A design
may qualify for legal protection under the Designs Act 2003 (Cth). Designs law
protects the overall appearance of a product.
The Designs
Act 2003 (Cth) provides for registration of designs, enforcement and dispute
resolution procedures. It aims to encourage innovation by giving designers the
exclusive right:
1.
to
exploit their designs for a limited time, and
2.
to
prevent competitors from free-riding on design innovations, by putting the
world on notice of the monopoly right of the owner.
The Act
provides a publicly available register of existing designs which helps:
1.
to
make known the creative ideas of designers, and
2.
to
stimulate further creative activity
