Industrial Designs

6. Markings

It is important to apply appropriate industrial design markings to each and every one of the functional articles which embody a registered design. In Canada, the appropriate design marking to use is the letter "D" in a circle, followed by the name of the applicant. The Industrial Designs Act provides that, if a registered design is infringed, the owner of the design may be entitled to monetary relief for such damage. Nevertheless, if there is no design marking present on the allegedly infringing articles, and the infringer can show that he could not reasonably have known that the design was protected, then the only relief available to the owner of the design may be an injunction to prevent further infringement of the registered design. In that case, the owner of the design would not be compensated for the monetary losses incurred by reason of the infringer's activities. Accordingly, if you have a registered industrial design, it is extremely important to make sure that the articles which incorporate the design are properly marked.