Guidebook for Overseas Users on Design System in Japan

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) published “Your Key to Success: for Obtaining a Design Right in Japan,” a guidebook in English for overseas users on design system. This guidebook is intended for overseas users who understand the design systems in their own countries well, but do not know much about the design system in Japan.
Especially, it provides brief explanations of the characteristics of the design system in Japan and recent revisions of the laws and regulations related to the design system and gives tips on filing an application for design registration in Japan, using actual cases of design registration and hypothetical cases to show situations where users are likely to make mistakes.
We hope that this guidebook will be helpful to those who are considering filing an application for design registration in Japan.

November 2024 update: In addition to the English version of the guidebook, Chinese version (Provisional translation) has been published (in electronic form (PDF) only).

“Your Key to Success: for Obtaining a Design Right in Japan” (English version)（PDF：12,851KB）

“成功之秘诀　为在日本取得外观设计专利权” (Chinese version)（PDF：12,924KB）

Links

*The contents in this guidebook about how application forms, drawings, etc. should be prepared are based on materials such as “Examination Guidelines for Design,” but are condensed and edited for the guidebook. For more detailed information, please follow the links below, as well as the two-dimensional codes printed on each page of the guidebook.

• Examination Guidelines for Design
  Examination Guidelines for Design | Japan Patent Office (jpo.go.jp)
• Guide for Making Applications and Drawings for Design Registration
  Guide for Making Applications and Drawings for Design Registration | Japan Patent Office (jpo.go.jp)

[Last updated 24 March 2025]