Design law

Great design is behind some of the century’s most iconic products. And it can still make the difference between success or failure. So it’s important to protect your rights in designs, just as much as your trademark or copyrights.

However you cannot assume that, just because you’ve created a new design, it will automatically be protected. In fact protecting designs and drawings typically required actively registering them in a very similar way to protecting a new trademark – something that can be very complicated and is almost exclusively the domain of specialists. Moreover a complex web of national, European and international rules can apply to determine who owns the rights in a design. And adding a further layer of complexity, in some circumstances industrial designs may be protected by more than design law alone. Copyright law and unfair competition rules can apply, as, in exceptional situations, can trademark law.

Brinkhof’s lawyers can help you navigate this maze and give your designs the best possible protection. Not only do we have huge experience in the protection of design rights for some of the world’s best know companies, we also understand the entire field of intellectual property protection, enabling us to advise yo on the best way to safeguard you assets.