01. Seek Professional Guidance:
Preparing an application for an Industrial Design is a complex matter. Get advice from an IP lawyer or agent. Understand the legal rules and consequences of getting an Industrial Design. They can help improve your industrial design drafting and do a thorough search for existing designs.
02. Assessment of Conditions:
Check if your invention meets the requirements for Industrial Designs, such as novelty, industrial applicability, and disclosure sufficiency. Evaluate any potential challenges or limitations.
03. Confidentiality Measures:
Protect your designs by maintaining secrecy until filing. Consider using non-disclosure agreements when discussing your design with others.
04. Funding and Budgeting:
Decide on the money needed for filing fees, legal assistance, and any other costs to make sure your finances run smoothly.
05. Strategic Decision-Making:
Decide on the aspects of your design that are most worth protecting as well as its market value. Consider the geographical scope of protection (national, regional, international).
Use the pre-application checklist linked below or read through the outline here to understand the steps you should take before moving into the application process.
Please note, this checklist is not exhaustive and doesn't replace advice from IP experts.
01. Search Existing Designs:
Search various Industrial Design databases thoroughly to ensure your product is sufficiently unique and unlike existing design.
02. Conduct Market Research:
Explore the market to gauge the commercial potential of your design. Identify competitors and existing solutions to better understand your market landscape. Remember, it's mandatory to commercially exploit your Industrial Design, whether through distribution or licensing. Ensure your design is viable and relevant to the market to comply with legal requirements.
03. Outline Designer(s):
Make sure you clearly state who the correct designers are and provide accurate ownership details for the application.
04. Documentation and description:
Industrial Design drawings and specifications are the blueprint of your design. They help examiners understand how it works.
a. Design record keeping:
Keep records of how you came up with your idea, including drawings and notes.
b. Clear Statement of Characteristic Feature of the design:
Write a clear characteristic feature of your design specifying the items which the design is applied to.
c. Prepare Drawings and Description of Drawings:
These are drawings that show the idea from different perspectives. Such as, perspective view, front, back, top and bottom. This helps demonstrate the novelty of your design. Clearly label each representation. You may use line drawings (draftsperson quality) to showcase your design in your application. You can file a separate design at the same time for computer renderings, to try and fully protect the shape and configuration of your product(s).
d. Determine the Classification of your design:
Industrial Designs have classifications. The International Classification for Industrial Designs (Locarno Classification) is used to categorize designs based on various criteria, such as the product’s purpose and material.
05. Look Through Application Form:
Look through the forms for your Industrial Design application from the MoEc. Learn about what information and documents you need.
A key activity you should undertake before starting your Industrial Design application is conducting a search of already registered Industrial Designs and designs disclosed to the public. This involves looking through databases, literature, and other sources to find similar Industrial Designs and make sure yours stands out.
Find out more about where and how to search below:
Check different databases to make sure your results are comprehensive. Explore the MoEc website along with WIPO, and other IP offices such as EUIPO.
Consider the regional importance of your design and check databases that are most relevant to those specific regions.
Below are links to databases that may be worthwhile to your search:
Here's a complete guide on how to do a thorough and effective search, making sure you navigate through existing inventions accurately:
01. Define Your Design:
Clearly explain the special parts and features of your design – what makes it unique from other product designs?. Make sure you fully understand what makes it different.
02. Select relevant keywords:
Make a list of product items or images of your design.
03. Refine Your Search:
Refine your search by using filters like publication date, product name, designer name, or assignee. This makes the results more specific to what you're looking for.
04. Explore Classification Codes:
Learn about classification codes related to your design. These codes organize inventions by designs by the product items, making searches more focused. The Locarno Classification system established by WIPO, is used in the UAE.
05. Review Citations:
Check the references you find to uncover more sources and related designs. This broadens the scope of your search.
06. Monitor Patent Office Updates:
Keep up to date with news from relevant IP offices. Changes in databases or new publications could affect your search.
07. Keep Records:
Keep detailed records of your search, noting the databases you checked, the keywords you used, and any important findings.
Searching for existing designs is a difficult task. IP Attorneys have training and experience to conduct the search process well. Look through our list of registered IP Attorneys to find the most suitable one for you.
There are a number of tools available online to help you with this task. IPRally, for example, uses AI to analyze specifications and descriptions to offer you with the appropriate keywords to conduct your search. Another tool is DesignView, it uses the image search since June 2023 to make it easier for users to find visually similar designs as the tool helps to automatically compare the designs with existing ones.
Navigating the Industrial Design application process requires meticulous attention to detail and adherence to the regulations set forth by the examination office. Simplify the process by ensuring you have all the required documents ready for submission.
Access a comprehensive checklist of essential documents needed for a successful application by clicking the link provided below:
Note: All documents must be submitted in both Arabic and English - However, Arabic translations can be filed up to 90 days after initial submission in English.
Drawings help in recognizing your Industrial Design, so that when a design is applied to a product, you can easily confirm it by comparing how it looks with the pictures / drawings / renderings in the registration. Therefore they are the most essential part of the application.
Make sure to separate each Drawings into separate digital image files and remove any unnecessary elements – for example any background. Submit as many images as you need (to a maximum of 7) to properly define the design – ideally front; back; above; below; left side; right side; perspective view. These drawings should be fitted onto a single sided A4 page. More than one drawings may be applied to each page.
Following these requirements when submitting your drawings:
Here are a few examples of what a good drawings looks like:
Transfer Robots
Gemstone
Mobile Phone
Below you will find the steps, timeframes, and costs involved in applying for an Industrial Design. The process is divided into three phases: pre-application, application, and post application.
The time and expenses for each phase may vary depending on the complexity of your design, the quality of your application, and the level of support you choose.
