Community Registered Designs are obtained by making an application to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

In operation, Community designs registered by the EUIPO will ensure protection in all EU members states.

To be eligible for protection, designs must be new and must have an individual character.

Holders of registered Community designs have exclusive rights to use the design and prevent third parties from using it anywhere within the European Union. Proprietors are be protected against deliberate copying and independent development of similar designs.

Registered Community designs are very cost effective, since they cover all European Union member states in a single registration. Furthermore, for several designs of a same product type, multiple designs can be included in the same application, provided all the designs are included at the same time. This means that the cost of registration per design per country within the European Community can be low.

Additionally, as new member states join the European Union, registered Community designs are automatically extended to cover those new territories without any further registration procedure.

For registered Community designs, protection subsists for a maximum of 25 years with renewal required every 5 years from registration.

For further information on this subject, please read our white paper, which can be downloaded using the link at the bottom of this page.