Design refers to the shape, structure and other decorative features of a product.

Registered design only protects the design of a product, but not the design method of that product.

A registered design holder can prevent others from using, selling, manufacturing, importing or hiring his registered design.

Registered design protection is renewable for periods of five years up to a maximum of 25 years.

You should register before the design is published, used, disclosed or manufactured. Only new designs are registrable.

You may include more than one design in your application for registration if the designs relate to the same class of articles or the same set of articles.

"Article" is defined as "any article of manufacture and includes any part of an article if that part is made and sold separately".

"Set of articles" refers to two or more articles which share the same design and nature, and are often sold or used together, such as a utensil set.

The newest international classification method of industrial designs: the Locarno Classification List is adopted for classifying designs.

If the application is smooth, the registration certificate will be issued within 3 months after the application date.