{"id":253,"date":"2026-11-01T17:15:58","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T08:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandagent.jp\/en_blog\/japan-partial-design-related-design\/"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:32:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T07:32:53","slug":"japan-partial-design-related-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandagent.jp\/en_blog\/japan-partial-design-related-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Partial Designs and Related Designs in Japan: How to Protect Key Features and Variations"},"content":{"rendered":"

“A competitor copied only the handle of our product \u2014 can we stop them?” “We registered one design in Japan, but now a copycat sells a slightly different version.” “We plan several color and shape variations \u2014 do we need a separate registration for each?”<\/span><\/p>\n

Overseas manufacturers and cross-border sellers ask us questions like these all the time. The answer usually lies in two tools of Japanese design law: partial designs<\/strong> and related designs<\/strong>. In this article, Japanese Patent Attorney Toru Kano of BrandAgent explains what each system protects, how they differ, and how to combine them into a filing strategy for Japan.<\/span><\/p>\n

*Official fees and rules are those published by the Japan Patent Office (JPO) as of November 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n

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What you will learn<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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  • Why a single “whole product” design registration often is not enough<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What a partial design is and which products it suits<\/span><\/li>\n
  • What a related design is and the 10-year filing window introduced in 2020<\/span><\/li>\n
  • How to combine whole, partial and related designs<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Points for foreign applicants: representative, priority and official fees<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    Why one design registration is often not enough<\/span><\/h2>\n

    A standard Japanese design registration protects the appearance of the whole article \u2014 its shape, pattern and color as a whole. The right covers designs that are identical or similar to the registered one.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Copycats know this. A common tactic is to keep the distinctive feature of your product \u2014 a characteristic grip, a unique nozzle, a recognizable front panel \u2014 and change everything else. If the overall impression becomes different enough, the product may fall outside the scope of a whole-product registration.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Your own product line is also rarely a single design. You probably sell sizes, shapes and minor variants. One registration cannot reach variations that fall outside its similarity range.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Partial designs address the first problem (protecting the feature<\/em>), and related designs address the second (protecting the family of variations<\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

    Partial designs: protecting a distinctive part of the product<\/span><\/h2>\n

    A partial design registration protects the appearance of part of an article. In the drawings, the part for which protection is sought is typically drawn in solid lines and the rest of the article in broken lines, so it is clear which portion is claimed.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Typical candidates for a partial design<\/span><\/h3>\n