Registrability of Designs

Protectable Subject matter

Most suitable for design protection are physical products, ideally embodying one or more novel features of design or ornamentation. These features need not be purely aesthetic features (as this is very subjective at any rate) but cannot be dictated solely by function.

The design features need to be applied to an article, article being defined as something existing in its own right – e.g. a chair, or a lamp, or a piece of cutlery – rather than a lump of raw material. Applications for the registration of the design will need to define the article that the design is being applied to.

A design can also be registered in respect of a set of articles, though these must normally be sold or intended to be used as a set – for instance a handle design for use on different items of cutlery.

Patterns can also be the subject of a design registration, providing they too are applied to an article. Often patterns, when the subject of design registration, are applied to fabrics or wall coverings.

Not Protectable

What is not protectable includes that which is already known. This excludes designs the same as a design used in respect of different articles.

If the novelty resides solely in a feature having a purely functional role then it may not be registrable. However it is permissible for a feature having visual appeal to also be partially functional. A long-known example is where a ribbed pattern on the outside of a hot-water bottle was considered registrable as it improved visual appeal, even though it was discovered that it also improved the function of the bottle. This is different from where an article is merely designed to ‘do the job’.

Other specific exclusions include sculptures and models, except where they form the basis of something to be mass-produced. Also excluded are wall plaques and medals. So too is printed matter of purely literary or artistic character, however registrations do exist in NZ for printed matter applied to T-shirts.