1. Attached drawing
Attached drawings are a very important part of the design registration process. All drawings must be high-definition and accurately show all functions of the designed product.
The appended drawings require:
A. the number of pictures is not specified. But you must provide enough pictures to show all the details of the design.
B. All pictures must show the same design. This is especially applicable to color, because color has a very important visual factor for the design appearance.
Request registration
If the applicant fails to apply for registration within 6 months after submitting the application, the application is invalid.
After the applicant makes a registration request, IPA will conduct a formal inspection. If the inspection fails, a notice will be sent to the applicant, who can submit the revised documents within 2 months. After meeting the inspection conditions, you can register your application.
register
After the design is registered, the protection period is 5 years, and it can be extended after the expiration, and the extension period is 5 years.
If the obligee fails to renew the design after the expiration, the design is invalid. Once it fails, the design will enter the public domain and anyone can use it for free.
4. Don't make your design public
If you want to protect your design by legal means, you must keep your design secret. A certified and legally binding design needs to be "novel" and "unique".
Novelty and uniqueness require that the design should not be published anywhere in the world or used in Australia before applying for registration.
Novelty means that the design cannot be similar to any other design in the world. This includes any content published worldwide or publicly used in Australia.
Uniqueness means that the overall appearance of the design cannot be similar to anything existing.
5. Review certification
After the design is registered, the obligee may apply for examination, and after passing the examination and issuing the certificate, the design right shall have legal effect.
The advantage of certification is that if others use your design without permission, you can take action to stop it. You can only do this if you are certified.
The purpose of the review is to find out earlier similar designs that you want to protect. If the examiner finds that an earlier design is similar to yours, then you can't pass the exam, even if you apply for the design yourself.
Step 6 ask for disclosure
Publicity is an alternative to registration. When you can't register your design, publicity is regarded as a defensive strategy.
After the parties apply for publicity, the Australian Intellectual Property Office will publicize the design in the design announcement and include the design in the Australian design retrieval database.