Designs

Some designs are not registrable by law. These include designs for medals, layouts for integrated circuits, Australian currency and scandalous designs. A scandalous design is one which is shocking or offensive to the public or an individual’s sense of propriety or morality.

Care must be taken to ensure that the design has not been previously disclosed, used or sold publicly prior to the filing date. If you have already publicly disclosed your design (e.g. exhibited, sold copies, posted your design on a website), you may not be able to register it as it may not be considered to be new and distinctive.

In Australia, there is a limited grace period for applying for a design of 12 months that may be available if the invention was accidentally disclosed prior to filing the application.

Australian designs are registered without examination. Examination is optional for AU designs and is only required immediately prior to initiating Federal Court Infringement action against third party copying your invention.

New Zealand Designs are registered after an examination. Therefore, NZ designs take a little more time to register than AU designs.

Design protection typically lasts up to ten years in Australia from the filing date and needs to be renewed on the fifth anniversary. In NZ, the design can last up to 15 years from the filing date and needs to be renewed every five years.