- EPO concludes working agreement on search co-operation with Slovenian Intellectual Property Office (SIPO)
- EPO Form 1201 ("Entry into the European phase") discontinued as of 1 November 2023
- A celebration of Francophone Africa?s innovators
- Use of EPO learning resources increasing among Europe?s universities
- New dashboard reveals demand for Unitary Patents
- Growth in online services: over 7 000 using EPO Mailbox
What is a Design?
A Design is part of the Intellectual Property Assets (intangibles) of the owner.
The registered design grants its proprietor an exclusive right to prevent unauthorised use of the design in trade. More specifically, the proprietor is entitled to prevent an unauthorised third party from making, offering, marketing, importing, exporting or using a product in which the design is incorporated or to which it is applied, or holding stock of such a product for those purposes.
It protects the outward appearance of a product or part of it, resulting from the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, materials and/or its ornamentation; it cannot protect the function of a product.