Designs
The term "design", in the field of IP, means the appearance and form of the whole or a part of a product. In other words, design protection is used to protect the aesthetic features of a product.
Examples of products that may enjoy design protection are packaging, toys, tools, jewellery, household appliances, textiles, clothing etc.
For more information on designs please click on the links below.
Design basics
What is a design?
The term "design", in the field of intellectual property rights (IP), means the appearance and form of the whole or a part of a product. In other words, design protection is used to protect the aesthetic features of a product.
What can be design protected
Some examples of products falling under the category "design" are packaging, toys, tools, jewellery, and household appliances. The functionality or technical features of a product cannot be design protected and should be covered by other methods of protection, i.e. patent protection or utility model protection.
Designs may be used in conjunction with trademarks to protect the entirety of a product. For example, in addition to the protection of the Coca-Cola name by registered trademark, the shape of the bottle and design of the logo are protected by registered design (the bottle is also protected by trademark).
Registered designs are preferable to non-registered designs as the latter provides no protection against deceptively similar designs.
What is required for protection?
A registrable design must be novel, in that it must not be publicly known prior to the filing of an application. Thus, the object for the design must not have been put on the market, displayed in exhibitions or brochures, or mentioned in lectures etc. In addition, a design must have individual character and differ substantially from already marketed products and prior registered designs.
The Danish Design Act of 1 October 2002 introduced a grace period of 12 months. This gives the proprietor an opportunity to:
- publish the design; and
- test the position of the design on the market before applying for registration of a design.
However, in order to maintain the novelty of the design, it is necessary to file a design application within 12 months of the publication of the design. If no such application is filed, the design will not be considered novel and will not be registrable.
Why protect a design?
- Design protection gives you a competitive advantage in the marketplace by helping you differentiate your product from others.
- Design protection adds value to your design/trademark and to your business.
- By protecting your design, you can prevent others from commercially using a design identical or very similar to your own design.
How to obtain design protection?
Design protection is obtained by filing a design application with the Patent and Trademark Office. The design team at Høiberg will assist you in preparing and filing your application.
Design protection in other countries
The first design application filed is a priority-founding application establishing a right to claim priority according to the Paris Convention. The Paris Convention is an international convention aiming at harmonising national legislation in the field of intellectual property. The establishment of a priority implies that an applicant may file a design application in countries having ratified the Paris Convention within 6 months after having filed a priority-founding application.
A design application claiming priority from a priority-founding application will be considered filed on the filing date of the priority application. The priority date of an application is of importance in connection with judging the novelty of the design and the relationship of the application to earlier applications. It may, therefore, be of the utmost importance to obtain an early filing date.
We would be pleased to advise you on any issues relating to filing design applications abroad.
Design protection in Denmark
Filing requirements
An application should as a minimum be accompanied by the following:
- information on the applicant (or creator, if different from the applicant)
- picture(s) showing the design
- possible priority information.
Priority
Priority may be claimed in accordance with the Paris Convention. The priority period is six months.
Prosecution
- The design application is only examined in respect of formalities. If desired, a novelty search may be conducted by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office on request.
- When accepted for registration, the design registration will be published for opposition purposes in the Danish Design Gazette. The opposition period runs for 2 months.
- If no oppositions are filed against the registration of the design, the design registration will become final.
Duration
The duration of a design registration in Denmark is 25 years. The first registration period runs for 5 years and the registration is then renewable for one or more periods of five years each, up to a total term of 25 years from the date of filing.
Design protection in the European Community
Since 2003, a single application filed at the European Office for Harmonization in The Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs) provides design protection in all 25 EU members.
Legal aspects of designs:
Definition of a design according to the regulation
"Design" means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation.
Protection requirements
A design shall be protected by a Community design to the extent that it is new and has individual character.
Multiple application
Several designs may be combined in one multiple application for registered Community designs provided that they belong to the same class.
Novelty
A design shall be considered to be new if no identical design has been previously made available to the public.
Term of protection
Once registered, a community design shall be protected by a period of five years as from the filing date. The registration may be renewed for one or more periods of five years each, up to a total term of 25 years from the date of filing.