An article of manufacture is defined as anything which belong to the useful or practical art or any part including thereof which can be made and sold separately. Industrial designs that are dictated essentially by technical or functional considerations to obtain a technical result or those that are contrary to public order, health or morals, are not registrable. Requisites for registrability explained. The object of the statute is to encourage the decorative arts and a design, which merely pleases the eye, is a proper subject matter for a design registration. That is to say, a registrable design must not only be new or original, but ornamental as well.
Ornamentation implies beauty, the giving of a pleasing appearance to an object or article.
Registrable design must therefore show a variance which enhances the aesthetic beauty and attractive appearance of the article and which significantly differs from known design features or combination of known design features. Degree of novelty required. An industrial design shall not be considered new if it differs from prior designs only in minor respects that it can be mistaken as such prior designs by an ordinary observer. Filing date of industrial design application. If these requirements are not received by the Bureau upon the filing of the application, it shall nevertheless accept the application and accord as the filing date the date on which all the formal requirements for registration are filed or the mistakes are corrected in accordance with these Regulations.