Introduction

Design is omnipresent, but the concept eludes many when pressed to describe what it is. Design has shaped our material culture since the earliest of times and remains a crucial aspect of all our lives. However, design protection under intellectual property law has remained in the background. Commentators have often described design protection as the “stepchild of patents and copyright”. This textbook aims to demystify the legal protection for design.

Intellectual property has evolved into a popular subject in undergraduate law degrees. An understanding of intellectual property protection is increasingly important to legal practice. Therefore, this textbook provides a comprehensive guide to the protection of designs under the Designs Act 2003 (Cth) — covering everything from registration and searching the designs register to the complexities of infringement and enforcement.

Many intellectual property textbooks survey all intellectual property, including patents, trade marks, copyright, plant breeders’ rights, circuit layouts, trade secrets and designs. It is typical, however, for the registered designs system to be allocated a single chapter. This textbook is intended to be different. Firstly, the book equips readers with the legal knowledge of intellectual property protection for designs with in-depth coverage of legal issues, legislative material and relevant case law. The development of legal knowledge can form a foundation for progression to more specialised studies and supplement studies in other areas of intellectual property law. Secondly, in addition to developing legal knowledge, the book equips readers with practical skills appropriate for legal practice in intellectual property. This includes detailed coverage of the registration process and how to search the Australian Designs Register with the Australian Design Search system.

Throughout the textbook, readers are encouraged to explore the nature of intellectual property, designs and the registered designs system through interactive activities, and key readings. Each chapter will have handy prompts to guide the reader on what to complete and how to complete it. These prompts are in the form of icons shown and explained below.

Read or Watch content as you read the textbook, stopping to reflect as needed.

Do get hands-on practice with interactive activities.

Reflect on your learning by recording your thoughts.

Flagging new concepts to explore.

 Explore designs on the Australian Designs Register orcontent outside the textbook.