A design protects the external appearance of an industrial or artisanal product, or a part of it. This protection covers, in particular, its lines, contours, colors, shapes, and textures. Like trademarks, it grants its owner an exclusive right of use, allowing them to prohibit any unauthorized reproduction or imitation, either amicably or through legal action.
To be protectable, the design must have individual character, i.e., it must not give the informed observer a sense of déjà vu in relation to creations disclosed before the filing date.
Protecting a design requires registration with the competent intellectual property Office of the territory concerned before any public disclosure. However, some jurisdictions allow a grace period, permitting filing after an initial public presentation without loss of rights, generally one year, for example, for the European design.
A registered design enjoys initial protection for five years, renewable in successive five-year periods, for a maximum of twenty-five years.
There is also a form of protection without registration, known as an “unregistered European Union design,” that is valid throughout the European Union. This protection arises automatically upon the first public disclosure of the design within the Union and lasts for three years from that date.