Abstract:     In the design industry, the full use of design knowledge will enhance the value of design, improve the efficiency of design process, and develop the effect of knowledge aggregation. The existing researches create design knowledge management systems, which can realize the function of design knowledge acquisition, organization, retrieval and analysis. They are all closed design knowledge flow systems, which are limited in design enterprises or design institutions. On the one hand, the acquisition of design knowledge is slow and there are limitations in the types and quantity of knowledge. On the other hand, the vast majority of small and medium-sized design enterprises that constitute the main body of design industry cannot bear the costs of research, development and use of the system. There are also research attempts to develop design knowledge service platform. These researches introduce various kinds of participants to provide knowledge services. However, in the multi-party participation mode, there will be problems of intellectual property risk of design knowledge and evaluation of the effect and pricing of design knowledge services. These problems seriously hinder the application of knowledge management system.
     An important way to solve the above problems is to transform design knowledge into design intellectual property. As a form of knowledge defined in the form of clear legal property rights, design intellectual property rights have a much higher degree of marketization and standardization. They have more objective evaluation standards and facilitate the participation of all parties in the market. They can provide adequate legal protection for property owners, keep the smooth process of management and knowledge service, and greatly improve the system efficiency.
     The primary purpose of intellectual property management in design industry is to share knowledge, promote the circulation and utilization of design knowledge as the form of intellectual property in the industry. In terms of knowledge inflow, it provides design knowledge corresponding in real cases for the design process, which can save time and improve efficiency for designers; in terms of knowledge output, it encourages designers and design institutions to sort out design knowledge in design projects and share with others by getting paid for knowledge services. A good knowledge sharing mechanism will promote the collaborative innovation of the whole industry. This collaboration is not only the collaboration within the enterprise or under the connection of design projects, but also the collaborative innovation between designers and design institutions based on knowledge aggregation and evolution in the environment of knowledge sharing community in the whole design industry.
     By analyzing the design knowledge in the design process, the design knowledge flow model is established. In this model, design knowledge is constantly used and evolved to form a spiral path of knowledge innovation and development. By inducting design knowledge, we can sort out the form of design results, as well as the corresponding types of intellectual property rights. The design results shall be convenient for the circulation of design knowledge in the whole system: convenient for design knowledge management and intellectual property management, convenient for knowledge reuse in design practice, and convenient for authorization and use of design intellectual property. 
    On the basis of the research on the flow process of design knowledge and the standard types of design results, this paper constructs the intellectual property management mode of design industry around the flow process of design knowledge in all levels of design industry.
    The main task of design organization is to realize the effective concentration and rational utilization of design intellectual property rights in the whole industry. Design organizations need to carry out the following work: (1) Building design intellectual property service platform. (2) Formulating the management standard of design intellectual property. (3) Providing supportive services of design intellectual property management. (4) Promoting the awareness of intellectual property management in the whole industry.
    The main task of design institutions is to establish the internal design intellectual property management system, which mainly includes: (1) Standards of internal design intellectual property management. (2) Managing design knowledge. (3) Specification of design knowledge usage. (4) Specification of knowledge output. (5) Design knowledge database. 
    The main task of the designer is to acquire and sort out the knowledge according to the operation standard of design intellectual property management which was formulated by the design organization in the design process. The effective operation of intellectual property management mode in design industry depends on the active promotion and coordination of design organization, design institutions and designers. Design organization builds platform, provides services, guides and motivates design institutions to submit and use design knowledge achievements. Design institutions establish internal intellectual property management system; promote the accumulation, innovation and achievement transformation of design knowledge. They can obtain the income of intellectual property rights from the outward circulation of design results and form a virtuous circle to encourage the interior, and improve the efficiency of interior design production by promoting the utilization of design knowledge. Designers implement specific intellectual property management procedures to achieve the effective use and output of design knowledge in the design process. The three levels of intellectual property management jointly promote knowledge sharing and collaborative innovation in the design industry. And multi-level intellectual property management mechanism is also conducive to the realization of sustainable development of collaborative innovation mode.

Key words:  design industry, design knowledge, intellectual property, knowledge management, cooperative innovation