Design Registrations

Protecting your innovative designs is essential to maintaining your competitive advantage in today’s marketplace. Sanicki Lawyers provides expert legal services for design registration, helping you secure exclusive rights to your product’s unique appearance and ensuring your intellectual property is protected under Australian law.

In Australia, registered designs are granted by IP Australia under the Designs Act 2003 (Cth). For a design to be registered and legally enforceable it must be determined as ‘new’ and ‘distinctive’. For a design to be ‘new’ it cannot have been published anywhere in the world or publicly used in Australia before applying to register it. ‘Distinctive’ means it must not be substantially similar in overall impression to any design previously disclosed anywhere in the world. Once you own a registered design you have the exclusive legal right to use, licence or sell the particular design within Australia.

A design right protects the unique visual appearance of your product. Design rights protect products that have a physical and tangible form, are manufactured or handmade, and that are produced on a commercial scale. They do not protect things like brand names or logos, designs with no physical form like software, the way your product works or the materials used to create it. Applying for design right protection is a two-part process in Australia — registration and certification. A design right can be registered for a maximum of 10 years – 5 years initially, and an additional 5 years on renewal.

We’ll help you register, certify, manage and enforce your design rights. Whether it’s renewing registrations, licensing your design to others, or acting against unauthorised use, we provide tailored legal strategies to protect your interests. If disputes arise, we offer skilled representation in negotiations, mediations, or court proceedings.

Our services are designed to support creators, entrepreneurs, and businesses in leveraging their designs for commercial success. At Sanicki Lawyers, we’re committed to safeguarding your creativity and helping you bring your products to market with confidence. Contact us today to learn more about protecting your designs.