Design Law Attorney:
How to Protect the Design of Your Products
Is there a false report about you or your company? With the help of a media law attorney, you can enforce a right of reply—which compels the media outlet to publish your version of the story: in the same location, in the same font size, and at its own expense. And you don’t even have to prove that the report was false.
Overview
What is design law—and what does it protect?
Design law protects the appearance of a product—that is, what you see: the lines and contours, the colors, the shape, the surface, and the ornamentation. In short, it concerns the look of your product, not its technical function or the idea behind it.
What surprises many people is that the term “registered design” no longer officially exists. Since 2014, the German intellectual property right has been called a “registered design,” as governed by the Design Act (DesignG). Nothing has changed in terms of substance—the new name simply makes it clearer what it’s all about: design. So if you’re searching for “register a design,” you mean the same thing as a registered design. At the European level, the terms “EU design” or “Union design” are now used. You’ll still come across both terms in practice, which is why we’re using them interchangeably here.
The key point for you: Design protection for a registered design arises through registration in a registry. It’s not the most creative person who automatically holds the rights, but rather the person who files the design. That’s exactly why it’s worth acting early and strategically—rather than waiting until a copy is already on the shelf. We’ll help you determine the right timing and scope.
Coverage Area
What can you have protected as a design?
It is hard to imagine an object whose design could not be protected under design law—from consumer goods to packaging to digital icons. For our clients in the creative industry, these four areas are particularly important:
Fashion & Accessories
Cuts and silhouettes, fabric and knit patterns, embroidery, prints, buttons, shoe soles, bags, jewelry, and eyewear. Even individual design elements of a collection are eligible for protection.
Product & Industrial Design
Furniture, lighting fixtures, tableware and cutlery, packaging, enclosures, and consumer goods of all kinds. Sets and individual visible components can also be specifically protected.
Digital & Graphics
Icons, screen icons, graphical user interfaces (GUIs), website layouts, animated displays, as well as typographic characters and fonts.
Space & Amenities
Retail and store concepts, interior design, trade show booths, product presentations, and storefront displays—including distinctive individual elements.
Particularly strong: packaging and features
In self-service retail, the product’s presentation is often the only thing that sets your product apart from the competition on the shelf. This is exactly where copycats strike—and this is exactly where design law is a powerful tool. More on this below under the topic of “look-alikes.”
Parts and sets are also eligible for protection
You don’t necessarily have to protect the entire product. Even a single, visible part can be a design in its own right—the sole of a sneaker, the handle of a bag, the cap of a writing instrument. And for a set—such as a tableware or jewelry collection—it’s wise to register both the collection as a whole and the individual pieces, so that the reproduction of individual parts is also covered. On our page about design registration, we’ll show you how to do this smartly and cost-effectively using a collective application.
Limits of Protection
What cannot be protected as a design?
To help you plan realistically: Not everything can be designed. The following four cases, in particular, are either out of the question or unsuitable from the outset:
Purely Technical
Features that are determined solely by technical function are excluded—that is what patents and utility models are for. However, if there is room for creative design, design protection is possible.
Software as such
A computer program in and of itself is not a “product.” The visible interface—icons, menus, GUI—is, however, certainly eligible for protection.
Nature & Natural Fabrics
Human bodies, animals, unprocessed natural products, and formless substances such as perfume, creams, or powders cannot be designed—they lack a fixed, repeatable form.
Ideas & Methods
Concepts, manufacturing processes, instructions, and mere design ideas do not constitute a design. Only the specific, visually represented form is protected.
Important: Even a product with a practical purpose is not automatically excluded. A chair, a corkscrew, a frying pan—all of these can be functional and still have a design worthy of protection, as long as there is room for aesthetic creativity in their design. Defining this distinction in detail can be challenging. That’s exactly where we advise you before you invest time and money in an application that could ultimately be challenged.
Requirements for Protection
When Is a Design Eligible for Protection? Novelty and Distinctiveness
A design is protected as a registered design only if it meets two requirements—both of them together: It must be new, and it must have individual character.
New
Your design is considered new if no identical design was known to the public prior to the filing date. “Identical” does not mean merely an exact copy: even designs that differ only in minor details are considered the same design. What matters, therefore, are the differences from what already exists—and sometimes a small but distinctive variation is enough.
Characteristic
Your design is unique if it evokes a different overall impression in the viewer than anything that has come before. The benchmark is neither the design professional nor the casual shopper, but rather an imaginary figure somewhere in between: the “informed user,” who is familiar with the product category and takes a close look.
An interesting practical point: In crowded markets where there are already many similar products, even small design differences can be enough—while in less crowded markets, larger differences are necessary. The greater the distinction between your design and existing designs, the stronger its scope of protection. What this means for you: Before you file an application, it’s worth taking a look at what already exists. A well-thought-out application—and the right type of visual representation—will ultimately determine how broad or narrow your protection actually is. That’s exactly what we’ll plan together with you.
Classification
Design Law, Trademark Law, or Copyright Law—The Difference
These three intellectual property rights are often confused, but they protect entirely different things. It’s important for your strategy to distinguish between them—because multiple rights often apply at the same time, and the right combination is what truly makes your protection strong.
Design law protects the appearance
This refers to the visual appearance of your product: shape, pattern, color, and design. A registered design is valid for a limited period and is established through registration in a registry.
Trademark law protects the source of origin
A trademark identifies the source of a product—such as your logo or brand name. It can be renewed indefinitely. It often makes sense to combine the two: You can protect your logo as a trademark and the product’s shape as a design.
Copyright protects the work
Copyright protection may also apply to designs of a high level of artistic creativity—such as classic pieces of furniture or lighting—without the need for registration. It can coexist with design protection. We’ll work with you individually to determine which approach is most viable in your case.
