Industrial Design Protection

Design protection is governed by Federal Law No. 11 of 2021 on Industrial Property. A design must be new, present individual character distinct from earlier designs, and be primarily ornamental rather than purely functional. Filing includes clear visual representations from multiple angles and international classification, with registration typically taking 3-6 months and costing roughly AED 300-500 per design; multi-design applications reduce cost for related product variants.

A key strategic question is scope — narrow registration protects only the exact current design, while broader design-family registration covers likely product updates without sacrificing the required individual character. International protection is available through the Hague System, extending a single WIPO application to 100+ countries.

Enforcement mirrors trademark enforcement — cease-and-desist letters, customs recordal, market surveillance, and civil litigation — with the visual similarity test assessed from the perspective of an ‘informed user’ rather than a technical expert.

What We Offer

Strategic design filing covering core distinctive features while maximising breadth of protection

Multi-design applications reducing costs when registering product families or variations

International design protection through the Hague System for global protection

Design infringement monitoring and market surveillance to identify copying

Enforcement actions including cease-and-desist, customs recordal, and litigation support

Who this applies to: Consumer electronics and mobile device manufacturers protecting distinctive shapes; furniture and home goods companies protecting design aesthetics; fashion and luxury goods companies; automotive manufacturers protecting vehicle design; packaging designers and brand owners.

Common questions

Industrial Design Protection FAQs

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Patents protect how something works; designs protect how it looks. Many products warrant both — a patent for functional innovation and a design for distinctive appearance, filed together where the product justifies the investment.

Only if the modifications are substantial enough to create a genuinely different overall impression to an informed user — a design search before filing helps assess the risk of refusal or later invalidity.

The test is whether an informed user perceives the overall visual impression as confusingly similar, weighing shape, proportion, color, and pattern — expert design testimony often supports this comparison in disputed cases.

Yes — after Ministry registration, customs recordal lets authorities monitor and seize imports bearing confusingly similar designs, working best for visually distinctive designs that are easy to identify on inspection.

You can register shape only, color only, or both, depending on which feature is truly distinctive — filing separate registrations for shape and color often provides the broadest and most flexible coverage.

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