Design Industry Hints

[Design] For those in the construction industry

(1) Introduction

Recently, there has been an increase in cases where companies are creating brand value by putting effort into creating unique designs for the exterior and interior of their stores, and using these designs to provide services or sell products.
In recent years, there have also been cases where companies that deal in office furniture and related equipment have been designing and offering unique office designs to their customers using their own products.

In response to these trends, the Design Act was fundamentally revised in 2, and from April 4, building designs and interior designs can now be protected by design rights as building designs and interior designs.

Generally, when we think of interior design, we think of the decoration of walls, ceilings, etc., but under the Design Act, the space itself, in which chairs and desks are arranged in a distinctive way, can be protected as an interior design.

In addition, when it comes to buildings, not only those with distinctive, landmark-like exteriors are protected as architectural designs; real estate such as houses and bridges, as well as the interior of buildings, can also be protected as architectural designs if certain conditions are met.

In the future, architectural and interior designs, which are often considered irrelevant according to industry common sense, may also be able to be protected as design rights.

In this section, we will introduce the concept of building designs and interior designs under the Design Act to those in the construction industry who have not previously been involved with design registration applications.

I hope this article will be helpful to those who are considering filing a design application.

(2) Protection system for architectural designs and interior designs

A design right is the right to protect a design and give it exclusive use to prevent others from copying it.
For example, the designs and interior designs of the following buildings have actually been registered.

Commercial Buildings

[Design right holder] Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. (Design Registration No. 1671773)

Co-creation space interior

[Design right holder] Okamura Corporation (Design Registration No. 1673698)

As mentioned above, the exterior design of a building and its interior can now be protected by a design right. By obtaining a design right, you can have exclusive use of the design of a building or interior.

However, at the same time, as the scope of protection expands, we must also be mindful of the risk of infringement.

(3) Risk of infringement due to the expansion of the scope of protection for architectural designs and interior designs

Under the Design Act, even if the designs are identical/similar, if the uses and functions of the objects (articles) are different, they are considered to be dissimilar designs and there is no risk of infringement.

Example)

However, when it comes to the design of buildings and interiors,If they share the same purpose and function, that is for people to stay inside and spend a certain amount of time there,As a general rule, all buildings and interiors are deemed similar.

In addition to the examples above, for example, a school and a resort hotel may seem to have completely different uses and functions, but under the Design Act they are treated as designs of similar buildings, and if the designs are similar there is a risk of infringement.

(4) Points to note regarding building design and interior design

Note 1: Prior clearance investigation is important

As mentioned above, in principle, all buildings and interiors are deemed to be similar.
This means that there is a risk of infringement across fields such as home builders, building manufacturers, interior contractors, and their design offices.

In the event of a design right infringement, the building or interior may need to be modified, its use may be suspended, or in the worst case scenario, it may need to be demolished. For buildings and interiors, which are usually one-of-a-kind, such an event could result in enormous damage.
So, in the future,When dealing with any new building or interior design, it is advisable to carry out preliminary research and/or file design registrations to at least ensure the safe implementation of your design.
Depending on the results of the investigation, there may be cases where there is a high possibility of infringement and a design change is required, or where obtaining a design patent is recommended. At our patent office, staff with extensive experience in design work will support you in conducting investigations of architectural designs and interior designs and in filing design registration applications.

Note 2: Contracts need to be reviewed.

In the case of infringement of a design right, the building or interior design isCommercial manufacture, use, and transfer" etc. will be considered a party to the infringement.

In other words, for example, in the case of constructing a "personal residence" that infringes another company's design rights, if the designer and the construction company are different, the construction of the building (製造) is the infringer.

Furthermore, if the building or interior is a "store", construction (製造Not only the construction company that did the work, but also the building and interior design使用A business owner who operates a store using such a copyright is also considered an infringer.

This would not only cause trouble between the design company and the construction company over who is responsible, but it could also result in the client (the customer) getting dragged into the trouble, which could damage their credibility.

Therefore, regarding the contract between the parties,Check whether there is an agreement regarding design rights, and if not, you need to determine in advance the scope of each party's responsibility and who will carry out design searches and applications.

Our firm also handles contract-related matters related to intellectual property, and can provide comprehensive services from contract drafting and review to subsequent design searches and applications. (Click here for the Intellectual Property Contract Strategy Office page

(5) For those aiming to register architectural and interior designs

When aiming to register a design for a building or interior design, various conditions under the Design Act must be met. The most important requirement is novelty.
The novelty requirement means that a design that has already been publicly known prior to the filing of an application cannot be registered.

Therefore, if a design proposal for a building or interior design is published on a website prior to filing an application, it will be deemed to have lost novelty, and as a general rule, the design will not be eligible for registration.
*There is a system in place that allows an application to be exceptionally protected from being considered to have lost novelty by following certain procedures if certain conditions are met, such as if the application was disclosed within one year prior to filing. (Exceptions to loss of novelty)

There are various other requirements for design registration, so if you are interested in applying for a building design or interior design, please feel free to contact us first.
Our experienced staff will support you in obtaining design patents.

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