Applying for a design
Source: Serviceportal Rheinland-PfalzRegistered designs protect the appearance of industrial or handicraft products, for example
- clothing
- furniture
- vehicles
- fabrics
- ornamental objects or
- graphic symbols.
Parts of products can also be protected as registered designs, for example the sole of a sports shoe or the cap of a writing instrument. General ideas, concepts or design principles cannot be protected.
With a registered design, the DPMA grants a temporary monopoly on the appearance, i.e. the external shape and colour design of a product. The design representations you submit are therefore particularly important, because only that which is apparent from the representations is protected.
Protection is obtained by the design being entered in the register kept by the DPMA. It applies throughout the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany. As the owner of a registered design, you have the exclusive right to use the design. You may prohibit others from using your design in the manufacture, sale or import and export of products. This also means that you, as the design owner, can take action against any design that does not produce on the informed user an overall impression that is different from that produced by your registered design.
When you apply for a design, it is examined whether:
- the application meets the legal requirements, in particular whether the representation meets the formal requirements, and
- the design applied for is capable of being designed, i.e. whether it shows the specific shape and colour of a product. The design must be compatible with public order and morality and must not constitute an improper use of national emblems or other signs of public interest.
However, it is not examined whether the design applied for also meets the other substantive requirements for protection – for example, with regard to the novelty and individual character of the design. A design is therefore registered even if one or more of these requirements for protection are missing. However, design protection only arises if the design is novel and has individual character at the time of application. However, these requirements for protection are only examined in the event of a dispute in invalidity proceedings before the DPMA or in infringement proceedings before the courts.
If your design is registered, the protection is valid for 5 years. You can then extend the protection up to four times by paying the maintenance fees on time. In total, you can protect your design for a maximum of 25 years.