The protection of an industrial design is based on the visible appearance of a product or part of it, determined by the peculiarities of the shape, lines, pattern, ornaments, color composition, or combination thereof.

The visible appearance may include:

∴ an article obtained in an industrial or artistic way

∴ parts of this article intended to be assembled into a composite article

∴ set of composition or articles

∴ packaging

∴ graphic symbols

…and

∴ printed fonts.

These are the main groups of objects that can obtain industrial property rights and be protected, but it should be borne in mind that the works of the graphic, interior, fashion, multimedia, or web as well as others, can also be protected as industrial designs. Legal protection as an object of industrial property is provided with a certificate of registration. To be registered, it must be:

∴ New

…and

∴ Original

The object is new if it differs from a known design that has become publicly available and is original when it creates in the user a different overall impression from a known one that has become publicly available.

Before moving on to registration, it is a good idea to conduct a search whether there is no other such registered design. It is important to know that in order to get a registration it is necessary to prepare and file an application for registration of industrial designs.

The most important part of the application is the choice of appropriate images, as they determine the scope of legal protection.

For the territory of Bulgaria, applications for registration are filed with the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria.

In the case of a business interest in more than one country, the international procedure for seeking protection must be carefully chosen.

Not registered when:

∴ its features depend only on the technical function of the product

…or

∴ the specifics depend on the need for the product to be mechanically connected to another product.

Do you know that?

If the appearance of a product is not protected, it is possible for competitors to place on the market a product – identical or very similar – such as colors, shapes or ornaments, which is usually of lower quality than the original, which means that the original product will be compromised in front of customers.

Protection as an object of industrial property is the best option for products and articles that make profits mostly from their appearance.

There are national laws providing for the protection of this object through the issuance of a patent.