Protection of a new ornamental form through specific design rights

Article L.511-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code stipulates that only"intellectual property" is protected by copyright. the appearance of a product, or part of a product, characterised in particular by its lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials "may be protected under the specific right of industrial designs. This article further specifies that"the following shall be considered as a product any industrial or craft object, packaging (…)" .

Only the ornamental characteristics of primary or secondary packaging may be protected by this specific right. Thus, appearances whose characteristics are exclusively imposed by the technical function of the product are excluded from the scope of design protection. In this case, only patent protection can be considered if the patentability conditions are met.

To access protection under designs, the design must be filed and registered at the INPI by the owner or his representative. The territorial scope of protection of the model varies (national, European, international). In France and at Community level, design applications are validated without a thorough validity check.

The certificate of registration of a design shall be valid for a period of 25 years. However, this industrial property title …