A registered design protects the appearance of the whole or a part of a product, and is a very useful tool for protecting new design features, which make your products different from those of your competitors. If, for example, your business relies on attracting customers by virtue of attractive or distinctive design, then it makes good sense to protect your designs by design registration. By registering the appearance of a design, you can monopolise, inter alia, its manufacture, use, distribution and sale for a period of up to 25 years, ensuring that your position in the marketplace is secure.

If your business is involved in creating any new aesthetic designs, then design registration could add value to your business, give you a dominant position in the marketplace and allow you to prevent import of cheap imitations.