EU Design Protection

Protect how your product looks

A Registered Community Design (RCD) protects the appearance of a product — its shape, lines, contours, colours, texture and ornamentation — across all 27 EU member states. It's the counterpart to a trade mark when what's distinctive is the design rather than the name, and it's especially valuable for short-life products (fashion, textiles) and items with a strong visual identity (consumer electronics, furniture, appliances).

A registered, unexamined right

The EUIPO checks only the formalities — whether the filing is complete, whether it qualifies as the appearance of a product, and whether it offends public order or morality. It does not examine novelty or individual character; those are tested only later, in invalidity or infringement proceedings. So the RCD is a registered but unexamined right, granted quickly. (A parallel unregistered Community design also exists, arising automatically on disclosure and lasting three years — useful for very short-life designs.)

Fees, term and how we handle it

The EUIPO's official fee starts at €350 for one design, with €175 for each further design in the same application. Protection lasts five years and can be renewed four times, up to a maximum of 25 years. Agents prepare compliant representations, classify under the Locarno system, and file with the EUIPO; on request we run an information or novelty search across the DE, EU and international design registers. Our flat service fee is €199 net, and protection can be extended internationally via WIPO's Hague System.