Unregistered design rights

You don't have to register a design in order to protect it from copying.  The simplest alternative, at least for 3-dimensional designs, is to rely instead on something called "unregistered design right".  You get this right automatically when you create a new 3D design; you don't need to apply to the Patent Office for it.  All you have to do is to record the design, for instance on paper or in a computer file.

We advise that you date and name every drawing, to make it easier if you later need to prove that the design is yours.  This is particularly important for unregistered rights.

There is an EC-wide version of the unregistered design right, which again comes automatically as soon as you make a 3D design public in the EC.  This right protects you across the whole of the Community.

An unregistered design right has a shorter duration than a registered one, and is less strong because it only allows you to take action against people you can prove have actually copied your work.  It can also be harder to establish ownership of an unregistered right than a registered one, and therefore harder to take action against infringers.  However for short-lived products, or when resources are limited, it may be an appropriate way of protecting your designs – we can advise you on this.

Another way of protecting a product design is to apply a special trade mark to it, or even to treat the design itself as a trade mark.  Again we can advise on issues like this.  For more information, visit our Trade marks pages.