A Comparative Study on the Validity of Industrial Design Registration Certificates

In IP systems based on registration, industrial designs are protected by certifications issued by the registration authority. However, the performed examination by the registration authority vary on the scope and therefore the amounts of validity presumable for certificates do not follow the same rules. Unlike patents and trademarks registration systems, which have been extensively studied in many countries, from a very limited formal review to a detailed review at the request of the applicant has been observed, and the right to pre-registration protest has not been provided in many cases. These issues can create ambiguities about the scope of rights granted to the registrant and challenge the courts. Therefore, the present article, through a descriptive analytical method, concludes that the lack of substantive examination does not mean the invalidity of certificates issued, and in general, industrial design registration certificates have an exclusive right for the registrants as long as there is no objection, although in some national systems, industrial design certificates based on the declaration regime may not give the registrant a negative right.