DESIGNS

Designs are defined as “the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation”. Designs can be protected if they are novel and have an individual character. A design can be registered in the European Union as a whole as a Community designs or in individual member states. The registration is conducted without substantive examination and the maximum term of protection is 25 years. For design applications, a drawing or photograph of the object for which protection is sought is required. The detail of the representation of the object determines the scope of protection of the registered design and is therefore crucial. In addition limited protection, for a period of three years, can be achieved through unregistered Community designs in the European Union.