What can be protected as an industrial design in the cosmetics industry?

     In the production of cosmetics, the objects of protection can be not only the name of the product, logos, recipes for cosmetic products or technologies for their production, but also the appearance and shape of the packaging, which can be presented in the form of a two-dimensional image or a three-dimensional model. That is, in the cosmetics industry, unique product design, which is an important part of a company’s branding and marketing, can and must be protected from unscrupulous competitors. As a rule, the external characteristics of products related to intellectual property objects are protected as industrial designsif they are novel and original (Article 1352 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Important features of an industrial design that determine its aesthetic features include its shape, configuration, ornament, combination of colors, lines, contours of the product, texture or texture of the material, etc. 

          Patentability criteria include:

- novelty - the product should not be known before filing an application for registration;

           - originality - “an industrial design can be considered original if its essential features are due to the creative nature of the product’s features, in particular if, from the information that became publicly available in the world before the priority date of the industrial design, a solution to the appearance of a product of similar purpose is unknown that produces on an informed consumer the same general impression as the industrial design that is reflected in the images of the appearance of the product” (Article 1352 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

Source: https://ru.pinterest.com/pin/705024516681571495

     To establish the novelty and originality of an industrial design, a patent search is carried out. In this case, all applications for inventions, utility models, industrial designs and applications for state registration of trademarks, service marks that are filed in the Russian Federation by other persons and with the documents of which in accordance with pp. 2 and 4 tbsp. 1385, clause 2 of Art. 1394, clause 1 art. 1493 Any interested person has the right to familiarize himself with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

It is important to remember that legal protection as an industrial design is not granted to products:

- the characteristics of which are determined solely by their technical function;

- which mislead the consumer regarding their manufacturer or place of production;

- unstable form from liquid, gaseous, granular or similar materials (clause 5 of Article 1352 of the Code).

     An application for registration of an industrial design is submitted to Rospatent. In this case, it is necessary to provide: a statement of the established form indicating information about the applicant and developer; a description of the appearance of the product indicating its features, a high-quality image of an industrial design or drawings from several angles, as well as a document confirming payment of the state duty and consent to the processing of personal data.

     Even if information about an industrial design becomes publicly available, this cannot serve as a basis for refusal to obtain a patent if the application is filed with Rospatent within twelve months from the date of disclosure of the information.

    After a package of documents is received by Rospatent, they are first subjected to a formal examination, during which the availability of the necessary documents and the correctness of their execution are checked. After passing the first stage of verification, a substantive examination is carried out, during which the novelty and originality of the industrial design is checked.

    Based on the results of the examination, Rospatent makes a decision to issue a patent for an industrial design or to refuse to issue it. In case of a positive decision, information about it is included in the State Register of Industrial Designs and published in the official bulletin of Rospatent, after which the applicant acquires the exclusive right to the design of his product.

     If Rospatent makes a negative decision, then the applicant is sent a notice with detailed justification for refusing to issue a patent (for example, due to a lack of creativity in the packaging design or similarity to previously registered designs).

The term of protection of an industrial design in the Russian Federation is 5 years with the possibility of extension to 25 years.