24 August 2026
When filing a design application, the drawings are not just pictures of your product.
They can define what you are actually trying to protect.
A rare New Zealand designs decision involving grooming brand Manscaped provides a useful example.
Same product. Different designs.
Manscaped filed two New Zealand design applications relating to the same grooming device.
The drawings were largely identical.
The important difference was which parts were shown in solid lines and claimed as novel.
In one application, the novelty related to the handle.
In the other, it related to the curved edge and channel of the device.
The applicant sought to link the two registrations, but that request was rejected.
The Assistant Commissioner found that although the article itself was the same, the designs were not.
Why?
Because the features being claimed as novel were different.
The drawings changed the result
Manscaped also faced difficulties with its claimed US priority.
The later New Zealand design could not obtain priority from the earlier US application because the scope of protection being sought was not found in that earlier application.
There was another problem.
The features claimed as novel in the New Zealand registration had already appeared in representations filed with the earlier US application.
The design was therefore found not to be new or original.
The registration had been accepted in error and was ordered to be removed from the New Zealand register.
Why this matters
Businesses often think of design protection as protecting the overall appearance of a product.
It can be much more precise than that.
Small differences in how drawings are prepared — including what is shown in solid or dashed lines — can affect exactly what the application claims.
That can also become important when businesses file related design applications in several countries and rely on an earlier application for priority.
The practical lesson is simple:
Do not treat the drawings as an administrative part of the filing process.
Before filing, businesses should be clear about:
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which features of the product they actually want to protect;
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how those features are represented in the drawings;
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whether multiple design filings may be needed;
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what was disclosed in earlier applications; and
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whether the international filing strategy preserves the priority being claimed.
For product businesses, getting this wrong can mean ending up with protection that is narrower than expected — or no valid registration at all.
Developing a new product or planning design filings in multiple markets? IP Solved can help you build a design protection strategy before you launch.
This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. Specific advice should be obtained for your business and target markets.
