As of 14 June 2024, CIPO has revised its position that designs applied to buildings and structures constructed on site are not registrable as industrial designs.

Historically, CIPO was of the view that designs applied to buildings and structures were not registrable as they were not finished articles to which designs could be applied. Previous versions of CIPO’s Industrial Design Office Practice Manual (the “IDOP”) stated that “to be registrable, these designs must be applied to buildings or structures capable of being preformed, portable and delivered separately to purchasers as finished articles, or in sections to be put together by a simple operation such as bolting.”

After the change, CIPO considers buildings and structures (including buildings and structures constructed on site) as acceptable finished articles to which designs can be applied.

The revised practice is applicable to all pending applications regardless of when they were filed. Note that applications for registration of a design applied to a building or structure must still meet all other requirements for registrability under s. 7 of the Industrial Design Act.

More information is available in section 13.02.03.04 of the current version of the IDOP.