369 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW The applicant does not have to be the designer. However, in accordance withArticle 61 of the IPC, if the applicant is not the designer, it must be explained in the application how the applicant obtained the right to apply for a design from the designer or designers. Conditions for Protection of Designs In accordance with Article 56 of the IPC, designs can only benefit from design protection provided that they are new and distinctive. Novelty If an identical design has not been presented to the public in any part of the world before application or priority date of the design, it shall be accepted as new. Accordingly, if the designs differ in small details, the novelty criterion will not be satisfied. By presenting the design to the public within the scope of the IPC, it is meant that the design is exhibited, put on the market through sale, use, description, publication, promotion, or taking part in activities for similar purposes. Disclosure of the design to a third party on the condition of confidentiality is outside the scope of public presentation. Distinctiveness If the general impression left by the design on the informed user is different from the general impression created on the user by any design presented to the public before the application or priority date of the design, it is considered to have a distinctive feature. An informed user is a careful and experienced product user who is not a designer or technical expert, but is aware that such designs exist in the industry. While examining the existence of the distinctive feature, the designer’s degree of freedom of choice while creating the design is considered. A designer’s freedom of choice may be narrowed due to the limitations caused by the technical functions of the product, usage safety, or legal requirements. For example, the freedom of choice
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