Design. The external appearance of an object or product may be protected as a design. This requires that the appearance be new and possess ‘individual character’. This is the case if the design conveys a different ‘overall impression’ from that which is already known in the field of design heritage. Design right offers a specific form of protection for industrial design, whereby those elements that are technically determined are excluded from protection.
Protection. A design right grants the design right holder the exclusive right to market the design – in short. This protection applies to all products that do not create a general impression different from that of the design.
Design registration and duration. Registration is not necessary for design right protection. Under European design law, every design enjoys protection as an unregistered Community design for a period of three years following its launch on the market in the European Union. Within one year of that market launch, the holder has the opportunity to register the design as a Benelux design or a Community design, thereby entitling them to a term of protection of up to twenty-five years.
International. As with trade marks, design rights applicable in the Netherlands are Benelux designs or Community designs, which are based on a Benelux registration with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (‘BBIE’) or a registration for the European Union with the European Union Intellectual Property Office in Alicante (‘EUIPO’).
Design agents. Applying for design rights also requires a certain level of expertise, particularly where international registrations are concerned. Design agents specialise in this field.