Designs

It may be possible to protect your products by establishing that you have rights in the design of them. A design may be protected by either unregistered design right or a registered design.

Unregistered design right can subsist in designs which are original and not common place in the design field in question. The protection is for any aspect or shape or configuration of the whole or part of an article subject to certain exclusions which apply. If you have an unregistered design right in a product, this will prevent anyone else from copying it. As it is an unregistered right, the protection arises automatically without any need for registration.

A registered design protects (in general terms) the external appearance of the whole or part of an article. It applies to new and distinctive designs. If someone else produces a product which is the same as a product for which you have a registered design, you do not need to prove that they have copied your design, only that it is the same or substantially similar to your product. The features of a product for which a registered design right is claimed must be visible in normal use. A registered design will not be granted for features of appearance of a product which are solely dictated by the product’s technical function. You will need to pay a fee and make an application for a registered design.

Sometimes there is an overlap between trade marks and registered designs, and between copyright, design rights and registered designs.

Should you require any advice on design right please contact a member of our team.

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