What should be done if somebody takes advantage of our industrial design without permission?
The party in possession of the design is obliged to monitor its industrial design in commercial dealings and to identify any infringements upon its rights. Moreover, it is the authorized party who should vindicate its claims in case of violations of the rights to an industrial design. It is also the authorized party who takes the decision as to what measures will be applied in order to prevent third parties from violating its rights.

Before initiating any legal actions, it is advisable to consult a patent agent or a lawyer specializing in the protection of industrial property.

INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF A DESIGN

In 2001, the biggest users of the Hague System, with respect to the number of applications made, were Swatch, Interior, Sony Overseas, Hermes, Daimler Chrysler, Nokia, Villeroy + Boch A.G., Moulinex, Philips Electronics and Salomon. At that time Swatch made 103 applications for international registration by means of the Hague System. The distinctive "appearance" of the Swatch watches is considered to be the main factor, which makes the customers choose the products of just this company. That is why companies like Swatch invest a great deal of money and knowledge combined with experience in order to prepare competitive designs and to obtain exclusive rights to their use.

Is it also possible to protect an industrial design by virtue of the regulations concerning the protection of a trademark?

A trademark is any type of marking, which can be presented in a graphical form (it is usually a word, a picture, an ornament, a color composition, a spatial form or their combination) used to distinguish the products of one company from the products of other companies. In some cases the shape, the design or the packaging of a product can be distinctive features of a product and may also be protected as a spatial trademark. The examples of such trademarks are: the bottle of Coca-Cola or the three-dimensional shape of the Toblerone chocolate.

It is worth noticing that the protection of trademarks can be extended infinitely, whereas the protection of industrial designs by virtue of the registration rights is limited in time (in Poland it lasts 25 years). It is a common case for these two types of protection to apply at the same time.

"Wzory przemysłowe w działalności małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw"
Patent Office of the Republic of Poland , W-wa 2005