Designs are an often-neglected part of a rounded intellectual property portfolio. Covering the appearance of products in most countries, and surface decoration of objects, user interfaces, logos and the like in the UK and the European Union, registered designs can offer significant protection to businesses, including those involved with traditional manufacturing, fashion, the creators of apps and computer software.
Our attorneys bring their experience, enthusiasm, pragmatism and creativity to bear on their clients’ business to provide valuable advice and maximise the intellectual property protection they enjoy by their use of registered designs.
The registered design system is, at least in the UK and the European Union (known as the Community registered design system), a system that is swift to provide registered rights which can then be enforced (registered protection is often possible in a matter of days or weeks).
It is possible in some circumstances to obtain protection after the design has actually been disclosed to the public, which can provide a means for protecting a product that has achieved unexpected commercial success. It is also possible to register designs whilst keeping them secret, before something incorporating the design is launched to the public.
Our attorneys are keenly aware of changes in design law, including developments with the increasingly popular international Hague system of designs, which can make design protection worldwide more accessible and affordable for clients.
This understanding of the designs field, along with an acute awareness of their clients’ business objectives, means that our attorneys can provide their clients with an edge over their competitors.
In addition to registered designs, our attorneys are experienced in connection with the various unregistered design rights that may exist in the UK and European Union. These rights are self-generating and many clients own a number of unregistered design rights without knowing it.
