What Are Industrial Design Rights
Any visual design of an item includes the aesthetic elements of form, pattern and colour, all fused in a proportioned and three dimensional form. Industrial design essentially focuses on these features for coming up with innovatively designed products.
After the completion of a particular design, the creators or firms are granted exclusive rights of ownership of that design. These rights are known as the industrial design rights. Generally design oriented products like textile, jewellery, etc are safeguarded by these rights, but the safety can also be extended for other aspects of a product like the shape of a beverage bottle or the design of a gadget.
To protect an original design, you need to file an application with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), if you are a member of one of the participant nations of the WIPO treaty. Though, if the designer wants to safeguard his rights over his original design and does not wish to approach WIPO, he or she can seek separate protection from the authorities in each of the required nations.
There are many important underlying advantages associated with industrial design rights. Having a registered industrial design protects the aesthetic aspects of the object, including its appearance and form. Any unsanctioned use of the registered design such as imitation can be prosecuted. This enables the rights holder to commercially exploit his design, and earn fair profits by mass production and marketing of products bearing his design.
Industrial design rights also facilitate healthy competition and lawful business practices, which eventually profits the consumers. They also incentivise creativity by penalizing any unauthorized use of the product design. These rights acknowledge the hard work of the creative team associated with the designed product, and pave the way for these efforts to be duly rewarded.
Hence, like most other types of IPR, industrial design also encourages earnest efforts and investments made by the design team and discourages attempts of plagiarism, thereby ensuring smooth running of global commerce.
Discover more about Trademarks Singapore and Industrial design protection.
categories: copyright,business value,industrial design,Intellectual property,IP law,IP lawyer,trademarks,patents,ideas protection,business idea protection
