Design Rights Registration
Registered design rights protect the visual appearance of a product or part of a product, including its shape, configuration, pattern, lines, colours, contours, texture, or ornamentation. Unlike patents, which protect the technical function of an invention, design rights protect the aesthetic or ornamental aspect of a product's appearance. Design registration is particularly important for consumer goods, fashion, furniture, electronics, packaging, graphic interfaces, and any product where the visual appearance contributes significantly to its market appeal and commercial value. A registered design gives the owner the exclusive right to use the design and to prevent competitors from using the same or a substantially similar design without consent.
Designs can be registered nationally through each country's industrial property office, through the EU Registered Community Design (RCD) system at the EUIPO which provides protection across all 27 EU member states with a single application at a relatively low cost, or internationally under the Hague System administered by WIPO which allows a single application to designate protection in over 90 contracting parties. EU Registered Community Designs provide protection for up to 25 years from the filing date, renewable in five-year increments. Neptune Fiduciaries Group advises on design right search, registration strategy, portfolio management, and design enforcement proceedings.
EU Registered Community Design via EUIPO
A single EU Registered Community Design application at the EUIPO provides design protection across all 27 EU member states at a single low fee, making it an extremely cost-effective tool for businesses selling designed products in the European market.
Hague System International Registration
The WIPO Hague System allows a single design application to designate protection in over 90 member countries, providing an efficient international design registration route for manufacturers selling designed products across multiple global markets.
25-Year Maximum Protection Period
EU Registered Community Designs provide up to 25 years of protection from filing date, renewed every five years, giving designers and manufacturers long term exclusive rights over the visual appearance of their products in the world's largest consumer market.
Design vs Patent vs Trademark Strategy
Many product features can be protected by more than one form of IP right. We advise on the optimal mix of design registration, patent protection, and trademark registration for each product, maximising the breadth and duration of intellectual property protection at reasonable cost.
Get in Touch
For further details, please contact Neptune Fiduciaries via email info@neptunecorporate.com or sales@neptunecorporate.com or visit our Contact Us page.
