THE NEW SET DESIGN SYSTEM

Even under current design law it is possible to register a design of a set of any two or more articles that are customarily used together and which, taken as a whole, have a unity of design. Under the revised design law the number of items which can be registered as a set will be greatly expanded from the current 13, so as to be able to protect system designs over a broad range of articles. In addition, applicants will no longer be required to show that the individual items comprising the set are eligible for registration in their own right, making it even easier to register the overall design of the set.
The terminal apparatus “taken as a whole, [have a] unity of design” also includes articles which taken as a whole form a coordinated shape, as well as a set of articles each of which is the same shape or pattern as the others.

Practice Tip:

Examples of sets of articles newly eligible for registration

Items eligible for registration as sets