▶ Design protection in Europe / European community design: apply for an EU design / register a European design patent – information from Patent Attorney / “Design Attorney”
If you want design protection in Europe (more precisely: design protection in the EU) – i.e. if you want to apply for an EU design / European community design or if you want to apply for a design patent – you will find in the following some information from our Patent Attorney / Patent Lawyer or “European Design Attorney” (European Patent, Trademark and Design Attorney). Alternatively, you can contact us directly for design protection in Europe.
If you need design protection in Europe (the European Union) and would like to apply for an “EU design” (Community Design), just use our online design protection form and we can apply for your design protection after further coordination.
By following these links you will find further information (also about the costs and prices) for EU design protection, design protection in Germany as well as international design protection:
EU Design application: Important questions & answers
Requirements for design protection in Europe / EU design protection definition under EU design law:
According to the EU design law / European Design Protection Act (actually: Community Design Regulation (CDR)), an EU design is protected by a Community design if it is new and has individual character. In order to clarify this in advance, an EUIPO design protection search may be advisable, although such a search is often quite time-consuming / expensive and also does not provide final legal certainty.
What is the benefit of a design protection in Europe at the EUIPO? Why should I apply for an EU design or a Community design? What are the advantages of design protection or a design application in Europe?
An EUIPO design protection, i.e. a design protection in Europe – more precisely the European Union (EU) – has various advantages. For example, a registered design can be used to advertise the respective protected product, which is often attractive to customers and business partners. If the protected design is copied or imitated by third parties in the European Union, an EU design enables action to be taken against them and an injunctive relief to be sought in the European Union. Claims for information and damages can also be asserted against the infringers.
EU design protection examples
EU design protection examples can vary a lot, as they can concern almost all two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects if they meet the protection requirements. Basically, design protection for spare parts and design protection for automotive parts is also possible.
Design applications are particularly popular, for example, in the field of furniture, lights / lamps, clothing, glasses or other everyday objects. Also many offers on the Amazon marketplace are protected by the Amazon dealers / Amazon marketplace sellers or their suppliers via a design protection.
In general, a design protection in Europe – despite some differences – also has certain overlaps with copyright law.
What does a design protection cost? What are the EU design protection costs or design patent costs for a “design protection Europe”?
The costs for a design protection in Europe or the European Union depend on the number of designs to be filed. The basic fee of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for the first design application is higher than the costs for the further designs within a collective application for a “design patent in Europe” / “European design patent”. If a design lawyer (e.g. Patent Lawyer, European Patent, Trademark and Design Attorney, specialist attorney for industrial property protection / Certified IP Lawyer) is to support you with the design protection, the costs for the design attorney are added in addition to the official fees.
Design protection by use or design protection without application or design protection without registration?
Strictly speaking, design protection by use is not possible, but there is design protection on the EU level without application or registration. This so-called unregistered Community design is created by the first publication of a design in the European Union and then runs for 3 years without the need for a paid registration at the EUIPO. However, the rights and possibilities that a non-registered Community design gives are significantly less than a registered EU design, so it is better to file a design application in the European Union after all in order to obtain defined design protection in Europe.
From when is design protection valid in the European Union? When does EU design protection start?
An EU design protection of an unregistered Community design comes into existence immediately after publication, whereas for a registered design the date of registration is decisive for the start of the EU design protection.
How long is design protection valid in Europe? What is the maximum design protection duration of an EU design?
A design protection in Europe / the European Union is valid for a maximum of 25 years, whereby the initial protection period is 5 years and then a renewal is required for a further 5 years at a time.
Infringement of design protection of an EU design
An infringement of the design protection of an EU design exists if the possible imitation does not create a different overall impression on the informed user. However, it always depends on the individual case and ultimately on the assessment of the court involved.
It is common for a copycat to try to circumvent design protection, although the differences should be quite recognizable in this case.
Design protection infringement examples
A design protection infringement of an EU design / Community registered design exists, for example, if the newer product creates the same overall impression as the EU design and e.g. often happens on internet marketplaces like Amazon or Ebay.
If you need assistance in filing a design patent in the EU or a European design patent to get design protection in Europe through a European Community design / EU design, our German Patent and Intellectual Property Law Firm is happy to assist you with attractive flat fee prices. Our experienced EU Patent Lawyer (European Patent, Trademark and Design Attorney) and German Attorney / German Certified Intellectual Property Lawyer assisted many clients and colleagues in recent years and are ready for your inquiries. Feel free to contact us without obligation!