How to protect my design?

Want to know how to protect your design? The scope of protection of a design will be primarily determined by the representations of the design. Therefore, the images used in the design filing and the quality thereof are of key importance. 

The regulations on designs can be very different from country to country. The images of the design will have to meet different requirements in different countries. In some countries, the owner of a design can rely on a grace period, allowing him to make its design public before registering it. In other countries, however, there is no such grace period. In view hereof, if you wish to protect your design outside of the EU, an international strategy needs to be outlined. 

A design filing strategy must also be aligned with a patent strategy, if applicable, in order to avoid a possible loss of patent rights due to the different interpretations of novelty between design and patents. 

A design made public in Europe can claim some protection, but only for a short period. Only after its registration a design is fully protected for a maximum term of 25 (provided it is renewed every 5 years). 

We strongly believe that proper choice of design representations is a critical step to maximize scope of protection of your designs. We advise accordingly in the preparation of your Design registration applications. 

We also integrate design filing plans into your overall Intellectual Property protection strategy, to leverage the complementary protection and early enforcement role of designs. 

GEVERS proactively advise on international filing requirements, while preparing your first-filed registration application, to maximize your chances of obtaining commercially –relevant protection in your markets of interest. 

Thanks to our long standing expertise in design matters, we can provide top level advice on all aspects of design filing and prosecution at national, regional and international level, together with our extensive global network of local agents. 

This is how we empower you: 

• Strategic advice on design protection 
• Draft of design representations 
• Incorporate designs in global IP and commercial strategy 
• International filing strategy