We register national, international or community designs with the Respective Official Office and monitorize all necessary proceedings up to its grant.
Registered designs protect the outer appearance of a product, that results from its lines, contours, colors, ornamentation, form, texture or material, provided that the mentioned appearance is novel and has individual character.
It does not take into account its technical of functional characteristics.
Designs are eligible for protection if they fulfil the two requirements of novelty and individual character.
Designs that are not completely new but are a new combination of known elements are also eligible for protection by Registered Design.
A Design is novel if, before its filing date, no other design has been made known to the general public.
In order for a design to be registered, it may not be confusingly similar to any other prior product.
| What to protect through a Design registration? | Cares to have | Competitive advantages to having a Registered Design | Duration of the Design | How to internationalize? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
APP, software and webpages layouts Containers or packages Complex product components Product lines, contours and textures Tipographical characters (fonts or lettering) Casts Advertisement panels art Store, hotels, restaurants layouts Outer appearnace of a product Craftwork Furniture |
Priority search Target market identification |
Disruptive differentiation Value added Visual impact Conveys values subjacent to the product Market exclusivity Anti-counterfeiting Values finantial and intellectual investments |
25 years if renewed every 5 years |
Community Design International Design National Design in relevant jurisdictions |
A registered National Design confers exclusive rights in the relevant jurisdiction.
A registered Community Design is initially valid for 5 years from the date o filing and can be renewed for 5 years periods, up to a maximum duration of 25 years.
Community Designs are protected agains similar designs, even if there was no bad-faith involved in the creation of the conflicting design.
The legal protected confered by the Registered Design is strong and can be easily enforced.
An unregistered Community Design benefits from protection for a period of 3 years from the date in which the design has been first made available to the public within the European Union. After 3 years, this protection may not be extended.
The Unregistered Community Designs grant their creator the right to prevent commercial use only towards intentional copies created by entities resorting to bad-faith, which means, entities that had previous knowledge of a prior design.
Through a single filing the International Design will, after grant, be protected in over 62 countries or jurisdictions.
How do I know if my creation is a Design? It is common to confuse Patents, Utility Models and Designs. We perform technical analysis of your innovation. Contact us here: no strings attached.