Designs - Design Pending
Lines of figure, shape, pattern or decoration that are unique to any object by an industrial process or means, whether by hand or by machine or by chemical action, in a separate or connected form, that stand out to the eye-seeing in the finished goods, and can be distinguished only by appearance, but the term does not include Any method or main part of a building or anything that is not essentially a mechanical device (Section 2 of the Ordinance)
The purpose of the defense - Protection of aesthetic designs, as opposed to the functionality of the product. Protection is provided for what you can see. The purpose of the design laws is to give an incentive to people to design or create new aesthetic designs, which will be more pleasing to us. And this is the social interest that we seek to promote.
The conditions for sample registration (Section 30 of the Ordinance) If a person submits an application in the prescribed form and form and claims in it that he is the owner of any new or original sample that has not previously been published in Israel, the registrar may register the sample according to this part.
Two cumulative conditions:
- new or original -
Should be different from previously known designs. The same differentiation/difference between what was before and what is now will be examined on a case-by-case basis. Meaning: there are areas in which, by definition, a very significant/big change is not needed, but a very small change is sufficient, while there are cases where a relatively more significant change will be required for us to be able to get protectionWhen I test the innovation I have to disable all the functional elements. Can't get protection if what dictates the design is some kind of functional need. Examples: The sole of a shoe has a basic shape dictated by the shape of our foot. That doesn't mean I can't design a shoe and get design protection, but it means I can get protection for those elements that aren't functional. To illustrate: the Crocs company requested to register a sample in Europe for the design of the Crocs. The claim of the opposing company is that there are many elements that affect the design of the shoe that are functional. The same rounded shape with a strap at the back is dictated by necessity - such flip flops could be found in the Netherlands hundreds of years ago and the strap has a functional purpose. The shoe has holes on the side, the claim about them was that the holes have a functional purpose to ventilate the foot. After all - it is impossible to get protection for functional elements, but only for the designs. If we designed the strip in a certain way, you can accept the design and not the strip itself. The protection is for the design uniqueness of that element. The movement of the strap from front to back is functional (although it could be considered innovative). But you can accept the design. Let's say I have 9 holes in the front of the shoe and they are designed in the shape of a diamond, so you have to see if the design in this way can give me protection, and you have to see how it is different, if let's say before I had 7 holes.
- We will not be published in Israel first -
Unlike patents where prior publication can be anywhere in the world, here the publication must be in Israel and even publication on the Internet can rule out innovation.
Our office works with many designers, product designers and fashion designers regarding model registrations, and provides legal advice regarding the validity of the registration and even at the stage of enforcing the right after it has been registered in the courts when an infringer is caught trying to copy the customers' designs.