A manufacturer requested to register a design of a pouch in accordance with the Israeli Designs Law, 2017, although the Internet shows similar pouches but with a different design, including the part connecting the strap to the bag.
The Design Registrar held that the pouch design is protectable. To register a design Israeli law requires the existence of uniqueness and novelty. A design will be considered new if a design that is identical or differs from it by insignificant details has not yet been published to the public, in Israel or outside of it. The outline, color, shape, decoration, texture or material from which they are made are not considered insignificant. To examine whether the design is unique in nature, the following considerations will be examined, among others: What is the field in which the design is applied, whether it is a saturated field and what are the characteristics of a sophisticated user, the user’s level of familiarity with the field, the level of attention the user devotes to the field, and whether the user can make a direct comparison. Here the field is fashion. The user is a fashion enthusiast, who is familiar with similar bags and can do direct comparison of bags. There are similar designs published on Facebook and AliExpress, but there is a different strap connection and different appearance. Because it is a product designed to strap around the waist with the strap, the appearance of the strap changes the way the product looks, which is important to the user, and thus the design is worthy of protection under law.
Published in Afik News 300 15.01.2020