Article 64(2) of the Patent Law stipulates that the scope of protection for a design patent right is based on the design of the
1 Names and Labels of Views
The names of the six orthogonal projection views refer to the front view, rear view, left view, right view, top view, and bottom view. The front view should correspond to the side that is typically facing the consumer when in use or best reflects the overall design of the product. For example, the front view of a cup with a handle should be the view where the handle is on the side. The name of each view should be labeled directly below the corresponding view.
For sets of products, each product view name should be preceded by an Arabic numeral in sequential order, with the word “Set” added before the number. For instance, the front view of the 4th set in a set of products should be named: Set 4 Front View.
For similar designs of the same product, each design’s view name should be preceded by an Arabic numeral in sequential order, with the word “Design” added before the number. For example, Design 1 Front View.
For component products with a unique assembly relationship, views of the product in an assembled state should be submitted. For component products without an assembly relationship or with multiple assembly relationships, views of each component should be submitted, with each component view name preceded by an Arabic numeral in sequential order, and the word “Component” added before the number. For example, for the left view of the 3rd component in a component product, the view name should be: Component 3 Left View.
For designs of products with multiple variable states, the view names showing these variable states should be followed by an Arabic numeral in sequential order.
2 Drawing of Pictures
Pictures should be drawn in accordance with China’s national standards on technical drawing and mechanical drawing, including orthogonal projection relationships, line widths, and section markings, and should use evenly thick solid lines to represent the shape of the design. Shadow lines, leader lines, center lines, dimension lines, dashed lines, etc., should not be used to represent the shape of the design. Elongated items can be abbreviated using two parallel dash-dot lines or natural break lines. The drawing may use leader lines to indicate section positions and directions, enlarged parts, transparent parts, etc., but should not include unnecessary lines or markings.
Pictures can be drawn using drawing tools, including computers, but should not be drawn with pencils, crayons, ballpoint pens, and should not use blueprints, sketches, or mimeographs. For computer-drawn design pictures, the resolution of the drawing should meet clarity requirements.
3 Photographing
(1) Photographs should be clear and avoid blurring that prevents the design of the product from being clearly displayed.
(2) The background of the photographs should be uniform and avoid showing content other than the design product. The product and background should have a suitable brightness difference to clearly display the design of the product.
(3) Photographing should generally follow the rules of orthogonal projection to avoid distortion due to perspective affecting the expression of the design.
(4) Photographs should avoid effects such as glare, reflection, shadows, and mirror images that affect the expression of the design.
(5) Photographs of products should generally avoid including contents or props inside, except when necessary to clearly display the design of the product, in which case contents or props may be retained.
4 Defects in Pictures or Photographs
For patent applications with defects in the pictures or photographs, the examiner should issue a correction notice or an examination opinion notice to the applicant. The main defects refer to the following items:
(1) Errors in the projection relationship of views, such as non-compliance with orthogonal projection rules, mismatched projection relationships between views, or inverted view directions.
(2) Unclear design pictures or photographs, pictures or photographs showing product figures that are too small, or clear figures but affected by glare, reflection, shadows, mirror images, contents, or props, etc., impacting the correct expression of the product’s design.
(3) Product drawings in design pictures containing shadow lines, leader lines, dashed lines, center lines, dimension lines, dash-dot lines, etc., that should be deleted or modified.
(4) Views representing three-dimensional products with the following issues:
(i) Inconsistent scale ratios between views;
(ii) Missing views of the six sides of the product, except in the following cases:
The rear view can be omitted if it is the same as or symmetrical to the front view;
The left view can be omitted if it is the same as or sym
metrical to the right view (or vice versa);
The top view can be omitted if it is the same as or symmetrical to the bottom view (or vice versa);
Views of sides that are not easily visible or invisible during use can be omitted.
(5) Views representing two-dimensional products with the following issues:
(i) Inconsistent scale ratios between views;
(ii) Insufficient orthogonal projection views of two sides involved in the design points, except when the rear view is the same as or symmetrical to the front view, or when the rear view lacks a pattern.
(6) Elongated items, such as rulers or profiles, where the middle section is omitted in the drawing but not shown using two parallel dash-dot lines or natural break lines.
(7) Issues with section views or sectional views, including:
(i) Missing or incomplete section lines;
(ii) Missing lines, symbols, or directions indicating the sectioning position (although it’s not necessary to show markings for sectioning from the center position).
(8) Enlarged views are present, but the enlarged parts are not indicated in the relevant views.
(9) Missing views of the assembled state for component products with a unique assembly relationship; missing necessary individual component views for component products with no assembly relationship or multiple assembly relationships.
(10) For designs of transparent products with more than two shapes, patterns, or colors in the outer and inner layers, these features are not separately represented.
4.3 Brief Description
Article 64(2) of the Patent Law stipulates that the scope of protection for a design patent is based on the design of the product as shown in the pictures or photographs, and a brief description can be used to explain the design of the product represented in the pictures or photographs.
According to Article 31 of the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law, the brief description should include the following content:
(1) The name of the design product. The product name in the brief description should be consistent with the name in the request form.
(2) The use of the design product. The brief description should mention the use that helps determine the category of the product. For components, it should generally also mention the product they are used in and, if necessary, the use of that product. For products with multiple uses, the brief description should mention the various uses of the product.
(3) The key points of the design. Key points refer to the shape, pattern, their combination, or the combination of color with shape and pattern, or specific parts of the product that distinguish it from existing designs. The description of the key points should be concise and to the point.
(4) Specify a picture or photograph that best represents the key points of the design. The specified picture or photograph is used for publication in the patent gazette.
Additionally, the following situations should be mentioned in the brief description:
(1) If the design patent application requests protection of color or omits views.
If the design patent application requests protection of color, it should be declared in the brief description.
If the design patent application omits views, the applicant should specify the exact reasons for omission, e.g., “Left view is symmetrical to the right view, left view omitted” or “Bottom view not commonly seen in use, bottom view omitted”.
(2) For multiple similar designs of the same product submitted in one design patent application, one should be designated as the basic design in the brief description.
(3) For flat products such as fabric or wallpaper, it might be necessary to describe situations where the unit pattern is continuously aligned in two or four directions with undefined boundaries.
(4) For elongated items, if necessary, it should be mentioned that the length of the item is represented using an abbreviated drawing method.
(5) If the design of the product is made of transparent materials or new materials with special visual effects, it should be mentioned in the brief description, if necessary.
(6) If the design product belongs to a set of products, it might be necessary to mention the names of the products corresponding to each set.
(7) If a dashed line is used to represent the pattern design in the view, it should be mentioned in the brief description, if necessary.
The brief description should not use commercial promotional language or describe the performance and internal structure of the product.
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