Do you design and build yachts? What if you find out that someone else has registered an almost identical design at the patent office? Do you know what you can do in that situation? How can you effectively defend your industrial design, even if you haven’t registered it yet? In this article, you will find the answers.
Industrial design
An industrial design is the appearance of your yacht – its shape, lines, contours, texture, or pattern of painting. By registering an industrial design, you protect yourself from being copied by competitors (including former employees who may have a slightly different idea for themselves). But what should you do when someone registers a design that is a plagiarism of your project?
Why is someone registering my design
The patent office, whether national, European, or international, does not examine the design in depth. It relies solely on the application. It is not uncommon for “professional registrants” to search for innovative designs and register them as their own, hoping for a lack of response from the legitimate creator. Later, they can easily reap financial benefits from the unfairly registered design, and reversing the situation is not easy.
Legal steps
If you notice that someone has registered a design very similar to yours, don’t hesitate to take action. First, check if the design looks identical to your yacht, or if it has been altered. Does its shape result solely from the functions it serves? If you have doubts, it is worth considering filing an objection with the patent office.
Objection procedure
An objection is a formal process that allows you to challenge the registration of a design that may be a plagiarism of your work. Remember that you have a limited time to file an objection – usually several months from the publication of the application in the patent office (depending on the procedure chosen by the registrant). In the objection, you must prove that the design is not new, lacks individual character, or infringes your rights. You can do this by providing all available evidence, but the most important will always be designs and photographs of your products, as well as sales documents.
Actions by the Patent Office
After filing the objection, the patent office will examine the case. The outcome can vary – from rejection of the competitor’s application, to modification, or even withdrawal of the design. Remember that the office conducts proceedings based on an administrative procedure, which is very strict and requires particularly good preparation from its participants.
Summary
If you are a creator and earn money from your innovative designs and finished products, you undoubtedly track the market and the movements of your competitors. It is also worth dedicating time and effort to monitoring official registers and conducting intellectual property audits. It is hard to imagine a worse scenario than being prohibited from producing certain units simply because you didn’t notice how someone unfairly registered your design.
Although design registration, monitoring patent office publications, and the objection procedure may seem complicated, it is important to remember that proper intellectual property protection can significantly enhance your competitive advantage in the market. If you have doubts that someone is infringing your rights, it is advisable to seek professional legal assistance – this is key to effectively defending your intellectual property.