[Design Patent Support Station] HARAKENZO WORLD PATENT & TRADEMARK - Leading Intellectual Property Law Firm in Japan(Osaka & Tokyo)

Top page	What"s Design	Japanese Design System
Design System in other countries	Design Search	Japanese Design Application
Procedures after Registration	Solution for Trouble	Fees

Types of search

① Search during the development/pre-sale stage
The manufacture or the sale of a new product without knowledge of existing design rights incurs a risk of infringing on a third party’s rights, which may result in receiving a Warning or in being brought to court by the owner of the rights. In this case, it might become necessary to respond to the lawsuit, recall the goods, alter the layout of the product and so on – thus causing a major loss for the company. In order to avoid such a situation when developing a new product, we recommend not only to file to a design application but also to conduct a design search. The knowledge of existing design rights during the development/pre-sale stage leaves the possibility to proceed to changes in the layout of the product, and therefore to avoid the losses related to infringement. Further, a design search also makes it possible to get an idea of the registrability of the design beforehand, which in turn makes it possible to avoid unnecessary filings. In addition, a design search is also a good way to grasp the kind of design rights held by other companies in the same domain of activity, as well as, to a certain extent, the general trend of their strategy in this field. With such information in mind, it becomes easier to focus, in a more efficient manner, on truly original designs.

②Search following the receipt of a Warning letter
In the case that your company has received a Warning letter informing you that goods currently being manufactured or sold by your company are infringing on a third party’s design right (or in the case that a lawsuit has been filed against you for the same reason), it is possible to avoid the damages related to the infringement by rendering the design right in question invalid. This can be achieved by proving that the related design had been disclosed before the filing of the design application. This type of search is conducted through Design Gazettes, Patent Gazettes, magazines, catalogues and so on, both in Japan and abroad.

Fees

Our firm focuses mainly on searches through the Japan Patent Office’s database and paying databases, based on the classification of the Vienna Agreement.
The related fees vary depending on the type of search (as described above) and the domain of the target product. Accordingly, please contact us for a case-by-case cost estimate. Estimates are of course free of charge.