Designs protect the appearance or shape of a product. In particular a UK Registered Design or Community Design protects the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product or its ornamentation. There can be some overlap with Trade Mark registration, and we can advise you of the pros and cons in this regard.

To read more about the importance of design registration to your business, please click here.

Registered design protection for new products can be obtained quickly and relatively cost effectively in the UK. A number of designs can now be filed in a single application, as long as the designs are of the same type. Furthermore, the applicant can take advantage of a one year novelty grace period, which means that if the design has been disclosed, then protection may still be possible. We can advise you on these issues on a case by case basis.

For more information on the procedure and costs for obtaining a UK Registered Design, please click here.

A Community Registered Design is a unitary right giving protection in the 27 countries of Europe in a single registration. This is a very cost effective method of protecting designs in Europe. As with a UK Registered Design, multiple designs of the same type can be filed in a single application, and the applicant can take advantage of a one year novelty grace period, which means that if the design has been disclosed, then protection may still be possible. We can advise you on these issues on a case by case basis.

For more information on the procedure and costs for obtaining a Community Registered Design, please click here.

In most countries, we are able to obtain Registered Design protection through our network of local attorneys around the world.

For more information on filing national design applications in other countries, please click here.

When a design is created in the UK, design right in the design subsists automatically by virtue of the design's creation. No formal registration procedure is necessary. Protection can last for a maximum of 15 years from the end of the calendar year in which the design was first recorded in a design document or an article was first made to the design, whichever occurred first.

A similar right, Unregistered Community Design (UCD) right, comes into being when a design is first made available to the public in the European Community. However, a UCD has a term limited to 3 years from the date that the design is first made available to the public.

For more information on Unregistered Design Rights, please click here.