Eva de Vries
Legal Associate
Shape, pattern, configuration — the visual appeal of a product can be a registered right. Here is what design protection covers in the Netherlands and the EU.
Customers often buy with their eyes. A Benelux design (via the BOIP) or a Registered Community Design (via the EUIPO) lets you protect the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament that give a finished article its distinctive appearance — protecting the look, not the function.
What can be registered
To qualify, a design must be new — it must not have been disclosed to the public anywhere before the filing date. This makes timing critical: publish or sell the product before you file, and you may destroy the very novelty you need.
Scope and term
A registered design in the Benelux or EU is protected for an initial five years, renewable in further terms up to a maximum of 25 years. It gives you the exclusive right to apply the design to products and to stop others from copying its appearance.
Design, trademark or copyright?
- Industrial design — protects the appearance of a mass-produced article.
- Trademark — protects signs that indicate trade origin (and can include shapes).
- Copyright — protects original artistic works, but overlaps are limited for industrial articles.
File before you launch. Novelty is the one thing you can never get back once the product is in the market.
For consumer-product and lifestyle brands, layered protection — design plus trademark — is often the most resilient strategy. We advise on the right mix and handle the filings end to end.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, please speak to our team.
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