Sport Product Design Protection
Which sports equipment can you register for industrial design protection?
The influence of design in the world of sport is far-reaching. Where image and aesthetics are involved, so too is design, and where new materials emerge, aesthetics or design soon follow. Designs can include athletic shoes, sports bags and sport apparel such as swimsuits, gym and tennis wear.
Many sports equipment and clothing companies are working with fabric manufacturers to solve specific problems. GORE-TEX®, for example, started a revolution in the field of protective outerwear. Sports kits in all disciplines have become lighter and more comfortable. The X-Static® fabric, the result of ten years of research and testing, incorporates silver fiber that wicks away heat and moisture from the skin to keep the athlete dry and more comfortable. Other advanced fabrics insulate and offer protection against wind and water – properties that are particularly important for athletes operating in cold weather climates.
Why protect sports products’ designs with an industrial design?
Sports products’ industrial designs offer many benefits including:
- Exclusive rights to use, produce and sell a sports product design.
- Protection against imitations: unique designs help reinforce brand identity by differentiating products from other sports brands in a saturated market; helping make one sports brand more successful than another. Industrial designs protect sports equipment’s design against counterfeit.
- Appearance-based market advantage: making sports products physically appealing by bringing style to sports equipment whilst improving athletes’ performance. Design protection prevents competitors from copying distinctive visual elements that attract consumers.
- Licensing opportunities: monetizing sports products’ designs through design licensing.
- Legal remedy against knockoffs: design registration provides clear legal standing to pursue counterfeiters of sports products
Conditions to protect the design of sports equipment
To register sports equipment for industrial design protection, the design must be:
- new,
- original,
- independently created by the designer.
Protecting sports product designs internationally
In most countries, an industrial design must be registered in order to be protected under industrial design law. However, protection is given only in the country where the design is registered. WIPO's Hague System provides an easy and cost-effective way to obtain protection for sports product designs in multiple countries.
