Insights Archives - Page 13 of 13 - Polikarpov Law Firm

Question 1

What types of products can be patented as a design?

Accepted Answer

An industrial design is the result of intellectual, creative human activity in the field of artistic design.

The legislation does not contain a clear list of the types of products that may be recognised as industrial designs.

At that, the following shall not be recognised as industrial designs:

unstable objects made of liquid, gaseous, loose or similar substances and the like;
the result of intellectual, creative activity in the field of artistic design, embodied or applied in a product, forming part of a composite product and invisible in the normal use of the product. The normal use of the product is the use of the product by the end user, and the logistical support, maintenance or repair of the product is not considered normal use;
features of the product’s appearance that are solely attributable to its technical functions;
indications of the appearance of a product, the size and shape of which must be accurately reproduced in order for one product to be mechanically connected to another product or to be positioned in, around or opposite another product in such a way that each product can fulfil its function;

An industrial design may be the appearance of an article or part thereof which is defined, in particular, by the lines, contours, colour, shape, texture and/or material of the article and/or its finish. The object of an industrial design may be a shape, pattern or colouring, or a combination thereof, which defines the appearance of an industrial article and is intended to satisfy aesthetic and ergonomic needs. An industrial design may be: the design of a label, the shape of a bottle or other packaging, the shape of furniture, a model of clothing or footwear, the appearance of vehicles, etc.

Question 2

What are the main categories of subject matter that may be recognised as patentable

Accepted Answer

An industrial design is the result of intellectual, creative human activity in the field of artistic design.

The legislation does not contain a clear list of categories of objects that may be recognised as industrial designs.

At that, the following shall not be recognised as industrial designs:

unstable objects made of liquid, gaseous, loose or similar substances and the like;
the result of intellectual, creative activity in the field of artistic design, embodied or applied in a product, forming part of a composite product and invisible in the normal use of the product. The normal use of the product is the use of the product by the end user, and the logistical support, maintenance or repair of the product is not considered normal use;
features of the product’s appearance that are solely attributable to its technical functions;
indications of the appearance of a product, the size and shape of which must be accurately reproduced in order for one product to be mechanically connected to another product or to be positioned in, around or opposite another product in such a way that each product can fulfil its function;

An industrial design may be the appearance of an article or part thereof which is defined, in particular, by the lines, contours, colour, shape, form, texture and/or material of the article and/or its finish. The object of a design may be a shape, pattern or colouring, or a combination thereof, which defines the appearance of an industrial article and is intended to satisfy aesthetic and ergonomic needs. A design may be: a label design, the shape of a bottle or other packaging, the shape of furniture, a model of clothing or footwear, the appearance of vehicles, etc.

Question 3

Are there restrictions on the industries or types of products that can be protected by a design patent?

Accepted Answer

There are no specific restrictions on the types of industry or types of products that can be registered as an industrial design.

However, there are a number of restrictions on the properties of such products, in particular, the following shall not be recognised as industrial designs:

unstable objects made of liquid, gaseous, loose or similar substances and the like;
the result of intellectual, creative activity in the field of artistic design, embodied or applied in a product that is part of a composite product and is invisible during the normal use of the product. The normal use of the product is the use of the product by the end user, and the logistical support, maintenance or repair of the product is not considered normal use;
signs of the product’s appearance that are solely due to its technical functions;
indications of the appearance of a product, the size and shape of which must be accurately reproduced in order for one product to be mechanically connected to another product or to be positioned in, around or opposite another product in such a way that each product can fulfil its function;

Question 4

What are the requirements for the level of novelty to be recognised as patentable?

Accepted Answer

An industrial design shall be recognised as new if no identical design has been made available to the public concerning:

registered industrial design – until the date of filing of the application with the registration authority or, where priority is claimed, until the date of its priority;
unregistered industrial design – up to the date on which the industrial design in respect of which protection is required was first made available to the public.
Industrial designs are considered identical if their essential features differ only in minor details.

In the process of establishing the novelty of an industrial design, any information which became publicly available before the filing date of the application and, if priority is claimed, before the priority date shall be taken into account, including the content of all applications previously received by the registration authority, except for those which, as of the said date, are considered withdrawn, revoked or for which the registration authority has taken a decision to refuse state registration of the industrial design and the possibilities of appealing against such decisions have been exhausted.

Information disclosed to a third party under an explicit or implicit condition of confidentiality shall not be considered publicly available.

Question 5

What are the criteria for determining the originality of an industrial design

Accepted Answer

An industrial design is recognised as having individual character if the overall impression it gives to an informed user differs from the overall impression given to such a user by any other industrial design communicated to the public concerning:

registered industrial design – until the date of filing of the application with the registration authority or, where priority is claimed, until the date of its priority;
unregistered industrial design – up to the date on which the industrial design in respect of which protection is required was first made available to the public.

To assess individual character, the degree of freedom of the creator in creating the industrial design is taken into account.

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