Industrial designs are designed objects that are then used for industrial purposes. This category includes furniture, other household items, toys, cutlery, and the casings of technical devices and cars. The basic regimes for protecting industrial designs include copyright law, industrial property law, and competition law.
Protection under the Copyright and Related Rights Act applies only to designs that meet the definition of a work within the meaning of Article 1 of that Act, thus constituting a manifestation of creative activity of an individual character, established in any form. Many designs will not qualify for this category due to the insufficient creative imprint left on them by the creator. Such designs will therefore incorporate, in particular, typically utilitarian features that must be present for a given product to fulfill its intended functions. However, there are instances where courts have granted copyright protection to designs. This was the case, for example, in the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Białystok of 7 June 2013 (reference number I ACa 211/13), which confirmed the protection of chef's clothing as a work.
According to Article 102(1) of the Industrial Property Law, an industrial design is a new and individual form of a product or its part, given to it in particular by the characteristics of the product's lines, contours, shapes, colors, texture, or materials, as well as by its ornamentation. It is therefore crucial that the industrial design be new, meaning that no identical design has been made publicly available through use, display, or other disclosure before the date by which priority is designated. Individual character, in turn, should be demonstrated by the fact that such a design creates an overall impression on an informed user that is different from the overall impression created by a design made publicly available before the date by which priority is designated.
Importantly, the specified protection regime is dependent on registration with the appropriate authority. Therefore, protection and the ability to pursue claims are only available during the protection period.
Article 13 of the Act on Combating Unfair Competition defines the act of unfair competition as product copying. This act involves imitating a finished product using technical means of reproduction. During this process, the product's external appearance is copied, which may mislead customers as to the identity of the manufacturer or the product.
This type of protection, however, is not dependent on design registration. Therefore, in order to take effective action against an infringer, it is necessary to meet the requirements specified in the provision itself.
It should therefore be noted that industrial design protection can be cumulative. In the case of a trademark that has been registered and is sufficiently original for copyright protection, we will be talking about a convergence of all three protection regimes. The main problem that emerges here is the lack of balance between the individual interests of creators and the public interest. It could be argued that protection of the latter should be realized, even in the absence of industrial design protection, after the registration rights expire.
This alert is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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