Use either photographs or drawings to illustrate your design

Illustrations presenting your design are the most important part of your application. The illustrations should be either photographs or drawings.

The scope of the protection given by the registration is determined solely based on the illustrations entered in the register. Any feature that cannot be seen in the illustrations will not be protected by the registration.

Your registration application will become pending, i.e. we will start processing it, only if you enclose illustrations or a specimen with the application. If you file your application accompanied with a specimen, you must submit the illustrations later. Read more about specimens.

What kinds of photographs or drawings should I enclose with my application?

Once your product is complete, you can apply to register its appearance as a whole. In some cases, it is best to apply to register a certain part or detail of the product instead of the whole.

How to illustrate the design

The following examples explain how you should present your design in the registration application.

Example 1: Show the design from many different angles.

The number of angles is unlimited.

Only those features which can be seen in the illustrations entered in the register will be protected by the design right.

Example 2: Show the design in different positions.

You can show the design in two or three different positions, but that must not require dismantling and reassembling the design.

Example 3: The illustrations are black-and-white or in colour.

Use either black-and-white or coloured illustrations to present your design.

The colour may be a part of the appearance of the product. Usually, a registration in black and white is considered to cover all thinkable colour combinations. Registering a design in colour makes sense particularly when the colours have a special significance for the design, as in things like jewels or fishing lures.

How not to illustrate the design

The following examples explain how you should not illustrate your design in the registration application.

Example 1: Illustrations of poor quality

The illustrations must be so good and clear that the design can be seen in detail. If the quality of the illustrations is very poor, we may decide not to even start processing the application.

Example 2: Technical illustrations

We do not accept technical drawings, cross-sectional illustrations or exploded drawings as illustrations to be registered for the design.

Example 3: Messy background

Show the design on a background that is as neutral as possible. The illustrations must not include anything else than the design you are applying to register.

Example 4: Illustrations showing the use of the design

The illustrations must not show the design being used. For example, if the design is a chair, the illustration must not show anyone sitting on the chair. If you are applying to register a clothing design, you must present the garment in some other way than it being worn by someone.

Example 5: Illustrations showing only a part of the design

Each illustration must show the whole design so that it does not fall outside the illustration in part.

Drawings by Atte Uotila, Markkinointitoimisto Kitchen, 2017