What to do when applying for a design right

Applying for each design right in separate applications

There are 2 situations where you can submit a single design in an application:

• A design applied to one product
• A design applied to more than one product (also called a common design).

As there is only one design in the application, there is only one fee for each application.

Each application will be considered independently. Issues with one design will not impact other designs that are submitted in separate applications.

1.  One design applied to one product

A single design application can be made for a single design which is applied to a single product.

You will need to include one product name and one or more representations which show the visual features of that single product.

Product example: drink bottle

2. One design is applied to more than one product (common design)

A single design application can be made for one design that is applied consistently to more than one product. This is referred to as a common design.

The products do not need to be categorised in the same Locarno class, but they do need to have significant visual features in common.

You will need to include a different product name for each product and one or more representations for each product. The representations should show the shared visual features applied to each product.

Product example: T-shirt, mug, bag 

If you think that you have a common design, we'd suggest getting in touch with us for more information, or get advice from an IP professional before applying.