LATER DESIGN APPLICATIONS THE SAME AS OR SIMILAR TO A PORTION OF AN EARLIER DESIGN APPLICATION WILL BECOME INELIGIBLE FOR REGISTRATION ONCE THE EARLIER DESIGN IS REGISTERED

Where the shape of a later design application is either the same as or similar to a portion of an earlier design application, the later application design will be rejected once the earlier application is published in the design official gazette even if the creator or applicant of both designs is the same person and even if the earlier design application is not yet registered at the time the later design application is filed. The later application design is already included in the earlier application, so it does not rise to the level of the creation of a new design and therefore is not eligible for design registration.

(1) Goggles
The earlier filing is a whole-design application and the later filing is a partial-design application.

(2) Saw & Saw handle
The earlier filing is a design for a completed article and the later filing is a design for a part of the completed article.

(3) Dinner Service Set
The earlier filing is a design for a set and the later filing is a design for a component article of the set.

Practice Tip:

In order for this provision to be applied, the entire design of the later filing must be apparent from the drawings of the earlier filing, so in the following case this provision would not apply.