Design Infringement

A design infringement dispute compares the registered design with the challenged product in light of the scope of protection and the overall impression on the informed user.

Back to Design Law.

Scope of protection

The registered representations, the degree of design freedom and the existing design corpus can affect the breadth of protection. Small visual differences are not automatically decisive.

Evidence and market use

Product images, samples, sales listings, catalogues, invoices and dates can help establish the challenged use and its commercial scope.

Enforcement and defence

Depending on the facts, injunctive relief and other remedies may be available. A defence may challenge validity, scope, similarity, entitlement or the alleged acts.

Preparing a design-law review

For design matters, useful documents include registration numbers, the official representations, earlier design material, product photographs or samples, launch dates and sales listings. In infringement or imitation disputes, a side-by-side record of the protected design and challenged product, together with market and chronology evidence, can support a focused initial assessment.

Design infringement is assessed from the protected design, prior designs and the accused product, not from a keyword comparison.