Industrial production

Industrial designs and some issues on protection of industrial designs in Vietnam

When intellectual property issues are increasingly tight, what is an industrial design and why must it be registered for protection is a question not few people are interested in.

Overview of industrial design

Many businesses have been investing a considerable amount of time and resources to improve their sleek products Goal:

Make products suitable for specific customer groups: Small changes to a product's style (e.g. Watches) can make them appropriate for specific age groups, cultures, or groups of customers. specific goods. While the main function of the product cannot be changed, different customer groups may prefer different product designs.

Targeting a new market, a new customer group: In the context of an increasingly fierce market, a company may have to find and approach new target markets by introducing innovative products. to differentiate its products from those of competitors. This can be applied to all information products of daily use such as kitchen utensils or high-value products such as cars, jewelry, computers, etc.

Brand Enhancement: Altering, creating, and renovating the usual designs that companies associate with highly distinguishable brands to enhance their brands. Many companies have succeeded in enhancing their brand image through a focus on improving product design.

In everyday language, "industrial design" generally refers to the overall appearance and function of a product. For example, a rattan chair is considered “sleek” if it is comfortable to sit in and looks good. Thus, for businesses, product design generally implies the development of functional and appraising features of the product, taking into account other issues such as market accessibility and the cost of producing the product or the convenience of transportation, storage, repair and energy transfer.

In the spirit of intellectual property law, the Model Law of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines an "Industrial design as any form of line or color of a three-dimensional block giving the appearance of an outside of industrial or handicraft products can be used as samples for the production of industrial or handicraft products”.

Accordingly,  "industrial design" only refers to the aesthetic aspect or appearance of the product. In other words, it only refers to the external appearance of a chair or a computer. While a product's design may include technical or functional features, industrial design as an intellectual property object refers only to the finished product's aesthetic characteristics. and therefore, differs from any technical or functional characteristics. Besides, as a general rule, industrial designs include three-dimensional features, such as the shape of the product, and two-dimensional features. such as decorations, textures and lines or colors, or a combination of two or more of these elements.

In Vietnam, according to Clause 13, Article 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property 2005 (amended 2009, 2019), an industrial design is the external appearance of a product represented by shapes, lines, colors or combinations. integrate these factors.

Industrial design plays an important role in a wide variety of mass-produced products as well as individually handcrafted products: from technical medical instruments to luxury products; from household appliances, toys, furniture and electrical equipment to cars, and architectural works; from apparel designs to sports equipment. Industrial design is also applied to product packaging and containers.

Some issues with industrial design protection

Importance of industrial design registration

There are many important reasons for businesses to protect their industrial designs, including:

Firstly, the design of a product is often the factor that creates attraction or attraction for customers and tangible attractiveness is the main factor in deciding to choose one product over another. of customer products. Industrial design protection is especially important for goods that have the same function but have diverse products such as hairbrushes, knives, lamps, cars, computers, etc. Due to the importance of commercial trade of a design to a product's success in the marketplace, protecting a design from competitors' copying and imitation is an important part of a manufacturer's business strategy. production or product design unit.

Second, a beautiful industrial style is an asset of the business, helping to increase the commercial value of the company and its products. As the property of the company, the industrial design must be fully managed, controlled and protectedTo optimize benefits so customers can rest assured of production, the registration of industrial designs for manufactured products is necessary.