Industrial Design, a practical protection method for your invention.
Industrial Design Registration
The industrial design is a method of protecting inventions before the patent and trademark office. With the registration of an industrial design, the inventor protects the aesthetics, shape, or physical appearance of an invention. Specifically, with the industrial design, the innovative elements achieved with visible components of an invention are protected. For example, if an inventor proposes physical changes in the design of an invention, and these visible and aesthetic changes lead to improvements in the use of the product, it is recommended to register an industrial design.
Analysis of Industrial Design as a method of protecting inventions
The Industrial Design is one of the most requested methods of protecting inventions at patent and trademark offices. Specifically, in Spain, it is not only one of the most frequent methods of protecting intellectual property, but also the method of protecting an invention with the highest approval rate or likelihood of success.
Below is a graphic summary of the Industrial Design applications made at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office vs the Industrial Designs approved by the Spanish Patent Office itself:
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Based on the public data on Industrial Design from the patent and trademark office, we can determine that more than 97% of Industrial Design applications end up being approved.
Industrial Design Application | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
TOTAL | 1.685 | 1.585 | 1.495 | 1.329 | 1.194 |
RESIDENTS | 1.668 | 1.573 | 1.472 | 1.314 | 1.166 |
NO RESIDENTS | 17 | 12 | 23 | 15 | 28 |
Industrial Design Approval | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
TOTAL | 1.631 | 1.559 | 1.456 | 1.325 | 1.118 |
RESIDENTS | 1.616 | 1.541 | 1.436 | 1.309 | 1.097 |
NO RESIDENTS | 15 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 21 |
Probability rate Approval | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Promedio |
Industrial Design | 96,80% | 98,36% | 97,39% | 99,70% | 93,63% | 97,18% |
Necessary Information to Register an Industrial Design
To register an Industrial Design, it is necessary to complete the forms provided publicly by the Patent and Trademark Office. Specifically, they request the personal details of the owner of the invention who intends to register the invention. Additionally, the designs to be registered must be submitted in three-dimensional formats, clearly showing the shapes to be protected by the Industrial Design. The Industrial Design registration can be done online and it is not necessary to hire an intellectual property advisor to complete the Industrial Design application process. However, it is recommended to involve them as a guide to express in the design the elements that are truly novel, important, and intended to be protected in the invention.
Procedure to Register an Industrial Design
Step 1: Complete the industrial design application form. You can obtain the official form HERE
Paso 2: Presentar el justificante de pago de las tasas correspondientes al diseño industrial.
Step 3: Designs. Specifically, you must submit the 6 perspectives of your industrial design, as well as a drawing of the general perspective of the design to be registered.
Step 4: If you do not plan to submit the industrial design application directly, you must transfer the rights for this process to the agent or company that will handle the registration.
If you want to learn more details about the process of transforming your idea into a real and sufficiently protected product, don't hesitate to contact us.
Industrial Design - Utility Model - Patent
Criteria | Industrial Design | Utility Model | Patents |
Duration | 25 years (Renewable in periods of 5 years) | 10 Years | 20 Years |
Innovation requirements | Aesthetic, geometries, shapes... | Weak | Strong |
Approval process | Does not require substantive examination | Does not require substantive examination | Requires substantive examination |
Taxes | 78 € | 86€ | 1200€ |
Market Price | Between €300 and 500€ | Between 1500€ and 3000€ | Between 7000€ and 15000€ |
Approval likelihood | 97% | 88% | 48% |
Ease of internationalization | + | – | + |
From the comparative table between the different methods to protect an invention, the following conclusions can be drawn:
The Industrial Design is the easiest method to protect an invention, and it is also the most recommended when the improvements proposed in an invention are related to its aesthetics, shapes, and appearance.
The Industrial Design is the cheapest method of protecting inventions, both due to the amount of the official fees from the patent and trademark office, as well as the democratized prices in the market for its application and monitoring by intellectual property advisors.
The Industrial Design, unlike patents, does not undergo substantive examinations by the Patent Office, so its approval depends on any opposition that may arise from other inventors, after the Industrial Design is published in the Official Patent and Trademark Bulletin.
Examples of Industrial Design Usage
If we analyze public data from the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, we can observe a growing wave of Utility Model applications, which has significantly displaced the option of Patents and Industrial Design as methods of protecting an invention. This phenomenon only occurs in Spain, as in countries with mature intellectual property systems, such as the United States, the Utility Model is not an existing option. Instead, in any international patent and trademark office, patents and industrial designs are considered recommended methods to protect an invention.
