Can You Patent a Clothing Design

It is no secret that the fashion industry is brimming with designers. Whether small or big, every designer is facing tough competition. So, how do they protect their designs from being infringed?

For clothing designers, their innovative designs are critical to their success. After all, it is their creative ideas that drives their business and help them stand out. Considering the importance of your artistic inventions, you will certainly want to protect them. Although creative works are automatically protected by copyrights upon creation, it may not be enough to protect the distinctive designs unique to your brand. Some designers secure patents for their unique inventions. But, can you patent a clothing design? As patent lawyers and agents, we come across this question multiple times, and the answer to this is yes. Let’s discuss this further -

Protect your Creative Apparels through Design Patents

Every groundbreaking invention (in this case a design) that can take you to successful heights demands legal protection. If you have one, then you can protect it against infringement through design patents (or Industrial Designs as they are called in Canada). An invention may be protected in two ways – utility patents and design patents. Utility patents cover the functionality of your invention, while design patents safeguard the shape and aesthetics of your product. Obtaining a design patent does not stop you from also obtaining a utility patent and vice versa. In Canada, you can secure design patents by the way of industrial design registration.

An industrial design protects the appealing features of a product. For example, a particular cut, a pattern, distinctive embroidery and designs on a t-shirt or a dress that make the item of clothing distinctive are covered under industrial designs. However, any functional aspect of the clothing design cannot be protected by industrial designs.

Industrial designs or design patents can be obtained for –

• Features of your apparel like its shape, configuration, ornament or a combination of any of these applied to it
• Designs on a portion of your apparel
• Design features particular to a set of articles, in this case, a set of clothes
• Variant designs that possess significant similarities that are applied through a single design patent application.

If you have multiple variants of the design that portray substantial differences, then you will have to file separate applications. An application for industrial design registration can be filed anytime if the design has never been published. If the design has been published, then you can apply for registration within 12 months from the date of publishing. Industrial design registration provides you exclusive rights over your design for 10 years. For extended protection, you can obtain utility patents. This not only helps in preventing infringement, but also minimises competition and paves the way for your success. To maintain the protection, you will be required to pay a maintenance fee on the five year anniversary of registration.

Consult a Patent Agent or Lawyer for Design Patents

If you have a creative apparel design that is the key to success, then you should consider obtaining design patents for it. Consulting a patent agent or lawyer is highly recommended to ensure compliance with the law and minimize your chances of rejection.