Protect the Way Your Product Looks
An industrial design registration protects the visual features — shape, pattern, configuration, or ornamentation — that make your product distinctive in the marketplace. Our team at Brealant guides you through registering and protecting your product's appearance with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).
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Essential Guide to Industrial Design in Canada
Legal Definition of an Industrial Design in Canada: Under the Industrial Design Act, an industrial design is the visual, non-functional features of shape, configuration, pattern, or ornament applied to a finished article, registered with CIPO.
Purpose and Function of Industrial Design Registration: Registration gives you the exclusive right to make, use, sell, or license articles bearing your registered design, protecting the aesthetic investment behind a product's look.
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Because a design must be novel and undisclosed at filing, registering promptly — and before any public launch beyond the grace period — is essential to securing enforceable rights.
Get Expert Help FastA Hassle-Free Industrial Design Journey with Brealant
Contact: Reach out to Brealant to discuss the product you want to protect.
Search: Request a design search to assess the novelty of your design against CIPO's register and published prior art.
File: Brealant prepares and files your application with CIPO, or designates Canada through the Hague System.
Wait: Await CIPO's examination; response times vary depending on workload and any objections raised.
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Limitations — What Industrial Design Registration Cannot Cover:
- Purely Functional Features: Features dictated solely by the article's function, rather than its appearance, are excluded from design protection.
- Methods of Construction: How a product is made or assembled isn't protected — only its resulting visual appearance.
- Previously Disclosed Designs: A design publicly disclosed more than 12 months before filing, by the designer or a predecessor in title, generally can't be registered.
Formalities Check
Certification (if needed)
Filing for Registration
Priority Claim (if any)
1-2 months
3-6 months
2-6 months
Within 6 months
What an Industrial Design Registration Protects
Shape & Configuration
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The three-dimensional form and structural arrangement of a product.
Pattern
Surface patterns and decorative arrangements applied to a product.
Ornamentation
Purely aesthetic embellishments and decorative features on a finished article.
Combinations of Features
Distinctive combinations of shape, pattern, and ornament that together create the product's overall visual impression.
Step 5: Registration & publication
manage timing to fit launch plans.
Step 6: Maintain & renew
renewals as permitted by the jurisdiction.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does industrial design protection last in Canada?
For applications filed on or after November 5, 2018, protection lasts 15 years from the filing date; designs registered under the earlier regime had a different term of up to 10 years from the registration date.
What's the difference between an industrial design and a patent in Canada?
An industrial design protects how a product looks — its shape, pattern, or ornamentation — while a patent protects how a product works or is made.
Can I register a design that's already been sold or shown publicly?
Yes, but only if the disclosure was made by the designer (or a predecessor in title) within 12 months before filing — disclosures by others, or earlier disclosures, can defeat novelty.
Can I use the Hague System to register a design in Canada?
Yes, Canada joined the Hague System for international design registration in 2018, so applicants can designate Canada through a single international application.
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