Industrial design protection · Pakistan
Protect the appearance that makes your product recognisable.
Mir & Khans assists businesses, manufacturers and creators with industrial-design applications, renewals, transactions and enforcement enquiries from Karachi.
Discuss your design
An industrial design protects the visual appearance of an article rather than the idea behind it or the way it works. Under Pakistan’s Registered Designs Ordinance, 2000, it may concern features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article and judged by the eye. Features dictated solely by technical or functional considerations are excluded.
Practical examples
- The distinctive shape of a bottle, container, appliance casing or chair
- A surface pattern applied to textiles, tiles, stationery or packaging
- The ornamental configuration of jewellery, lighting or household products
- The visual form of a separately manufactured component
- A coordinated set of articles sharing the same design character
Example: a lamp’s ornamental outer shell may raise a design question; its electrical mechanism is technical and may require different protection.
What Pakistan’s law requires
A design generally must be new or original. Earlier registration in Pakistan or publication anywhere in the world can affect registrability. The Ordinance contains a limited twelve-month provision for certain disclosures by the applicant, a predecessor in title or an abusive third party, but filing before launch remains the safer approach.
Design, trademark, patent or copyright?
A design protects appearance; a trademark identifies commercial source; a patent protects a qualifying technical invention; and copyright may protect qualifying creative expression. One product can involve several rights: a bottle shape, its brand name, dispensing mechanism and label artwork raise different questions.
How we can assist
- Review: identify the visual features, article, creator, owner and disclosure history.
- Assess: consider novelty, filing readiness and related IP rights.
- File: prepare representations, applicant information, authority and priority documents.
- Manage: assist with examination, registration, extensions, assignments, licences or disputes.
What to prepare
- Applicant name, nationality or incorporation details and address
- Clear views of the design and the article to which it is applied
- Creator and ownership documents
- Dates of launch, sale, exhibition or online disclosure
- Power of authority and priority documents, where applicable
Launching soon?
Public disclosure can affect novelty. Send the proposed launch date, drawings or photographs and details of previous disclosure.
Request a consultationFrequently asked questions
What does registration protect?
Qualifying visual features of an article. It does not protect a purely technical idea or method of construction.
Must the design be new?
Yes. Earlier registration or publication may affect the application, subject to the facts and limited statutory provisions.
Should I file before public disclosure?
Usually yes. Do not assume the limited twelve-month provision will cure every disclosure.
How long can protection last?
The initial term is ten years. Timely extensions and prescribed fees may provide two further ten-year periods, for a maximum of thirty years.
Does Pakistan registration protect other countries?
No. Design rights are territorial; other markets normally require separate filing routes.
What remedies may be available for copying?
The Ordinance provides rights against specified commercial acts involving copies and permits a suit seeking damages and an injunction, subject to legal and evidential requirements.
Can a design be sold or licensed?
Yes. Assignments, licences and related recordals should align the register with the commercial agreement.
What products may qualify?
Examples include packaging, furniture, jewellery, textiles, household goods, electronics casings and handicrafts. Eligibility depends on the claimed visual features.
Authoritative references
Read WIPO’s industrial-design FAQs and Pakistan’s Registered Designs Ordinance, 2000. Current procedure and requirements should be checked for each matter.
Related: Intellectual property · Trademarks · Copyright · Contact