the design in commerce and take legal
action against infringers and to claim damages,
• Serves as a deterrent against infringement,
• Is a rapidly obtained right with few formalities,
• Is a right valid throughout the EU market,
• Is a protection that allows you to:

• forbid unauthorized production of your design in all the EU countries;

• stop imports into the EU at all possible entry points.

What criteria must a design meet to be eligible for protection as a

Registered Community Design?

To be eligible for protection, designs must be new and must have an

individual character. In other words, it must be apparent to the public that
they are different from products which existed previously.

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How to apply?

An applicant for a Registered Community Design (RCD) may apply directly

to the Office for European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Community Designs may be applied for on-line using e-filing. Please note that
the EUIPO is not able to accept Community Design forms via email.

Applications can also be submitted by post to European Union Intellectual

Property Office (Trade Marks & Designs) Receiving Unit, Avenido de Europa 4,
E-03080 Alicante, Spain. An electronic version of the application form in PDF
format is available from the from the EUIPO website http://euipo.europa.eu/

Registration
Applications are mainly checked for formalities. There is no in-depth
substantive examination, except to verify that the application is for a design
and that the design is not contrary to public policy or morality. If an application
meets the requirements for registration the design will be registered.

The RCD Register is a database containing particulars of all designs registered

and published by the EUIPO. The Register is constantly updated, to take into
account any change, such as a transfer of ownership, a change of name or
address, the granting of a license. The Register may be consulted online via
the EUIPO website.

The Cost of the RCD

€230 for a single application (one design) or
the first design of a multiple design application;

The Registration fee is An additional €115 for each extra design up to 10

; and

An additional €50 for each extra design above 10.

€120 for a single application (one design) or

the first design of a multiple design application;

The publication fee is An additional €60 for each extra design up to 10

; and

An additional €30 for each extra design above 10.

You can ask EUIPO to delay or ‘defer’ publication by paying the following
fees instead of the publication fee, but the deferment fee must be paid on
application;

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 • €40 for one design;
• An additional €20 for each extra design up to 10; and
• An additional €10 for each extra design above 10.

The publication fee will still be payable when the design registration is
published. The registration fee and publication fee must be paid at the same
time, together with the filing of the application.

Where the application includes a request for deferment, the deferment fee
will replace the publication fee. At the end of the requested deferment
period (which may be shortened if earlier publication is requested by the
holder), the publication fee must be paid for the design, or for those designs
in a multiple application which the holder wishes to be published.

Registered Community Designs are protected for a period of five years. They
can be renewed four times giving a maximum life of 25 years of protection.
Renewals will cost €90 for a first renewal up to € 180 for a maximum fourth
renewal.

Payment

You must pay when you apply. All fees must be paid straight to EUIPO.
You can pay EUIPO:

• by cheque;
• straight from an EUIPO current account; or
• by bank transfer to either of the following accounts.

Bank Santander CaixaBank

Address Alicante, Spain Alicante, Spain

BSCHESMMXXX CAIXESBBXXX
BIC code*

ES08 0049 6659 0121 ES03 2100 2353 0107

IBAN
1622 4792 0000 0888

Bank charges** >OUR >OUR

* Some computer programmes do not accept the last three digits XXX
of the BIC code. Should this be the case, please kindly indicate CAIXESBB
or BSCHESMM.

** It is important to indicate the term ‘OUR’ when making the transfer,

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 to ensure that you assume any bank charges and EUIPO receives the full
amount due. However, if you are making a SEPA payment, the default
SEPA specification ‘SHA’ is required.

Comprehensive details relating to the Community Design Registration

System, including application forms and notes regarding completion of
same, fees and methods of payment may be obtained from the EUIPO
website Fees and payments (europa.eu)

Representation before EUIPO

You can file your application yourself. However, you may find it useful to
employ a professional representative to act on your behalf in prosecuting
your design application and to deal with the sometimes complex procedural
arrangements. Only legal practitioners, qualified in one of the member
states of the EU and professional representatives entered on the lists
kept by EUIPO can act as representatives in matters before EUIPO.
Entry on the list of professional representatives is restricted to people
qualified to act before national industrial property offices. A list of Irish
registered patent agents and a list of registered trade mark agents are
available on the IPOI website www.ipoi.gov.ie or on application from
the IPOI.

Website Related Subject

European Union Intellectual Property www.euipo.europa.eu

Office

World Intellectual Property Organisation www.wipo.org

Intellectual property issues from a www.wipo.int/sme

business perspective

16 Contact Details
Intellectual Property Office of Tel: 056 – 7720111
Ireland Fax: 056 – 7720100
Government Offices, Hebron Road, E- mail: ipinfo@ipoi.gov.ie
Kilkenny, R95 H4XC, Ireland Website: www.ipoi.gov.ie

For Office opening hours please check the “Contact Us” webpage .

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