Ownership
Who actually owns the rights to the design?
This is a question that constantly leads to disputes in practice—especially among creative professionals who work for others or collaborate with agencies and freelancers. The basic rule sounds simple: The owner is whoever is listed in the registry as the owner of the registered design. However, the right to register a design in the first place belongs to the designer—that is, the person who created the design.
Things get tricky as soon as multiple parties are involved. If you have a design developed by an agency or a freelance designer, the rights don’t automatically belong to you just because you paid for it. And if you’re a designer creating work for a client, you should know exactly what you’re handing over—and under what terms. Even with employed designers and in teams, it’s often unclear who ultimately owns the result. Without clear contractual provisions, the worst-case scenario looms: the design is successful, but no one knows for sure who is entitled to protect and enforce it.
We ensure that these issues are clarified before they become problems: with clear agreements on the transfer of rights, well-thought-out licensing models, and proper ownership registration. That way, in the end, your design truly belongs to you—or to exactly the person who’s supposed to have it.
Enforcement
Design Protection Against Plagiarism, Counterfeits, and Look-Alikes
The most common reason clients come to us isn’t to register a trademark—it’s because of copycats. Someone has copied your product, a competitor “coincidentally” models its packaging extremely closely on yours, or a platform is full of cheap knockoffs of your bestsellers.
This is where design law really shines. Especially with so-called “look-alike” products—copies that visually closely resemble a well-known product without using third-party trademarks—taking action based solely on trademark law often comes to nothing. With a registered design, however, you have a clear, enforceable lever at your disposal.
A typical real-world example
Imagine you’ve developed a distinctive line of bottles and packaging for your natural cosmetics brand: a specific shoulder shape, a distinctive label, and a unique color palette. Months later, a competing product appears on the drugstore shelf with a different name and logo—but one that imitates the shape, appearance, and color scheme of your line so closely that customers have to look twice. From a trademark law perspective, this is difficult to address because no third-party trademark is actually being used. However, if you’ve registered your packaging as a design, you can directly challenge the imitation. This shifts the entire dispute from “confusingly similar or not” to the question that’s much more favorable to you: “Does the imitation create the same overall impression?”
If you have a property right on your side, you can take action against the infringement: with a cease-and-desist letter, in urgent cases with a preliminary injunction, and—where necessary—with claims for injunctive relief, disclosure, damages, recall, and destruction. We’ll review your case, secure evidence, and consistently enforce your rights—both in and out of court, nationwide.
And if you’ve received a cease-and-desist letter yourself because you’re allegedly infringing on someone else’s design: You’ve come to the right place. Not every cease-and-desist letter is justified, and not every registered design stands up to close scrutiny. Often, an opposing design can be challenged on the grounds of a lack of novelty or distinctiveness—an effective counterattack that can quickly turn the tables.
Secure the rights to your design.
Whether it’s registration, strategy, or taking action against an imitator—during a no-obligation initial consultation, we’ll find the right path for you. No legal jargon, no time pressure.
Protected Areas
Germany, the EU, or internationally—which coverage is right for you?
Design protection is available at several levels, and the right one for you depends on your market and your plans. You can file for a registered design in Germany with the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA)—the right choice if your focus is here. You can apply for an EU design (EU registered design) with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO): With a single application, you receive protection throughout the entire EU. In addition, there’s a special provision for the fashion industry—the unregistered EU design, which comes into effect solely through publication without any application and offers short-term protection for fast-moving collections.
Let’s take a look together at which option—or combination of options—makes the most sense for you. We explain the specific procedures, costs, and filing strategies in detail on our dedicated pages:
Frequently Asked Questions About Design Law
A registered design is initially protected for five years. You can then renew the protection in additional five-year increments for up to a maximum of 25 years. As long as your design remains commercially relevant, you can keep it protected continuously.
That depends on what you want to protect. Trademarks and designs protect different things: a trademark protects your identity (name, logo), while a design protects the appearance of your product. In many cases, the combination offers the strongest protection. During our initial consultation, we’ll tell you what’s really necessary in your situation—and what you can do without.
Not necessarily. There’s a 12-month grace period for your own publications: If you’ve already shown your design yourself—for example, at a trade show, in a store, or on social media—you can still effectively register it within that year. The important thing is not to let the deadline pass. So it’s better to contact us sooner rather than later.
No. When you file an application, the DPMA only reviews the formal requirements and a few grounds for exclusion—but it does not check whether your design is actually new and has individual character. These requirements are only examined if a dispute arises. This is both an opportunity and a risk: Registration is quick, but a poorly prepared design can be challenged later on. That’s why it’s worth seeking advice before filing an application.
The official fees for a registered design are reasonable, and a multiple application allows you to protect several designs at a particularly low cost. We explain the breakdown of the costs in detail and how you can get the most out of an application on our page about design registration—and, of course, during a personal consultation.
If you have a registered design, you can take action against infringement: by issuing a cease-and-desist letter, obtaining a preliminary injunction in urgent cases, and asserting claims for injunctive relief, disclosure, and damages. Send us the case—we’ll assess your chances of success and let you know what the best next step is.
Your Team for Questions About Design Law
Attorney
Juliette Sarvan de Castro
Attorney
Patrick Rehkatsch
"Experienced. Strategic. Assertive.
We solve your legal challenges."
Attorney
Juliette Sarvan de Castro
Attorney
Patrick Rehkatsch
Your Team for Design Law
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More on design law:
Look-Alike Products: When Trademark Law Isn't Enough
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Design or Trademark? The Right Protection Strategy for Your Product
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Collective Application: Protect Up to 100 Designs at Once
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