What Is a Design Right?
A design right protects the visual appearance (shape, pattern, color, or their combination) of articles, buildings, and interiors (Design Act Article 2(1)). It prevents competitors from copying a product's appearance.
Protection lasts 25 years from the filing date (Article 21(1)).
2020 Reform: Expanded Scope
The amended Design Act (effective April 2020) significantly broadened protectable subject matter:
| New Category | Scope |
|---|---|
| Building designs | Exterior and interior of buildings |
| Interior designs | Overall interior of stores, offices, etc. |
| Screen/GUI designs | Operating interfaces, icons |
Notably, GUI designs now extend to images in the cloud not stored on a physical article.
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Try for free →Registration Requirements
Registration requires (Article 3): 1. Industrial applicability: capable of mass production 2. Novelty: not publicly known or worked before filing 3. Non-obviousness: not easily created by a person skilled in design 4. No grounds for non-registration (Article 5): e.g., functional shapes only, public order violations
Grace Period (Article 4)
Filing within 1 year of public disclosure at an exhibition preserves novelty.
Procedure and Costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Filing fee (JPO) | ¥16,000 per design |
| Registration fee (years 1–3) | ¥8,500/year |
| Patent attorney fees | ¥150,000–400,000 |
Examination typically takes 6–12 months.
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Scope of Rights: Similarity
A design right owner has exclusive rights to work the registered design and designs similar to it commercially (Article 23).
Similarity is judged from the perspective of a consumer's visual impression. If the dominant visual impression is the same or similar, infringement is established.
Partial Designs
Only the distinctive part of a product can be registered (Article 2(1)). For example, only the corner design of a smartphone.
Related Designs
Designs similar to the principal design can be registered as related designs (Article 10), filed within 10 years of the principal design's filing date. A family of related designs creates a broader rights network.
Enforcement
| Remedy | Legal Basis |
|---|---|
| Injunction | Design Act Art. 37 |
| Damages | Civil Code Art. 709; Design Act Art. 39 |
| Credit restoration | Design Act Art. 42 |
| Criminal complaint | Design Act Art. 69 (up to 10 years / ¥10M) |
Damage Presumptions (Article 39)
| Basis | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Art. 39(1) | Units transferred × rights holder's unit profit |
| Art. 39(2) | Infringer's profits |
| Art. 39(3) | Reasonable royalty |
Summary
Design rights powerfully protect product appearance from copying. The 2020 reform made them essential for digital product companies by covering GUIs and interior spaces. Combining partial designs and related designs into a rights family is the cornerstone of effective design IP strategy.