Designs
In view of the tough competition in all sectors, more and more companies have come to regard the design of their products as an opportunity to promote sales and a way of setting themselves apart from the competition visually. Especially the manufacturers of consumer goods such as domestic appliances, furniture, lamps, electrical and sanitary ware often devote great attention to the tiniest details in the design and in this way stand out from “common-or-garden products”.
Design is culture in everyday life, joie de vivre, a feeling of value ...
These thoughts are occupying more and more companies. They also give cars, computers, torches and bus stops an individual appearance, an unmistakable character – a special design of this kind can be protected with a registered design.
More and more consumers do not just want to buy a product, but rather to acquire something that appeals to them aesthetically, which matches their personality and has an unmistakable character – this special design can be protected throughout the EU with Community designs.
With this intellectual property right, a distinction has to be made between unregistered and registered Community designs – both grant protection within the European Union, but with different terms.
The registration of a design can be applied for at the respective office. To do so, application documents must be prepared and filed with respective office, which will then carry out a formal examination of the design application. If the office concludes that the design applied for is eligible for registration, it will enter the design in the official design register. In this way, design protection can be obtained, which initially lasts for five years from the date of filing the design application and can then, at least in Germany and in the European Union, be extended four times for a further five years each time.
Depending on the specific project, SCHATZ develops a customized protection strategy for its clients. Based on this protection strategy, SCHATZ prepares the necessary application documents. After submitting them to the relevant office, SCHATZ represents its clients before the relevant office and handles the official application process through to the eventual registration of a design. SCHATZ then assists in maintaining the design protection.
Depending on client's interests, it may be advisable to file a national design application, in particular a German design application, a regional design application, in particular a Community design application, or an application for international registration of an existing design on a global level. SCHATZ IP happy to advise on the advantages of the respective type of property right and the associated costs.
Once a design has been registered, SCHATZ IP also advises and represents clients in matters relating to the enforcement of design protection against alleged design infringers. Design protection can be enforced, for example, by means of a request for authorization, a warning letter, or a design infringement lawsuit.
In addition, the SCHATZ IP assists in defending the design against attacks by third parties. Such an attack may take the form of a cancellation request, for example.
If a client has a design protection, it may be advisable to challenge a third party's later registered design if this third-party design affects client's design protection and no other agreement can be reached with the owner of the third-party design. In this regard, SCHATZ IP advises and represents clients before the respective office. The attack on the third-party design can take place, for example, in the course of nullity proceedings before the German Patent and Trademark Office or the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).
Particularly in cases where there is no intention to manufacture a design protected by a registered design, licensing of the design protection may be considered in order to allow licensees to manufacture the protected design and to receive financial compensation for this. SCHATZ IP provides advice on such licensing matters and, in particular, assists in the drafting and negotiation of license agreements.
Design protection can be enforced against imitators and is therefore an indispensable means of protecting one's own creative activities. Design protection is just as important for start-ups as it is for small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in order to be able to participate assertively in economic life. In addition, design protection naturally also plays an important role in large-scale industry. SCHATZ IP is happy to assist its clients in all matters relating to design protection.