Just for illustrative purposes, we provide some usage examples where Industrial Design would be more recommended than other methods of protecting inventions, such as Utility Models or Invention Patents.
Industrial Design for Electronic Products
When it comes to an electronic product or an invention related to a household appliance, by default, most intellectual property advisors recommend the Utility Model, especially if it involves an improvement to an existing product. The reality is that, to make this decision, it is important to understand the proposed improvements by the inventor on the existing product. For example, let's imagine an inventor who suggests changing the exterior shape of a mobile phone, in order to make it visually more attractive, while also making it easier to stand on surfaces, thereby eliminating the need for accessories to keep the phone in desired positions. In this case, although it is a significant improvement, it is very likely that, since the same functions and components of a known mobile phone are used, it would be more advisable to protect the new shape of the device's exterior casings with an Industrial Design, rather than applying for a Utility Model to claim such innovation rights.
Industrial Design for Furniture
In the case of protection for household or office furniture, it is very common for the protection of improvements or innovation to be recommended with Utility Models. In most cases, inventors who propose inventions related to furniture base their ideas on existing products that can be improved by changing their shape. For example, imagine an inventor who proposes a piece of furniture whose aesthetic surface can be replaced with interchangeable surfaces that fit onto parts of the furniture using a magnetic system. In this case, which we've seen protected with a Utility Model, it might have been more advisable to protect an industrial design highlighting the parts that allow adaptation and storage of the interchangeable surfaces, as well as the anchoring points. Protecting this invention with a Utility Model, in our opinion, is a mistake, as with a much smaller investment, the improvement could be protected with a more effective and internationally recognized method of protecting inventions, such as an Industrial Design instead of a Utility Model.
Industrial Design for Everyday Products
It is no secret that the industry related to the pet sector has experienced significant growth globally. There are many inventors who, in recent years, have proposed important but similar improvements to the leashes used for walking dogs. In this specific study, we were able to identify that from 2019 to the present, more than 10 Utility Models have been protected for leashes that include liquid reservoirs and elements for dispensing, with the aim of cleaning the areas where pets do their biological needs.
By analyzing the list of Utility Models, we have detected that the changes proposed and registered through Utility Models, actually suggest improvements that consist of aesthetic shape changes, changes to the attachment point of the reservoirs, changes in the overall appearance of the product, and other similar details. However, the improvements are achieved by altering the design of the product, while maintaining the functional principles of these systems. In this specific case, we believe that it is a mistake and a significant waste of money and opportunities to register these inventions through Utility Models, as it would have been much more efficient to register such changes through an Industrial Design.
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FAQ about Industrial Design
The patent and trademark office usually takes a period of between 6 and 12 months to approve an industrial design, based on the filing date of the industrial design application. This period may be affected by potential formal defects detected by the patent and trademark office, which will notify you and guide you on how to resolve such defects. To avoid mistakes in the presentation of an industrial design, it is advisable to seek advice from experts or intellectual property agents.
The industrial design can protect the invention for a maximum period of 25 years. Unlike the Utility Model or patents of inventions, it will be necessary to submit renewals every 5 years.
Through the patent office, you can request to protect the industrial design in those countries that are commercially interesting for marketing the invention. In this regard, you will need to pay the corresponding fees for each country where you decide to protect the invention. This selection and payment of fees can be done at the same patent office where you submit your initial industrial design registration application.
Anyone or any company can apply for the registration of an Industrial Design at the corresponding patent office. In the case of non-residents in the country of origin of the patent office where the registration is to be made, an additional requirement is to submit the Industrial Design application through an intellectual property agent.
The official fees for registering an Industrial Design are less than 80 euros. However, it is important to remember that the cost of registering an Industrial Design may be affected by the fees of the intellectual property advisor you choose for this process. Generally, registering an Industrial Design with an expert usually costs less than 1000 euros.
The truth is that it cannot be defined whether an Industrial Design or a Utility Model is better. This comparison depends on the details of each strategy and the characteristics of the invention. In most cases where an invention improves an existing product, a Utility Model is mistakenly recommended instead of an Industrial Design. It is very important that you can define which elements represent an improvement in the product that you want to transform. If these improvements are achieved through changes in shape, changes affecting the aesthetic of the product, it is very likely that an Industrial Design is better than a Utility Model<span style="
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