Industrial design

An Industrial design right protects the outward appearance of a product or part of it, resulting from the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, materials and/or its ornamentation. Industrial design rights may be registered for two-dimensional objects like patterns of a fabric for clothes or the 3-dimensional shape of a bottle for mineral water to give a few examples.

However, to the extend the design also fulfills a technical function that may be at the same time be subject of a patent, the design is excluded from design right protection. For example if you have invented a new lock with new formed interlocking keys, the part of the keys that interlock, are excluded from design rights, as they could be protected as a patent. But the other part of the key, e.g. the handle of the key that has no new technical function might be still protected as a design right:

A design only covers the appearance of a product.

A design cannot protect the function of a product.

According to Monaco Design Law the design has to be a new creation. Industrial objects must differ from similar objects either by a distinctive and recognizable configuration giving it characteristics of novelty or by one or a plurality of external effects giving it its own new physiognomy.

The industrial design right can be extended every 10 years to a maximum of 50 years counting from the date of the application or if  it has been brought into circulation before from that date on.

In order to file a design right in Monaco we do need from you:

• Name, address and profession of the applicant
• Name, address of the creator of the design if different from applicant
• Four identical two-dimensional reproductions (photos or drawing) of the object, the longest side not larger than 25cm
• The nature of the object (e.g. water bottle)
• In the event of claiming a priority the priority document
• In the event you put the object into circulation the date and a description of the circumstances