An industrial design is the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article. The design may consist of three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article, or of two dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or color.

Industrial designs are applied to a wide variety of products of industry and handicraft: from technical and medical instruments to watches, jewelry and other luxury items; from house wares and electrical appliances to vehicles and architectural structures; from textile designs to leisure goods.

An industrial design is primarily of an aesthetic or visual nature, and does not relate to the technical features of an article.

• The owner is able to prevent unauthorized copying or imitation of his or her design by third parties. In addition, as industrial designs add to the commercial value of a product & facilitate its marketing & commercialization, their protection helps ensure that a fair return on investment is obtained.
  
• Protection of industrial designs encourages fair competition & honest trade practices. It leads to the production of more aesthetically attractive & diversified products, thereby broadening consumer choice.
  
• Industrial design protection acts as a spur to a country’s economic development by contributing to the expansion of commercial activities & by enhancing the export potential of national product.

• The owner is unable to prevent unauthorized copying or limitation of his or her design by third parties.
  
• Unprotection of industrial designs discourages unfair competition & dishonest trade practices.
   

• Except in the case of an application under Section 11 of the Ordinance, any person claiming to be the proprietor of any new or original design not previously published any where in the world may make an application for the registration of such design in Pakistan. Thus the applicant need not be the author of the design.
  
  The “proprietor or creator of a design” is defined in Section 2(b) of the Ordinance, which reads as follows:
  
  
• Where the author or creator of the design, for good Consideration executes the work for some other person, the person for whom the design is so executed;
  
• Where a design or the right to apply a design to an article becomes vested, whether by assignment, transmission or operation of law, in any person other than the original proprietor, either alone or jointly with the original proprietor, in respect and to the extent in and to which the design or right has been so vested, that other person or, as the case may be the original proprietor and that other person.
  
• If and to the extent to which two or more person have created the same design independently of each other, the person whose application has the earliest filing date or, if priority is claimed, the earliest validity claimed priority date shall have the right to the registration of industrial design, as long as the said application is not withdrawn, abandoned or rejected; and
  
• In any other case, author or creator of the design as may be assigned or as may be transferred by succession.
  The term “person” includes a Company Body Corporate, Firm, partnership, etc.
  

• A design, which in the opinion of the Registrar of Designs is not new or original.
  
• A design which is the same as a design already registered or published any where in the world before the date of the application (or, in the case of an application claiming priority of date under Section 11, before the priority date), or which differs from such prior design only in immaterial details or in features which are variants commonly used in the trade.
  But under Section 6 of the Ordinance, the following is an exception to this rule: - “Where the registered proprietor of a design registered in respect of any article makes an application.
  
  1. for registration in respect of one or more other articles of the registered design, or
     
  2. for registration in respect of the same or one or more other articles of a design consisting of the registered design with modifications or variations not sufficient to alter the character or substantially to affect the identity thereof.
     The application shall not be refused and the registration made on that application should not be invalidated by reason only of the previous registration or publication of the registered design:
     Provided that the period of registration of a design registered by virtue of this section shall not extend beyond the expiration of the original and extended period of registration in the original registered design”.
     
• A method or principle of construction, or an improvement in the construction, arrangement or application of machinery.
  
• Anything, which is in substance a mere mechanical device. In other words, a design consisting features of shape or configuration which are dictated solely by the function which the article to be made in that shape or configuration has to perform.
  
• Any Trade Marks as defined in Section 2 of the Trade Marks Act, 1940.
  
• A mere adjunction of two or more known articles of known shape or patterns.
  
• Copyrights in literary, dramatic, musical and artistic work within the meaning of Copyrights Ordinance, 1962. In other words, works of sculpture, other than casts or models used or intended to be used as models or patterns to be multiplied by any industrial process; wall plaques and medals; and printed mater primarily of a literary or artistic character including book-jackets, calendars, certificates, coupons, dressmaking patterns, greeting cards, leaflets, maps plans, postcards, stamps, trade advertisements, trade forms and cards, transfers and the like.
  
• A design containing a reproduction or imitation of the armorial bearings, emblems, seals, coat-of-arms, insignia, orders of chivalry, decorations or flags of any country, city, borough, town, place, society, body corporate, institution or person, or the name or portrait of a living or dead person, unless the consent of the appropriate official or person to the registration of design is furnished to the Registrar.
  The Pakistan Names and Emblems (Prevention of Unauthorized Use) Act, 1957 specifically precludes from registration as Design or Patents (Under the Registered Designs Ordinance, 2000 and the Patents Ordinance, 2000) the following names or emblems, and their reproductions or imitations:
  
  

• Where the author or creator of the design, for good Consideration executes the work for some other person, the person for whom the design is so executed;
  
• Where a design or the right to apply a design to an article becomes vested, whether by assignment, transmission or operation of law, in any person other than the original proprietor, either alone or jointly with the original proprietor, in respect and to the extent in and to which the design or right has been so vested, that other person or, as the case may be the original proprietor and that other person.
  
• If and to the extent to which two or more person have created the same design independently of each other, the person whose application has the earliest filing date or, if priority is claimed, the earliest validity claimed priority date shall have the right to the registration of industrial design, as long as the said application is not withdrawn, abandoned or rejected; and
  
• In any other case, author or creator of the design as may be assigned or as may be transferred by succession.
  The term “person” includes a Company Body Corporate, Firm, partnership, etc.