In the field of Industrial property, industrial design is understood to be the appearance or ornamentation of a product or part of a product, that makes it visually different from another product, without taking into account its technical or functional characteristics. The definition of product is very broad and covers both industrial and artisan products.

There are a number of ways of obtaining protection in Spain:

– Via national application: The application should be made in accordance with the requirements established in LAW 20/2003 OF 7 JULY ON THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN.

– Via Community application: A COMMUNITY DESIGN can be obtained through a single application, which the applicant can choose to submit to the SPTO who will forward it (on payment of a transfer fee) to the EUIPO or to send it directly to the EUIPO (Alicante). The design is, to all effects, unique, and will be granted, rejected or cancelled across the entire European Union territory.

– Via International application: This procedure, governed by the Hague Agreement which incorporates the 1934 and 1960 Acts and the Geneva Act of 1999, enables an application to be made simultaneously to 64 countries or regions. Application of the 1934 Act has been suspended since 1 January 2010.