Design Rights
Registered Design
With registered designs the appearance of the whole or a part of a product may be protected. Before registration, the formal conformity with the law is examined. The maximum period of protection is 25 years from the date of the filing of the application.
A registered design confers on its owner the exclusive right to use it and to prevent any third party not having his consent from using it. The aforementioned use covers, in particular, the making, offering, putting on the market, importing, exporting or using of a product in which the design is incorporated or to which it is applied, or stocking such a product for those purposes.
Unregistered Community Design
With unregistered Community designs the appearance of the whole or a part of a product may be protected. The period of protection ends three years after the date on which the design was first made available to the public within the Community.
An unregistered Community design confers on its holder the same rights as a registered Community design, but only if the contested use results from copying the unregistered Community design.