January 16, 2017
The Industrial Design Office takes the position that applications for computer-generated animated designs are to be examined as a single design applied to a finished article.
The drawings submitted with the application will be viewed as a sequence of frames and should sufficiently disclose the animated design for which protection is sought.
If figure references are included, the different figures in the sequence can be referred to as “Figure 1 – first frame of the sequence,” “Figure 2 – second frame of the sequence,” etc. If there are no figure references and there is no description of the sequence, the order in which the figures appear will define the sequence of the design for which protection is sought. The individual frames need not include substantially similar content to one another, as they are not assessed independently from their sequential arrangement.
Please note that the Office examines unanimated computer-generated icons or images as a static design applied to a finished article.
This practice notice is intended to provide guidance on current Industrial Design Office practice but is not binding on the Office. In the event of any inconsistency between the Industrial Design Office Practices guide and this practice notice, the notice is to be followed. In the event of any inconsistency between this practice notice and the applicable legislation, the legislation must be followed.
A fact sheet providing an overview of the changes is also available.