Protection of Designs for Building and Interior as Design Rights
Under the Design Act revised in 2019, the scope of protection of design rights has been expanded to include designs for building and interior. This revision came into force on April 1, 2020.
The background of the above revision is as follows. Recently, there has been an increasing number of cases where companies create their brand value by distinctively crafting the exterior and interior designs for their shops to offer services or sell products. Also, in recent years, companies handling office furniture and related equipment make distinctive office designs with their products and offer them to their customers.
Considering these circumstances, the Design Act revised in 2019 now enables designs of building exterior to be protected by the design right. In addition, under the revised Design Act, interior designs which consist of a combination or an arrangement of multiple articles such as desks and chairs, or consist of decoration such as walls or the floor, are now protected as a single design with the design right, as long as such designs evoke a unified sense of beauty as a whole.
In order to meet the requirements of a design of building exterior under the Design Act, the following 1 and 2 must be satisfied:
1. A fixture attached to land; and
2. An artificial structure, including civil engineering structure.
In order to meet the requirements of an interior design under the Design Act, the following 1, 2 and 3 must be satisfied:
1. An interior of a shop, office or other facilities
2. Comprising a number of goods, building or images under the Design Act
3. Evoking a unified sense of beauty from the interior as a whole.