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2.02

Appearance essentially means that protection is given to the way a product looks, and may result from a combination of elements such as shape, colour and material. The law does not require a design to be aesthetically pleasing in order to meet the requirements for registration, for guidance (see recital 10 of Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 (PDF, 150 KB)). Therefore a design can still be afforded protection even if it is considered to be ugly.

2.03

As set out in the RDA, it is possible to protect the appearance of the whole product, for example, the design of a kitchen table. However, it is also possible to protect just part of a product. Continuing with the table example, one can protect the design of a table leg without protecting per se the design of the whole table to which it is attached.

2.04

Section 1(2) lists colour as being a feature of design which can be protected. For example, a design can be filed either in pure black-and-white, in greyscale, or in colour. Where a design is filed in colour, the colouration will form part of the protection conferred; where a design is filed in greyscale, the tonal contrast may form part of the design. It should be noted that the Registrar does not consider single colours per se to fall under the definition of a design as set out in the RDA, and so applications seeking to protect colour per se will attract an objection. For more information on the effect and impact of colour used in design representations, please see paragraph 11.08 Representations: Colours.

2.05

It is also important that the applicant clearly states the nature of their design by completing the relevant section of the application form (that is the section entitled About the design - What product is your design going to be used on or incorporated onto?, where one should indicate the product to which the ornamentation is to be applied or to which it is to be incorporated).

2.06

In line with Rule 4(7), where protection is required for a repeating surface pattern such as, for example, a pattern applied to wallpaper or textiles, the applicant must ensure that, as well as being described as such on the application form, the representations used present enough of the pattern to show that it can be infinitely repeated. Of the two representations shown below, the image on the left is an example of an acceptable repeating surface pattern. In contrast, the example on the right is a self-contained two-dimensional design. Although acceptable in its own right, it is not an example of a repeating surface pattern.

2.07

In relation to designs consisting of, or incorporating, so-called complex products:-

2.08

Designs consisting of complex products (a petrol lawnmower, for example) are acceptable as a whole. However, individual component parts which are non-visible in the course of normal use of the product cannot benefit from p

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