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The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union
In law, a design is the outward appearance of a product or part of it, resulting from the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, materials and/or its ornamentation.
Why protect your designs?
The design or shape of a product can be synonymous with the branding and image of a company and can become an asset with increasing monetary value. If you do not apply for protection others may benefit from your investments.
What is a product?
A product can be any industrial or handicraft item including packaging, graphic symbols and typefaces but excluding computer programmes. It also includes products that are composed of multiple components, which may be disassembled and reassembled.
What is the difference between a design and other Industrial Property Rights such as patents and trade marks?
All industrial property rights are intended to protect the creativity of businesses and individuals. However they do not cover the same aspects.
A design only covers the appearance of a product. A design cannot protect the function of a product.
A trade mark identifies the origin of goods and services of one undertaking to differentiate them from those of its competitors.
A patent covers the function, operation or construction of an invention. To be patentable, a function must be innovative, have an industrial application and be described in such a fashion to permit reproduction of the process.