A UK design registration protects your design in the UK only. If you wish to protect your design outside of the UK then you need to register the design in the countries of interest to you. We work with a network of foreign associates to enable us to register your designs overseas.

 

If you wish to protect your design in multiple European countries then it is easier and more economical to apply for a European Union design registration. The procedure to register an EU design is similar to that in the UK. It is possible to claim “priority” from an earlier filed UK design application if the EU design application is filed within 6 months of the UK filing date. This means that the EU application is given the same filing date as the earlier UK application.

 

The requirements for an EU design registration are that the design is new and has individual character. There is a twelve month “grace period” during which your application can be marketed before filing an application, without the disclosure destroying the novelty of your application. We can arrange for an EU application to be filed with the EU Intellectual Property Office, the European Union agency responsible for registering designs. It is possible to include multiple designs in a single application as a series, provided that the designs are linked to the same type of goods. The application will be examined for formal requirements and, if there are no problems, will proceed to grant and be published within a few months.

 

An EU design registration provides unitary and uniform protection in all of the states of the European Union. The registration lasts for a maximum of twenty five years, provided renewal fees are paid every five years. An EU design registration will allow you to prevent unauthorised production and importation of your design in the EU.