Bjerkén Hynell has extensive experience in managing design matters and helping our clients in areas such as:

• filing design applications in Sweden or in the EU,
• filing design applications in other countries via our network of international contacts,
• drafting documents for filing design applications both in Sweden and abroad,
• assessing a product’s possibilities for obtaining a design registration,
• replying to refusal decisions, deficiency notifications and correspondence from relevant authorities,
• monitoring time limits, such as those for renewals,
• invalidating other designs,
• assessing whether a product is infringing on a registered design,
• defending exclusive rights to design and combating counterfeiting,
• assisting throughout any legal conflict in a court of law,
• drafting licensing agreements, transfer agreements and the like for designs.

What is required for a design protection

Approval of an application for a design registration requires that the design must be new. In principle, this means that the product for which design registration is sought must not have been shown in public before the application is filed. There is however a grace period of twelve months in many jurisdictions, such as in Sweden and the EU. This means that you may protect a design within twelve months of the product’s first public showing.

The design must also be unique, i.e. it must provide a new overall impression and be significantly different from the appearance of previously known products. The design registration may then be granted for a maximum of 25 years. The registration must be renewed every five years.

In which countries is it possible to protect a design?

Designs may be registered in Sweden via the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV) or for Europe through filing an application for design registration with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). A design may also be registered through the Hague system administered by WIPO or abroad through our network of international contacts.