You do not want your product’s design or appearance to be imitated. In such cases, Design Rights are very useful.
Design Rights are often thought of as rights regarding “aesthetic value,” but that is not all. You can also acquire Design Rights for shapes applied to a product to achieve a “technical effect,” in addition to or instead of Patent Rights.
It is possible to acquire Design Rights for the “whole” of the product design, or for a “part” of the design.
Please consult us first on how to effectively protect the design and appearance of your new products.
Benefits of Design Registration
By registering a design, you can prevent competitors from imitating your design and appearance.
Since Design Rights are defined by drawings or photographs, it is relatively easy to judge whether a product falls within the scope of the right. Therefore, in addition to eliminating domestic imitations, it is very useful for stopping imports from overseas at the border (Customs).
Furthermore, while patents require an “inventive step,” designs require “creativity” (non-easiness of creation). The criteria for judgment differ. Also, the cost of acquiring Design Rights is generally lower than that of Patent Rights.
Therefore, if the technical features of a product appear in its exterior, there is an option to acquire Design Rights instead of Patent Rights. We believe this is a major benefit of Design Registration.
Flow of Design Registration
We will take a look at the product.
What are the key points of the design? What design variations are possible in the future?
We will consider the best way to secure rights with these factors in mind.
There are cases where the product has already been sold online or exhibited at a trade fair. In such cases, claiming “Exceptions to Lack of Novelty” is essential. Please let us know if this applies to you.
We conduct a preliminary search and consider the registration strategy.
The search and review are conducted by experienced patent attorneys.
We create the documents for the design registration application and submit them to the Japan Patent Office (JPO).
Submission is done online via a dedicated terminal.
About 6 to 8 months after filing, you will receive the examination results from the JPO.
Results will be either a “Notification of Reasons for Refusal” or a “Decision to Grant Registration.”
If a Notification of Reasons for Refusal is received, we can counterargue with a Written Opinion/Amendment depending on the reasons.
We will report to you first, propose the content of the counterargument, and decide on the response in consultation with you.
Once a Decision to Grant Registration is received, we perform the final registration procedures. This involves paying the registration fee for at least the first year.
Upon completion, the JPO registers the design right and assigns a registration number. The design right comes into effect on this date.
Since January 2024, the “Certificate of Registration” is issued in PDF format.
While the PDF version is convenient, we also obtain a printed version on the same high-quality paper as the traditional certificates. In principle, we deliver both the PDF and the printed certificate to you.
A design right can be maintained for 25 years from the filing date.
To maintain the right, annual registration fees must be paid in advance.
We fully support deadline management and payment of registration fees.
Fees and Expenses
| Step | Description | Our Fees | JPO Fees | |
| 1 | Consultation | Free | ||
| Simple Search | Free | |||
| 2 | Prior Search | 30,000 JPY~ | ||
| 3, 4 | Filing | (Contact us) | (Contact us) | |
| 5 | Office Action | 30,000 JPY~ | ||
| 7 | Registration | (Contact us) | (Contact us) |
*We will provide a separate quote tailored to your specific case. Please contact us.
To Those Considering Design Registration
After the consultation mentioned above, we believe we can provide specific proposals tailored to your case and more detailed content.
Initial consultations are free of charge.
Please feel free to contact us via the inquiry form below.