Procedure

The protection of a design is based on the representations as published with the registration and not on what the product looks like in reality.

Therefore all the elements to be protected have to be clearly visible on the representations to be submitted at the moment of filing the design application. Once the representations are submitted and other formal requirements are fulfilled, the application date is set. This date is important for determining the priority as regards your design and the rights of others. In most countries no investigation takes place as to the novelty and individual character of the design. This means that the application will be recorded in the register, a registration certificate will be issued and publication will take place.
Thus you are the holder of an exclusive right but you may not be ready to show your design, your product to the public and competitors.
If you think this may be the case, we can arrange at the moment of filing for the publication to be deferred.