What do you need for a design application in Austria?

What does a design protect, and what doesn't it protect?

A design protects the appearance of a product (i.e. features of industrial products that are perceptible to the eye), such as a perfume bottle, a piece of furniture, a car or a belt buckle. Two-dimensional objects, such as surface structures, can also be protected by designs.

However, a design is not a patent. If you want to protect a special function of your product, you may be better off applying for a patent or utility model. In short: a design protects the appearance of a product; a patent protects its technical function.

What is necessary for a design application in Austria?

For a long time, the Austrian IP Office only accepted paper applications, which were quite cumbersome. Although this option is still available, it is now also possible to file design applications using an online form.

If you wish to avoid the troubles of an office action, it is necessary to observe the very specific requirements of the Austrian IP Office with regard to the graphic representations submitted together with the design application:

• 1 to 10 graphic representations may be submitted for a design application.
• Both photographs as well as drawings of the design are admissible.
• Although graphic representations can be filed in both black and white and in colour, if colour plays an important role in the protection of the design, it is recommended to file the graphic representations in colour. If mixed illustrations in black and white and in colour are filed in one design application, the office will assume that there are two different design applications. If a design is to be protected in different colours, a separate application needs to be filed for each colour. In this case, it may be advisable to make use of a multiple application that combines a number of designs.
• Technical drawings are not admissible for design applications.
• The graphic representations must show the design to be protected clearly and unambiguously against a neutral background.
• If the graphic representation contains figurative elements that are not part of the design and only serve to show the position of the design (e.g. bottle label, door handle, chair legs) on the object on which it is used, a clear visual indication (e.g. dashed lines) that no protection is sought for these elements is required.
• Descriptions or comments, for instance on the colour or size of the design shown, must not be included in the graphic representations. However, an explanatory description can be submitted separately.
• The Austrian IP Office does not require a specimen of the design. However, if you would like to submit one because you consider it necessary for the exact representation of your design, this is only possible in a paper application and in addition to at least one graphic representation. Certain requirements apply to both 3D samples (e.g. vases) and 2D samples (e.g. fabrics).

Alongside further formal requirements, a list of goods, in accordance with the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs, must be submitted, and a fee is payable.

In addition, the submitted design must not have been made public longer than a year prior to filing the application, and no third-party designs that produce the same overall impression must be on the market. While the office does not examine these attributes during the application process, the design might lack validity if it does not meet these requirements.

Please feel free to contact us for advice on how to best protect your design.

authors: Johanna Wiesinger, Birgit Kapeller-Hirsch