The design of products involves considerable skill and care if a pleasing shape or pattern is to be produced that will appeal to customers.

A design can be protected by means of a registered design.  A registered design is a property right that protects the aesthetic appearance of an article, and hence has relevance in cases where a product may lack a technical aspect, but nevertheless incorporates new features which are appealing to the eye. The recently introduced Registered European Community Design provides a new avenue by which registered design protection may be obtained across the European Community (see details under Latest News in our Information Centre and Resources pages).

A design can also be protected by means of unregistered design right.  This is a more limited form of protection, but can be of use where a competitor is directly copying a feature of an original design.

Links: Designs  Intellectual Property News  .