FAQ Entry #340

This is a respond to a previously asked question about the A' Design Award and Competition. The full list of frequently asked questions can be accessed here.

#340: I have submitted my design. But I haven't got a patent yet. Is it safe (my design will not be stolen) if I submit my design? If there is a risk for me losing the patent of my design, I might think again before joining the competition?

At A’ Design Award there is a “Concealed Category” participation method, in concealed categories, your nomination is voted but later not shown to public if it is announced as a winner or runner-up and it is not printed in the book. This way you do not have the risk of losing the ability to patent your design due to publication of the project. In all other design competitions, however there is a risk of losing the right to patent your industrial design, since the winning entries (in some cases all entries) would get published, and in many jurisdictions and countries, a design should not have been published or printed before it could get patented. Participating in the “Concealed Category” also can be useful for protecting your design from “design thefts” since in this case no one would see your work, however, we should also remind that the main purpose why most people join design competitions is to get more publicity. So if you wish to reduce such risks, we advise to join our “Concealed Categories”.

Keywords: concealed category, design patent, intellectual property, design theft, concealed categories, secret design, hidden design, industrial design rights, design rights

The following questions could be related:

• #60: Do I need to have a patented, labelled, trademarked or registered product, design or idea to participate in the competition?
• #134: I am interested in joining the Design competition, but I do not have the copyrights or patents regarding my idea/design. I would like to know if I am eligible without them. If I apply without a patent, what could ensure that my idea/design is secure, how can I protect my design/idea.
• #156: Concerning the privacy and publishing settings I am not quite sure which option to go for. I have no patent for my product, yet if I should be a winner then I would be most interested in having my design published and sent to the press. If my design is seen in various media after I have filed for a patent then I would be more reassured. However, if press release takes place when no measures have been taken to obtain a patent, then this would be risky.
• #157: I have my brand or logo patented in my country only. If I were to show this logo in publications, would this be detrimental to the continued existence of my brand, since it will be exposed at an international level where I have no protection. Would an additional copyright covering 164 countries help ?
• #226: Will my award winning entry publicly visible? Can I patent it after results announced?
• #272: Our company usually uses a picture, which isn't created by us, but we have got rights to use it as we bought the image. Can we upload this image to as a part of our project presentation to A' Design Award?
• #286: I would like to know who will have the patent of designed product. will it belong to winner or your committee?
• #309: Will the intellectual property rights of the designer be protected as a result of the submission of the design?
• #341: Can I join the design award competition without a patent?
• #344: I want to use the design mediation services to sell my design and I already made international patent filing for it for that purpose but I do not know how to set the price for my design?
• #435: I am a winner but my design is not in the book, there is no poster in exhibition and it is not displayed online, why is that?
• #450: If the winner design is in a concealed category, will these works be displayed in the award ceremony in the screen or stage?
• #456: I have an award winning work, will the design award cover the cost of my international patent application?
• #471: ​I registered for digital edition and do not know anything about conceal categories but I think I have chosen a concealed category. Are all the digital categories are concealed; i.e. did I make a mistake? How can I change my design to be public?
• #509: What are the difference between patents and copyright for the costs and duration?
• #510: Can I take someone else photo or design and use in my design or work?
• #511: Is my design protected by copyrights?
• #514: How do I prove that I am the original photographer of the photo? How do I prove that a photograph was taken by me?
• #534: Is there risk of publishing my design online from the perspective of copyrights and patents?

If you did not find your answer, please feel free to check the faq pages for more questions and answers. You will also want to check our webpage for details; thanks to our transparency policy, we document and publish everything.