Australian design law

The Commonwealth of Australia's Designs Act 2003 replaced the Designs Act 1906. The legislation assists in the protection of the overall appearance of a product resulting from one or more visual features of the product. Although there are some overlaps, the Designs Act is not applicable when defending the functional innovations of a product. In common law, Firmagroup Australia Pty Ltd v Byrne & Davidson Doors (1987) 180 CLR 483, supports this. Firmagroup Australia Pty registered a design for a ‘combination handle and lock for shutter doors’. The innovative product was copied by Byrne & Davidson, and Firmagroup sued for infringement on design. The High Court held that the ‘combination handle and lock for shutter doors’ was ‘an idea of shape or configuration’, which is ‘conveyed by those features’, was ‘too general to attract statutory protection’. The Court then restricted the monopoly to the specific, individual appearance. Further, it added that ‘No design should be so construed as to give to its proprietor a monopoly in a method or principle of construction.’ The defendant proved to distinguish his product adequately, and thus did not infringe on Firmagroup’s design.