Design filing tips & best practices
We have put together a series of tips so that when you file for a registered Community design you can avoid making mistakes that may result in a deficiency.
Deficiencies happen when the application has formal mistakes, such as when you forget to pay, or when your design images do not comply with certain requirements for registration. Formal mistakes are very often easy to avoid and, according to our experience, they mostly happen at three different stages of the online application process.
- Uploading views
- All views must correspond to one and the same design
- Extra elements that are not part of the design, such as explanatory notes, numbers or arrows, should not be included
- The design must be represented on a neutral background
- Each image must have only one view of the design
- If the design has colour, it must be consistent in every view
- Magnified views must be uploaded as separate images
- Visual disclaimers must be shown consistently in all the views where the disclaimer appears
- At least one view must show a set of articles or a complex product in its entirety
- The indication of the product must correspond with the representation of the design
- The indication of the product should be specific enough as to allow it to be classified in one class and subclass of the Locarno Classification
- Claiming priority
- Asking for deferment
Uploading views
1. All views must correspond to one and the same design.
In this example, the user has filed two views of chairs with different features as the same design, design 1. They do not correspond to the same design and therefore cannot be accepted.
Design 1 / View 1
Design 1 / View 2
Design 1 / View 1
Design 2 / View 1
Wrong
Different features create different appearances, therefore they must be filed as separate design.
In this other example, the user has filed the same two chairs as two separate designs, design 1 and design 2, and therefore can be accepted.
Correct
Each of the above views correspond to a different design. Different designs can be contained in a multiple application*. Each design could be represented by several views (1 to 7 views).
* A multiple application is an application containing several designs. Filing a multiple application is cheaper than filing the individual designs in separate applications.
2. Extra elements that are not part of the design, such as explanatory notes, numbers or arrows, should not be included.
Wrong
Design view with text, symbols and indications.
Correct
Design view uploaded on its own. Extra information can be added in the description field
3. The design must be represented on a neutral background.
Wrong
Alien objects can be seen in the image.
Correct
The design has a neutral background.
4. Each image must have only one view of the design.
Wrong
Two design views in the same image.
Correct
One view per image.
5. If the design has colour, it must be consistent in every view.
Wrong
The same product in a different colour is considered a different design.
Also the combination of colour and black & white views is not allowed.
Correct
Design views show colour consistency.
6. Magnified views must be uploaded as separate images.
Wrong
Magnified view in the same image.
Correct
Magnified view in a separate image.
7. Visual disclaimers must be shown consistently in all the views where the disclaimer appears.
Sometimes users would like to apply for registration for a particular component of a product. For this they can use visual disclaimers to exclude the element that they do not wish to register.
Wrong
The visual disclaimer is not shown consistently in each view.
Correct
Different views with visual disclaimers are shown consistently.
8. At least one view must show a set of articles or a complex product in its entirety.
Wrong
The set of articles or complex product is lacking a global view.
Correct
A set of correctly shown articles including a global view.
9. The indication of the product must correspond with the representation of the design.
In this example the user has filed a chair view with a wrong product indication. ‘Ornamentation’ can be used to register patterns not chairs and therefore cannot be accepted.
Wrong
The indication of the product does not correspond with the uploaded design view. This design should be filed with the indication of product ‘chairs’ in class 06.01.
Correct
The indication of the product matches the uploaded design view.
10. The indication of the product should be specific enough as to allow it to be classified in one class and subclass of the Locarno Classification.
Wrong
The indication of the design is not specific enough to be classified.
Correct
The function of the product is clearly indicated with a class and a subclass.
Claiming priority
A person who has filed a national, international or Community design application enjoys for the purpose of filing a Community design application for the same design a right of priority for a period of six months from the date of filing the first application.
The right of priority has the effect that the date of priority will count as the date of filing of the design application for the purposes of establishing which rights take precedence.
- Priority may only be claimed on the basis of a previous application of a design or utility model.
- The previous application must be a first filing.
- The proprietor of the previous application and the applicant of the Community design application must be the same person.
- A certified copy of the previous application must be submitted no later than three months from the date of submitting the priority claim.
- If the language of the previous application is not in one of the five Office languages, the applicant should file a translation.
Asking for deferment
When filing a Community design application, you can request that its publication be delayed for a period of up to 30 months. The design can, therefore, be kept confidential until you are ready to disclose it. If you choose not to publish the RCD at all, the registration will lapse at the end of the 30-month deferment period.
- Note that deferment can be requested only at the moment of filing.