Infringement advice

Having registered your design you will obviously want to be able to oppose to parties who are copying your design. The conditions that determine whether a design can be considered valid are basically the same conditions that determine whether another design should be considered to be an infringing design.

New

Designs must be new. Within the EU designs are also considered new provided they have been published or shown to third parties within no more than one year from the date on which request for protection was submitted. Whether designs, both within the Benelux and the European Union, can be considered new will be based on whether they have been brought to the attention of the experts in the relevant fields within the European Economic Area (European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

Individual character

Each design must have its own individual character. This basically means that the general impression a design has on the informed user (consumers and/or experts), varies from the general impression a user develops through existing, publicly available designs. In other words, a new design must clearly deviate from existing ones. One significant aspect in this regard is the freedom the designer should have in developing the design. During the design process the designer must bear in mind the functional requirements of the product which might limit the creative process. These requirements may vary per branch of industry.

Level of protection

The exact level of protection is also determined by the following:

1. How unique is the design? In other words, to which extent does it vary from existing designs?
2. Has the design been technically determined? Elements of which the model has been determined by a technical restriction are in general excluded from protection. The technical elements of a modular system are an exception to this rule.  

Procedure and advice

Should anyone infringe your design right, together we will find the perfect solution. The first step will be to contact the infringer to find out if he is willing to negotiate. If this attempt fails, legal proceedings may be initiated.

To object to infringement on time we kindly advise you to:

• keep a close eye on the market and contact us at the earliest stage possible
• subscribe to our watch service allowing us to warn you the moment similar community designs are submitted for registration. Subscription rates start at EUR 150 annually.