BSBIPR404A - Protect and use innovative designs
Nominal hours
40
Unit descriptor
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to protect the appearance or look of manufactured articles as registered designs. It covers identifying the need for protection, the process of design registration, monitoring and protecting registered designs, lodging a successful application for protection of designs and using the design commercially.
No licencing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement.
Employability skills
This unit contains employability skills.
Prerequisite units
There a no prerequisite units.
Co-requisite units
There are no co-requisite units.
Application of the unit
This unit applies to individuals who are involved in creating industrial or fashion designs across a variety of work environments.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit competency. Performance criteria describes the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the required skills and knowledge section and the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.
Element 1: Identify the need for protection of innovative designs.
Performance Criteria:
- Research what constitutes a registrable design and what exclusive rights are obtained through registration.
- Identify legislative requirements governing design registration.
- Research prior art to determine what has already been registered in the area of design.
- Identify innovative designs within own organisation with commercial potential.
- Assess whether copyright provides protection and determine adequacy of non-registrable protection
- Evaluate and make recommendations for commercialisation potential of innovative designs.
Element 2: Identify and initiate application process for protection of innovative designs.
Performance Criteria:
- Identify sources of information and advice regarding protection of innovative designs.
- Evaluate the role of IP professionals in the registration process.
- Identify processes required for application for registration of a design.
- Identify the process for international design registration
- Participate in a design registration process and provide relevant information to the IP professional, if applicable.
Element 3: Monitor market and protect and use registered design.
Performance Criteria:
- Identify or create and implement organisational policies and procedures to protect and use the organisation's designs correctly.
- Identify and establish processes to use own and other's registered designs for business growth.
- Maintain innovative design protection.
- Ensure all employees are aware of the importance to the organisation of the protection and proper use of trade marks, and implement training if required.
- Monitor the market for possible infringements of registered designs.
- Pursue appropriate legal measures to protect designs against infringement, if required, using appropriate professional advice.
- Identify or create and implement policies and procedures to ensure all employees respect the work of other designers in fair and open competition.
This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit.
Required skills
- Research skills to identify rules governing design registration and search data bases.
- Analytical skills to identify commercial potential of innovative designs and their registration applicability.
- Literacy skills to interpret IP Australia's design registration procedures and contribute to an innovative design protection application.
- Problem solving skills to act on potential infringement issues.
Required knowledge
- Application guidelines, formats and procedures to protect innovative designs.
- Overview of relevant legislation concerning designs, including the overlap of IP rights between design protection and copyright.
- Sources of information and advice about protection of designs.
Range Statement
The range statement relates to the unit of the competency as a whole.
Registrable designs refers to:
- the appearance or look of a manufactured article that is:
- distinct and visible to someone looking at the article
- more than merely a display for the design
- new or original
- not used or shown in public before first application
- used or conceptually applied to an article of manufacture
An innovative design cannot be:
- a method or principle of construction
- how a product works or functions
- items that are primarily artistic or literary in nature
Exclusive rights are defined as:
- the right to prevent others from using and exploiting a design for a manufactured product for a specified period of time
Exclusive rights are limited in the following ways:
- infringement does not occur if the design is used on a product other than or dissimilar to that for which the design was registered
- protection does not cover the design features if only the general functional features are copied, as a product's function cannot be protected under design.
- protection does not cover the underlying idea of the design, only the actual design.
Legislative requirements refers to:
- the Designs Act 2003
- Designs regulations
- the Copyright Act 1968
Non-registrable protection may include:
- trade secrets
- confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure agreements
Commercialisation potential may include:
- licencing the design to third parties for a fee or under certain conditions
- profiting from the manufacture and sale of a registered design.
Sources of information or advice may include:
- IP Australia
- the Attorney-General's Department
- the Australian Copyright Council
- State and Commonwealth government agencies
- lawyers specialising in IP
- Trade Mark Attorney and Patent Attorneys
- Accountants
- Business Advisors
- Marketing Consultants
- Branding Consultants
- copyright collecting societies, for example CAL, PPCA, MIPI, APRA, AMCOS
- publications
- the internet
- databases such as local and international trade mark data bases.
Processes may include:
- creating and proliferating confidentiality agreements within organisation or among people who may need to know about the design before application for registration is lodged so as to keep the design secret
- carrying out searches on relevant databases including:
- bibliographic on pictorial searches on our website
- pictorial or representation searches in the public domain
- lodging a completed application form
- preparing copies of representations of the design in relation to a product
The application process may also include, if desired or requested:
- considering the value of a statement of newness and distinctiveness to identify particular visual features of the design as new and distinctive.
- lodging a statement of novelty, if requested by IP Australia, outlining how the design is novel or original
- responding to any adverse findings the Registrar of Designs may identify during the examination process
- considering any material submitted by a third party to dispute the newness and distinctiveness of the design.
International design registration may include:
- filing for design registration with the relevant offices of a foreign country. Signatory states to the international convention for design protection allow for the priority date assigned to the design in Australia to be obtained internationally if applied for within six months of lodgement in Australia.
Maintain protection may include:
- keeping track of registration expiration dates
- applying for renewal of registration.
Monitor may include:
- observing the activities of competition
- scanning the market of potential design infringements
- regular of ad-hoc searching of trade mark application locally or internationally
Legal measures may include:
- seeking legal advice from an appropriate professional
- requesting examination of suspected infringements
- bringing infringement proceedings against a party
- suing a party who has imported into Australia any infringing design
- suing a party which has sold any product infringing their rights in the design
- implementing other business, regulatory or market strategies within legal means
Evidence Guide
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.
Overview of assessment
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit.
Evidence of the following is essential:
- identification of issues for the use, management and protection of innovative designs
- implementation of policies and procedures for the management, use and protection of innovative designs and legitimate use of other's designs.
Context of specific resources for assessment.
Assessment must ensure:
- access to relevant information on the individual or organisation's innovative design protection requirements and procedures
- access to reliable and appropriate explanatory material and guidelines
- access to appropriate computer resources for establishment and maintenance of policies and procedures
Method of assessment.
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge, such as:
- direct questioning combined with review of a portfolio of evidence
- oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of protection of innovative designs and its implications for the organisation
- development of action plans for implementation of policies and procedures for the protection of innovative designs and commercialisation of innovative designs
- analysis of case studies of issues about protection of innovative designs, with recommendations for action
Guidance information for assessment.
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example:
- other units from BSB07 including other units relating to IP design units.
Last Updated: 15/9/2012
