The principle of a design registration is to disclose the registered design to the public via publication.

To the contrary, the system of secret designs is to keep a design secret, upon the applicant's request at the time of filing a design application, by not publishing the design for a designated period which shall not exceed 3 years from the date of registration. The merits of this system are that the imitation of the registered design can be prevented and that the registered design owner's loss of profit from the imitation can also be prevented.