deutsch

Design Patents

Design Patents belong to the category of non-technical protection rights and serve for protecting the esthetic nature of objects (products and graphics), i.e., the external appearance (design) of an object. Two decisive prerequisites need to be fulfilled in order to obtain this protection right: first, the novelty of the object needs to be ensured on the filing date if the territory of validity of the trademark also includes foreign countries, namely because the novelty grace period of six months only applies to Germany. Second, the object needs to have peculiar or original features that make it possible to distinguish the object from already known objects. Similar to a utility model, the object is merely investigated with respect to formal aspects. The purpose of a design patent is the prevention of reproductions by competitors that are not authorized by the design patent holder. One special stipulation of a design patent is that the design patent holder can only assert his rights if the competitor is familiar with the original being reproduced. The design patent holder cannot enforce the design patent if the reproduction was independently conceived by the competitor.

A design patent is a relatively inexpensive protection right.

The maintenance of a design patent requires the payment of extension fees to the DPMA after the 5., 10. and 15. year. The period of validity is twenty years and begins with the day the design patent application is filed with the DPMA.

Design Patents are not only eligible for protection in Germany, but also in foreign countries. Except for national applications in foreign countries, protection in all contracting states can be obtained in accordance with the Hague Treaty on the International Submission of Commercial Trademarks (HMA) with a single application filed with the World Office for Intellectual Property (WIPO) in Geneva. A community design patent can also be submitted with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) in Alicante, Spain.

[Home]