You spent weeks—maybe months—refining a product design. The form is clean, the proportions feel right, and the concept finally clicks. Now a client, investor, or manufacturer wants to see it.
But a question stops you cold:
Do industrial designers need a patent before showing a product to clients?
This is one of the most common—and most expensive—mistakes industrial designers make. Share too early without protection, and you could lose patent rights or watch your design get copied. Wait too long, and you risk slowing deals or losing clients.
In this guide, we’ll break down:
Whether you’re freelancing, working in-house, or launching your own product, this article will help you share designs with confidence—without losing ownership.
Short answer: not always—but more often than you think.
Industrial designers are not legally required to have a patent before showing a product to a client. However, showing a design publicly or to the wrong party can permanently damage your ability to patent it later.
The risk depends on:
Let’s break this down.
Before deciding whether you need a patent, it’s important to understand what tools are available.
A design patent protects the ornamental appearance of a product—not how it works.
Design patents protect:
Examples:
If your value is in how the product looks, design patents are often critical.
Utility patents protect how something works, not how it looks.
Examples:
Some industrial designers collaborate on utility inventions, but most design-focused professionals rely on design patents.
Non-disclosure agreements can help—but they are not a substitute for patent protection.
NDAs:
This is where designers get into trouble.
In the U.S., once a design is publicly disclosed, you generally have 12 months to file a patent application.
Outside the U.S.?
Many countries have zero grace period. Public disclosure can mean instant loss of rights.
Public disclosure includes:
If you plan to seek international protection, early disclosure can be fatal.
Many designers assume client meetings are “safe.” That’s not always true.
A disclosure may be considered public if:
Even a single email with unprotected images can qualify.
If you are pitching original concepts to:
You should at minimum:
A patent may not be required before the meeting—but waiting too long after can be costly.
Manufacturers are one of the highest-risk disclosure points.
Common problems:
If you’re sending CAD files, renders, or prototypes to manufacturers:
If you are both the designer and the brand owner, you should strongly consider patent protection before any public exposure.
This includes:
Many founders lose rights before they realize they’re doing marketing.
Here are common mistakes industrial designers make:
Once disclosure happens, you can’t undo it.
Before filing anything, experienced designers take one critical step:
A prior art search answers two essential questions:
For industrial designers, this is crucial because:
A good search can:
At WizardIP, designers use prior art searches to decide:
You should strongly consider filing a design patent application before disclosure if:
Even a provisional strategy or early filing can preserve rights.
There are limited situations where designers may delay filing:
Even then, disclosure should be:
Waiting without a plan is risky.
Some designers assume copyright protects product designs. This is often incorrect.
If you’re serious about protecting product design, design patents matter.
Designers often worry about cost—but the bigger cost is exposure.
Filing without a strategy can be expensive.
Filing after disclosure can be impossible.
That’s why many designers:
This approach reduces risk and unnecessary spend.
Industrial designer creates a unique lighting fixture.
Result:
A prior art search before sharing could have changed everything.
If you want a simple checklist:
Before showing a product design:
So—do industrial designers need a patent before showing a product to clients?
Not always.
But they do need a strategy before disclosure.
The designers who protect their work best:
If your design matters, protect it intentionally—not accidentally.
Before you share your next product concept, run a professional prior art search and understand your options.
WizardIP helps industrial designers:
Your design deserves protection before the world sees it.
