Major revision of the Design Law

Protection of architecture and interior design

Protection of architecture and interior design

Revised Design Law comes into force: Building and interior designs can now be protected

With the enforcement of the revised Design Act on April 2020, 4, "architecture and interior designs," which were previously not eligible for protection, are now eligible for protection.

Below, we will introduce the revised Design Act, key points of examinations, anticipated business use cases, and points to note, with concrete examples.

1. Key points of the screening

(1) Applicability of buildings and interiors

Building requirements

1. It must be a fixed object on the land.

② It is an artificial structure, including civil engineering structures.

Examples of buildings

(Source) JPO: Design Examination Guidelines and Examination Practices - In Response to the Revision of the Design Act in 2019

Non-building examples

Example 1: Garden lights, temporary tents, ships, aircraft, camper vans (as they are not fixed objects)

Example 2: Natural mountains, rocks, trees, ski slopes, golf courses, the land itself (as they are not man-made structures)

  • Key Points

    Temporary tents, which may at first glance appear to be fixed objects, are not considered to be fixed objects because they are only set up temporarily. However, tents can be protected as designs of articles.
    In addition, in the case of buildings whose interior shapes are usually visible, it may be possible to protect the interior shapes as part of the structure.
    Before filing an application, it is necessary to consider whether the design you wish to patent belongs to a building, interior, or article, and which design it should be protected as based on the purpose of the patent.

Interior requirements

①It must be inside a store, office or other facility.

→This includes not only real estate, but also the interiors of cruise ships, various vehicles, and passenger aircraft.

(Source) JPO: Basics of Design Registration Applications (Buildings and Interiors)

However, this does not include areas that are not visible under normal use conditions.

(Inside gas tanks, in the attic, behind walls, under floor spaces, pipe spaces, etc.)

② It must consist of multiple items, buildings or images covered by the Design Act.

→ The interior of a facility that does not consist of items such as desks, chairs, and fixtures is not recognized as interior decoration.

(Source) JPO: Design Examination Guidelines

The interior as a whole must have a unified aesthetic feel.

→It needs to create a visually unified aesthetic.

  • Key Points

    In order to enable the examiner to accurately recognize where the unified aesthetic sense lies, it is effective to prepare a "feature description" at the time of filing the application to explain the features of the design.
    The interior includes any facility where people enter and spend a certain amount of time.
    Regardless of industry, companies that have facilities such as sales stores will need to be careful to avoid infringing design rights, even if they have not previously had any involvement with them.

(2) Novelty (judgment of similarity)

In the case of buildings

Similar examples

(Source) JPO: Design Examination Guidelines

  • Key Points

    Regarding the judgment of use and function, for example, "residence," "hospital," "office," and other places where people enter and spend a certain period of time are judged to have similar use and function. On the other hand, civil engineering structures such as bridges and radio towers have various different specific uses, so their use and function may be judged to be dissimilar.
    Regarding methods for observing similarities in shape, etc., for example, commercial buildings often only have designs on the surface facing the street, so for such buildings, similarities and differences on that surface are emphasized in judging them.

For interior

Similar examples

Dissimilar examples

(Source) JPO: Design Examination Guidelines

  • Key Points

    In the case of designs for articles, if the uses and functions are different, even if the shapes are similar, they are not considered to be similar designs. In contrast, in the case of interior designs, in principle, the uses and functions of all interior designs are considered to be similar, so there is a possibility that rights will be exercised across industries.

(3) Difficulty in Creation

As with the design of an article, the determination of whether or not the design is easy to create is based on whether it is a "commonplace technique" or a "minor modification." Specific examples of architectural and interior designs are as follows:

In the case of buildings

Specific examples (some excerpts)

(Source) JPO: Design Examination Guidelines and Examination Practices - In Response to the Revision of the Design Act in 2019

  • Key Points

    Although the concept of non-creativity is basically the same as that for goods, an example of a "minor modification" when judging buildings only is "a simple change in the slope angle of the roof."

For interior

Specific examples (some excerpts)

(Source) JPO: Design Examination Guidelines and Examination Practices - In Response to the Revision of the Design Act in 2019

2. Usage scenarios

You can differentiate yourself from other companies

In recent years, every customer experience has been linked to a company's brand, so it is believed that differentiation of spaces such as buildings and interiors also creates brand value for products and services.

In this situation, obtaining design rights for architectural and interior designs can contribute greatly to establishing one's own brand by providing exclusive rights that will deter other companies from imitating the design and promote differentiation.

(Source) JPO: Revision of Design Examination Guidelines for "Interior Designs" (Draft), http://v4.eir-parts.net/v4Contents/View.aspx?cat=tdnet&sid=1428023

In addition, the fact that the design cleared hurdles such as novelty and ease of creation and was then registered is proof that it is an unprecedented, highly original design.

For example, for designers and architectural firms, it can be one of the selling points to demonstrate the originality of their designs in competitions, etc.

It is effective in preventing disputes.

Under the Design Law system, a registered design is given rights in the form of a clear design registration number, such as "Design Registration No. XX." In principle, this serves as a certain degree of proof that the design does not infringe on prior design rights, allowing clients and contractors to build and use the design with peace of mind.

Furthermore, since it is possible to exercise rights based on this clear right, it helps to deter other companies from imitating the trademark and prevents disputes from arising.

  • Differences from copyright

    Designs of buildings and other structures may also be protected by copyright. However, to be recognized as a work of authorship, it is necessary to meet the same high requirements as artistic works, and it is highly likely that the designs of ordinary houses and other structures will not be considered works of authorship. On the other hand, the level of aesthetic appeal required for design rights is lower than that required for copyrights, so it may be possible to obtain rights for ordinary houses.

3. Things to be aware of

The need for advance research

In the architectural industry, it is not uncommon to incorporate elements of existing buildings into a design.

If those prior designs have been registered, the construction, construction, use, etc. of similar buildings or interiors may constitute acts of infringement.

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.

It is important to conduct prior research when designing and implementing a building or interior design to avoid unknowingly infringing on the rights of another company.

In addition, in projects involving multiple people, such as designers and construction companies, it is necessary to clearly specify in the contract who will conduct preliminary investigations, who will acquire rights, and who will be responsible in the event of infringement.

Regarding design changes

In principle, once a design application has been filed, the drawings (design) cannot be modified.

However, the architecture and interior design industries are one in which design changes are often possible at the drafting, planning and actual construction stages.

In this regard, because design rights extend to the extent of similarity to the registered design, the actual architectural and interior design does not have to be completely identical to the registered design. Even if there are differences between the registered design and the actual building, they may be covered by the scope of similarity.

Of course, it is best to obtain rights that are identical to the architectural and interior designs that will actually be used, so the timing of research and applications must be carefully considered.

  • "Partial designs" and "related designs"

    For example, if a part of a building has a distinctive design, it is possible to obtain a design registration for only that part. This allows you to exercise your rights even when the distinctive design part is incorporated into a design that is dissimilar to the entire building.

    In addition, by utilizing the related design system for design variations, it is possible to build a wide net of rights and strategically obtain strong design rights. For example, if you are opening a "second store" that has a common interior design with a "main store" that has already been applied for, you can apply for the design of the "second store" as a related design.

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