Industrial design is a form of intellectual property that protects the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article. It can consist of three-dimensional features, such as the shape of an article, or two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines, or color. Industrial designs are applied to a wide variety of products of industry and handicraft items, such as packages, containers, furnishing, household goods, lighting equipment, jewelry, electronic devices, textiles, and graphic symbols.

In most countries, an industrial design needs to be registered in order to be protected under industrial design law as a “registered design”. In some countries, industrial designs are protected under patent law as “design patents”. Industrial design laws in some countries grant – without registration – time- and scope-limited protection to so-called “unregistered industrial designs”. Depending on the particular national law and the kind of design, industrial designs may also be protected as works of art under copyright law.

The owner of a registered industrial design or of a design patent has the right to prevent third parties from making, selling, or importing articles bearing or embodying a design which is a copy, or substantially a copy, of the protected design, when such acts are undertaken for commercial purposes. The duration of industrial design rights varies in each country, but most countries grant industrial design rights for at least 10 years.

Industrial design registrations or design patents are granted by the IP office of the country (or region) where an application is filed. Depending on the applicable law, an application for the registration of an industrial design or for the grant of a design patent can be filed with the intellectual property (IP) office of the country.

In summary, industrial design is a form of intellectual property that protects the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article, and it can be protected through various forms of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyrights, and/or standalone design systems.