What are the exclusions to design rights?

Can I protect my design?

There are certain things that cannot be protected by design rights:

  • the design of a product must not be a method or principle of construction – design rights only protect a characteristic of a product but  not how it was made.
  • the design must not contain aspects of shape or configuration of an article which enables the article to fit with another article so that either article can perform its intended function, or is dependent upon the appearance of another article of which it is intended by the designer to form an integral part.