Protect innovation with specialist design rights lawyers
Design rights play a crucial role in protecting the visual appearance of products, ensuring that unique and innovative designs are safeguarded against unauthorised use. These rights are essential for maintaining a competitive edge in industries where product aesthetics are integral to its success. Design rights enable creators and businesses to protect their distinctive designs, from intricate fashion pieces to cutting-edge technology.
Registered and unregistered design rights
Design rights come in two main forms: registered and unregistered. Registered design rights provide formal protection for the appearance of a product, offering exclusive rights that can be enforced against infringers. To obtain registered design rights, a formal application must be submitted, and the design must meet specific criteria. This form of protection is ideal for designs that will be marketed widely and require robust legal backing.
Unregistered design rights arise automatically upon the creation of a design and do not require formal registration. While this form of protection offers some degree of legal coverage, it is generally less comprehensive and harder to enforce compared to registered rights. Unregistered design rights are suitable for designs with a shorter market lifespan or those not intended for broad commercial distribution.
Design rights are instrumental in maintaining a competitive advantage. By protecting distinctive designs, businesses can prevent competitors from copying or imitating their products, ensuring their market share and brand integrity is preserved. Effective use of design rights helps businesses secure their creative investments and reinforce their position in the marketplace.
Kerry Russell
Partner
Specialising in Design Rights law
Global design right infringement defense
Design right infringement – We tackle design right infringements on a global scale, offering expert representation in court disputes to ensure your interests are robustly defended. Our team has expertise in the complexities of international IP law, providing comprehensive support from identifying and investigating infringements to initiating legal actions. Using our global network and expertise in multi-jurisdictional cases, we coordinate effective enforcement strategies with local authorities and legal experts. Our proactive approach includes market monitoring, preventative advice, and swift enforcement actions to protect and preserve the value of your designs worldwide.
Tailored commercial agreement solutions
Commercial agreements – Our legal team specialises in drafting, negotiating, and managing commercial, licensing, and distribution agreements tailored to enhance your business’s strategic goals. We ensure each agreement is clear, enforceable, and compliant with relevant laws, focusing on favourable terms that foster robust business relationships. Our comprehensive risk assessments help mitigate potential vulnerabilities, securing your operations. We provide ongoing support to adapt agreements as your business and regulatory landscapes evolve, while safeguarding your interests.
Why choose Shakespeare Martineau?
- Our team offer prompt and professional service, whether through in-person meetings or virtual consultations, you can trust that our advice will be timely and professional, helping you feel confident in your legal matters, every step of the way
- We provide advice that is not only pragmatic and quick but also easy to understand. Every lawyer in our firm is approachable, helpful, and committed to offering reliable legal solutions, making the process straightforward for clients
- Our clear and easily understandable approach has kept clients coming back for years, knowing they can depend on us for comprehensive legal support time and time again
- Our clients regularly highlight the exceptional expertise and professionalism of our lawyers. Our team cares deeply about every aspect of your case, ensuring you receive a thorough and attentive service
Strategic design rights management
We adopt a strategic approach to managing design rights, offering tailored solutions that align with your commercial objectives. From initial registration to ongoing enforcement, we provide proactive advice and practical strategies to maximise the value of your design assets and maintain a competitive advantage.
Expert design rights dispute resolution
Our team has a proven track record in handling complex design rights disputes, using in-depth legal knowledge to navigate intricate litigation processes. We offer strategic guidance and robust representation to resolve conflicts efficiently, protecting your designs and ensuring good outcomes in court and through alternate dispute resolution methods.
Global network, expert IP support
As part of Multilaw – a global network of law firms in over 100 countries, we have a wealth of experience within the team on a variety of matters from regional, to national and international presence. We are also active participants in INTA (International Trademarks Association), AIPPI (The International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property) and Marques.
Tier 1 IP excellence and protection
We are ranked in Legal 500 under Tier 1 ranking in the East Midlands for our intellectual property service. This accolade reflects our unparalleled expertise and exceptional track record in delivering comprehensive IP solutions. Our clients benefit from our renowned legal acumen, strategic insights, and dedication to achieving outstanding results, ensuring that their intellectual property is effectively protected and optimised in a competitive landscape.
Meet our Design Rights team
Carys Thompson
Partner & Head of Sheffield
Nicholas Briggs
Partner & Head of Intellectual Property
Ed Wright
Partner
Kerry Russell
Partner
Kim Walker
Partner
Mark Thompson
Partner
Mauro Paiano
Partner
Selina Hinchliffe
Partner
Trevor Fenton
Partner
Charlotte Cassells
Associate
Stewart Argo
Legal Director
Daniel Kelly
Associate
Reveka Athanasiadou
Associate
Asmee Dutt-Choudhury
Solicitor
Rosie Allen
Solicitor
Building a responsible business
Our commitment to sustainability and social impact
We are an accredited B Corporation that is committed to driving positive change in our communities, minimising our impact on the environment, and ensuring an all inclusive diverse and supportive culture for our people.
Wherever you are on your journey, our Design Rights specialists are here to answer any questions you might have
If you’d like to speak to a member of our team, please fill out the enquiry form. We will aim to reply to your query within 2 hours
Need to talk to someone sooner? You can call use at the number below
Call Us: 0330 024 0333
Design Rights FAQs
Design rights protect the visual appearance of a product, including its shape, configuration, pattern, and ornamentation. They are important because they safeguard a company’s unique designs from being copied or exploited by competitors. By securing design rights, businesses can capitalise on their creative investments and enhance their brand identity. These rights also prevent unauthorised use and ensure fair market competition.
Design rights protect the visual appearance of a product, focusing on its aesthetic elements rather than functionality, which distinguishes them from patents that cover new inventions or technological processes. Copyright safeguards original creative works like literature, art, and music, rather than industrial designs, and does not protect functional aspects. Trademarks protect brand identifiers such as logos and names, which differentiate goods or services in the marketplace, whereas design rights focus on the design itself. Each type of intellectual property serves a unique purpose and offers different kinds of protection for creative and commercial assets.
Registered design rights offer formal protection for a design, providing exclusive rights to its appearance and preventing others from using it without permission, and are enforceable for up to 25 years in the UK. Unregistered design rights automatically arise from the creation of a design and offer more limited protection, covering the design’s shape and configuration for up to 15 years from the date it was first made available to the public. Registered rights require a formal application and registration process, whereas unregistered rights do not. However, unregistered design rights offer protection only against copying, not against the independent creation of similar designs.
Design rights protect the appearance of a product, whether that is the whole or part of the product from its lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, materials, or ornamentation of the product.
A registered design right is initially valid for five years, after which it will need to be renewed, up to a maximum of 25 years.
You can protect your design internationally using the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs, which allows you to simultaneously apply for a design in many different countries or territories, through one application to the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
Yes, licensing allows others to use your design while you retain ownership, often in exchange for royalties or fees. Selling your design rights transfers full ownership and control to another party. It is crucial to weigh up your options to ensure you are making the right decision for you and your business. Both processes should be formalised through clear agreements and terms and conditions to ensure your rights and interests are protected. Our specialist IP lawyers can help guide you through this process should you have any questions.
If someone infringes your design rights, you firstly need to collect evidence of the ‘accused object’ and contact one of our specialist IP lawyers who can assess your claim. Decide whether you wish to send a cease and desist letter or enter mediation. If no outcome is reached, you may wish to take the case to court. It is important to discuss your options and your finances before deciding how you will proceed.
