On 1 April 2020 the reformed Design Act came into force. This act expanded the scope of protection for graphic images.

Scope of reformed Design Act

Under the previous Design Act, only graphic images which had been recorded or displayed on articles (eg, computers or smartphones) were considered protectable designs. Since the scope of 'protectable designs' was limited to the designs of articles, graphic images themselves were considered unprotectable.

The reformed Design Act expands the scope of 'protectable designs' to include graphic images which are not:

  • recorded on articles but provided via computer networks; or
  • displayed or shown on articles, such as images which are displayed on roads or walls.

The reformed Design Act protects two types of graphic image:

  • those which result from machine, apparatus, device or system functions; and
  • those which relate to machine, apparatus, device or system operations.

Accordingly, graphic images which are unrelated to machine, apparatus, device or system functions or operations (eg, computer wallpapers, video game contents or films) are unprotected under the reformed Design Act.

On 1 April 2020 the Japan Patent Office (JPO) began accepting design applications for graphic images that are protectable under the reformed Design Act. According to JPO statistics, as of 4 January 2021, 685 such applications had been filed.

Examples of registered graphic image designs

On 23 October 2020 the JPO registered the first design for a graphic image. On 9 November 2020 the image was published.

Below are examples of the two types of graphic image which can be protected as a registered design.

Graphic images which result from machine, apparatus, device and system functions

The following design (1672383) displays information about a vehicle. According to the design's description, the image is shone onto a road surface from a vehicle equipped with a projection device to ensure that it is easily seen. When the vehicle changes direction, the image is changed, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 1: vehicle design

Figures 2 and 3: different states of the vehicle design

Figures 4, 5 and 6: reference views of the vehicle design

The following design (1678241) indicates that people should refrain from passing through a gate when somebody else is already there to maintain social distancing.

Figure 7: various views of social distancing design

The following design (1677061) indicates that there is congestion on a train.

Figure 8: train congestion design

Graphic images which relate to machine, apparatus, device and system operations

The following design (1675966) is an icon that is used to launch an app. Icons that have no function cannot be registered under the Design Act. The protection of icons as registered designs does not cover those without functions.

Figure 9: app icon design

The following design (1676367) displays and enables the user to operate content such as a video.

Figure 10: content operation design

Webpage protection

The reformed Design Act also protects webpages. This means that the unauthorised use of an existing webpage's design may constitute design infringement. To avoid this, parties should:

  • conduct design searches; and
  • file design applications for graphic images as webpages.