Lock in the look: a simple guide to design protection in China
For many UK businesses developing and selling physical products, China is both an important manufacturing base and a growing sales market. Like any major market, it is a place where copycat products may occasionally appear.
To help reduce this risk, one of the simplest and most cost‑effective ways to protect the appearance of your product in China is through a Chinese design patent.
Three types of registrable patent rights exist in China.
An invention patent is similar to a UK or European patent which protects a technical invention and how it works.
A utility model patent (explained in an earlier article here) provides a quicker and simpler form of technical protection for an incremental development of a physical product.
A design patent, on the other hand, provides protection purely on how a product looks, including the shape, pattern, colour, or a combination of these. Protection may be for the whole or part of a product and lasts for up to 15 years.
But why should UK businesses care about Chinese design patents?
A Chinese design patent is typically granted within a few months and is fairly inexpensive. China also allows multiple related designs to be included within a single application, for example similar design variations or designs forming part of a set of products, providing further cost savings.
After grant, it is enforceable against counterfeiters. Enforcement may be in the form of civil litigation, online takedowns, administrative raids, or customs seizures. However, because Chinese design patents do not undergo full substantive examination before grant, it is advisable to assess their validity (novelty and distinctiveness), as alleged infringers commonly respond by challenging the validity of the design patent. The validity assessment may be in the form of a patent right evaluation report issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) to support enforcement.
The legal protection of a Chinese design patent is provided by the drawings, meaning that if something isn’t shown clearly it isn’t protected. So, it’s important to get the drawings right to facilitate a smoother examination process and provide stronger protection.
Timing is also important. Unlike the UK, EU and US, China generally does not provide a grace period for disclosures made by the designer before filing. In practice, this means that if a product is disclosed publicly before a Chinese design application is filed, design protection in China may be lost. Businesses seeking protection in China should therefore ensure that a first design application is filed before any public disclosure. This initial filing could, for example, be a UK registered design application, with a later Chinese design filing taking advantage of the priority system within six months.
For the UK businesses that choose to pursue Chinese design patent protection, these rights have proved vital in tackling the risk of copycat products while supporting reliable, long‑term manufacturing partnerships.
For businesses considering design protection in China, please get in touch with one of the authors, Adrian Liu or Carrie Duckworth who would be happy to assist. At Barker Brettell, we have a dedicated China team with extensive experience handling Chinese IP matters.
