What is a registered design in Hong Kong

What Is a Registered Design?

A registered design protects a product's appearance. Hong Kong's Intellectual Property Department (IPD) handles registration. The owner gains the exclusive right to use the design and to stop others from using it without permission. This protection applies only within Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Design Registration

Hong Kong design registration protects a product's visual features: its shape, configuration, pattern, or ornamentation. The design must be new and have individual character at the filing date to qualify. The IPD examines the application and registers the design if it meets statutory requirements. A registered design protects only appearance, not function.

Protect Product Appearance in Hong Kong

Apply to the IPD to protect your product's appearance. Your application must include clear representations or specimens of the design and a statement of the product it applies to. Once registered, the design right lasts five years. You can renew it for further five-year terms, up to a maximum of 25 years from the filing date. Registration helps a business protect product appearance in HK by giving the owner a legal basis to prevent others from manufacturing, importing, or selling articles that look substantially the same as the registered design.

Intellectual Property Department Design

The IPD administers the Registered Designs Ordinance (Cap. 522). It checks each application for formal compliance and novelty. If the examiner finds identical or similar prior designs, the application may be rejected. Accepted designs are published in the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Journal.

How to Register a Design

Submit an application to the IPD with the required representations and the prescribed fee. The application must identify the product and state whether it is for a single design or a set of articles. After examination, the IPD will either register the design or issue a notice of refusal. Registration lets the owner take legal action against infringement, including unauthorised copying or importing of products bearing the design.