Design
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Design
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Design rights protection begins with the registration of a design. Our team of experienced design experts will advise you on the subject of design registration and register designs and registered designs for you worldwide.
Design application
In a world where competition is increasingly international and demanding, the protection of creative innovations is becoming more and more important. The timely protection of your designs (formerly and in some legal systems still referred to as design patents) is an essential step in securing your creative achievements and setting yourself apart from the competition in the long term. But why should you protect your design ideas and what are the advantages? Which design concepts are generally eligible for protection? What costs are associated with a design application? What formal and content-related requirements do you need to take into account and how is the application process structured?
Benefit from a professional registration of your designs: Our service supports you competently and comprehensively – from the initial consultation and examination of the registration documents to successful registration. This will turn your innovative design into a sustainable competitive advantage and secure you exclusive long-term laws for your design.
Advantages of a design application
Regardless of whether you are a start-up, a designer or an established company – protecting your design innovations in good time offers numerous advantages. A registered design application secures the external appearance of your products – be it shape, lines, coloring or surface structure – and protects them from imitation and unauthorized use by third parties.
The protection of a design grants you an exclusive right of use in commercial transactions and contributes significantly to strengthening the identity of your company. A registered design increases the confidence of customers, investors and business partners and can sustainably increase the market value of your products and services. By registering your design, you are not only investing in effective legal protection, but also in the long-term perception and exclusivity of your creative achievement.
Registering designs is a fast, effective and comparatively inexpensive way to protect your two- or three-dimensional designs. Unlike other property rights, which can be renewed indefinitely in principle, the protection of designs under design law is limited in time – generally up to 25 years, provided the corresponding renewal fees are paid. However, this creates a clear legal situation during the term of protection and prevents the subsequent registration of comparable designs by third parties, which gives you additional security in competition.
Benefit from professional advice and comprehensive support during the design application process – from the examination of protectability through to successful registration. This ensures that your innovative concepts are legally protected in the long term and can be used as a competitive advantage.
Info box
What is a
unregistered
Design patent?
The unregistered Community design offers automatic but time-limited design protection throughout the EU without registration. It is particularly relevant for products with short market cycles, for example in the fashion industry.
Recommendation:
Registration is preferable for important designs with longer-term significance. The unregistered design is suitable as a supplement or for designs with short-term market relevance.
- Key features:
- Term of protection: 3 years from first publication in the EU
- Automatic protection without registration and fees
- Requirements for protection: Novelty and individual character as with a registered design
- Creation of protection through verifiable first-time publication in the EU
- Only protection against imitation (copies), not against independent parallel developments
- Burden of proof for creation and ownership lies with the rights holder
- Main differences to the registered design:
- Shorter term of protection (3 years instead of max. 25 years)
- No proof of ownership available in the register
- Narrower scope of protection (only against copies)
- No registration costs, but higher documentation requirements
- More difficult enforcement due to burden of proof for the creation of property rights
Special feature of the registration: The lack of a substantive examination
An important special feature of a design is that, unlike in patent law, for example, the Patent and Trademark Office does not check whether a design is actually new or has individual character. Only a formal examination is carried out. This means that
- Registration does not verify that the design is actually eligible for protection.
- Designs can be registered that are not actually eligible for protection.
- Whether a design is really sustainable is usually only tested in the risk of injury.
The lack of a content check has the advantage that designs can be registered very quickly and comparatively inexpensively.
What can be registered as a design?
Under design law, you can protect a variety of creative elements. For example, you can register the external appearance of products as a design – this includes shapes, patterns, colors, lines, textures and surface structures. Innovative three-dimensional designs such as packaging, furniture or technical devices can also be registered, provided they have an independent character that distinguishes them from already known designs. Eligibility for registration requires that the design is new, has an individual character and is not exclusively determined by functional or technical requirements, as purely functional designs are generally not eligible for protection.
What does a design application cost?
The costs of a design application basically consist of the official fees and the costs for the lawyers commissioned with the application if you use their services. We enable you to register in numerous countries at attractive all-inclusive prices so that you benefit from a transparent and calculable cost structure.
Germany (DPMA)
1 Design
alone or as 1st design in a collective application
390€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with the DPMA during the entire application procedure
- Processing of fee payments with the DPMA
- Reply to any objections raised by the DPMA with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
Each additional design
in the same collective application
75€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with the DPMA during the entire application procedure
- Processing of fee payments with the DPMA
- Reply to any objections raised by the DPMA with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
European Union (EUIPO)
1 Design
alone or as 1st design in a collective application
490€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with the EUIPO throughout the application process
- Processing of fee payments with the EUIPO
- Reply to any objections raised by the EUIPO with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
Each additional design
in the same collective application
100€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with the EUIPO throughout the application process
- Processing of fee payments with the EUIPO
- Reply to any objections raised by the EUIPO with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
Switzerland (IGE)
1 Design
alone or as 1st design in a collective application
390€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with the IPI during the entire application process
- Processing fee payments with the IPI
- Responding to any objections from the IPI with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
Each additional design
in the same collective application
75€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with the IPI during the entire application process
- Processing fee payments with the IPI
- Responding to any objections from the IPI with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
International (WIPO)
1 Design
alone or as 1st design in a collective application
590€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with WIPO during the entire application process
- Processing of fee payments with WIPO
- Reply to any objections raised by WIPO with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
Each additional design
in the same collective application
100€
plus VAT.
plus official fees
- Check for formal registration requirements
- Selection and advice with regard to the images to be submitted for the design
- Classification of the design
- Communication with WIPO during the entire application process
- Processing of fee payments with WIPO
- Reply to any objections raised by WIPO with regard to formal objections to the application
- Monitoring the term of protection and reminder to extend
Our expertise – your advantage
Our law firm has many years of experience in registering and managing design rights worldwide. We look after a large number of designs in many countries around the world and have a very good international network of design attorneys. This means that we can offer you design protection anywhere in the world where it exists. Our team of design law experts combines many years of experience and sound legal expertise with practice-oriented advice to achieve the best possible design protection for you. You benefit from:
- Advice and analysis:
We advise you on how, where and to what extent you should register your designs and which registration makes sense and which does not. - Legal expertise:
Regular training and an intensive exchange within our professional network ensure that we are always up to date with the latest developments in design law. - Experience with trademark offices:
Thanks to our many years of experience, we know the special features of the individual patent and trademark offices and can therefore advise and represent you optimally. - International network:
We have a strong international network and are involved in international IP organizations such as INTA and ECTA. We work together with colleagues in design law worldwide in order to be able to handle design applications worldwide. - Individual support:
We provide you with individual support and develop customized solutions for your design application so that you receive the best possible protection.
Questions about design registration?
We are happy
to advise you on
Design right!
Our team
in design law
Our team
in design law
