You may have heard of “ 디자인등록 ” and wondered what it is. If so, this article will briefly walk you through the basics of design registration; how to register your design with the SURE scheme so that you can prove your ownership of the design; and finally, how to register your design with the EU Copyright Register.
What Is Design Registration?
Simply put, design registration is the formal process of registering a designed item with the appropriate body – be it a government agency or the private sector – to prove that you own the design.
The design registration body will keep a registry of all registered designs and their owners. If someone tries to copy or imitate your design, they will have to undergo the same registration process to keep the design protected.
Why Should You Register Your Designs?
There are several reasons why you should register your designs. First, if you ever get ripped off by someone who claims to have created something similar, you can take them to court and prove that you are indeed the legal owner of the design.
Second, if you design something that is then used by a company or individual and you want to get paid for your design, you can prove that you approved of the design being used by seeking payment from the company or individual. If you are not aware of this option, then you should consider pursuing it; otherwise, you may never get paid for your design. Third, if you want to keep track of your designs over time, then you can add them to a portfolio that you submit to potential employers or investors. They may request to see your portfolio if they are interested in your work.
How Do You Register Your Designs?
To properly register your designs, you must follow the proper steps. As a designer, you will already have certain knowledge of design registration; however, you must follow the correct procedure to ensure that your design is properly protected. If you do not follow the correct steps, then your design could be at risk of being stolen by others. Below we will discuss each step in detail.
Step one: Choose a unique identifier
Your first step as you begin the design registration process is to choose a unique identifier. This identifier will be a reference to your design that you can use in the future to prove that you owned the design at a specific point in time. To choose the perfect identifier, you must search for the words “Design Registration” within the website.
Within the search result, you will see several articles. One of these articles will be the “choose a unique identifier” article. This article will give you the information you need to choose an appropriate identifier for your design.
Before you begin choosing a unique identifier, you must ask yourself these questions:
- What will my identifier be?
- Will this identifier be easy for others to guess or copy?
- Is this identifier simple but easy to remember?
- Does this identifier fit the criteria of a perfect identifier?
After you have chosen a unique identifier, you should write it down and keep it with you as you go through the registration process. You will refer to this identifier often so that you can prove definitively that you are the legal owner of the design at a given point in time. You can also register your design with more than one body. For example, you can register your design with the Design Council and the Copyright Office. Doing this will prove that you are indeed the legal owner of the design because neither of these bodies can revoke registration once it is done.
Once you have chosen a unique identifier, move to step two.
Step two: Decide which body you will register your design with
In the next step of the design registration process, you will need to decide which body you will register your design with. The choices are:
- The Design Council
- The Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- The Copyright Office (Copyright)
- The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
If you are not sure which body to register with, then you should probably choose the Design Council. The Design Council's role is to protect and promote the work of designers. Therefore, it is a perfect place to start.
Each of the four bodies listed above plays an important role in protecting and governing the design world. However, there are some clear advantages to registering your design with the Design Council.
- It is free to register with the Design Council. You do not have to pay fees to register your design with the other bodies
- The Design Council has a streamlined registration process
- The Design Council has a Design Award that you can claim for your work
- If you do not reside in the UK, then there is no charge for exporting your registration. Only one fee is required to register your design internationally
Step three: Select the design category that best matches your design
Once you have decided which body you will register with, you should move to the next step of the process and select the design category that best matches your design. The choices for this step are: