An updated mechanism for design protection – the need for action

Good industrial design is a key selling point for many products. For customers, it can be as much a deciding factor when buying as price and quality. It can also act as a key differentiator for companies operating in competitive marketplaces.

However, design – like any other innovation – should be able to benefit from intellectual property protection. Yet although it is possible to secure such protection, it is one of the least-used areas of IPR. In part, this is because it’s less widely known, but mainly because the existing legislation is in urgent need of modernisation.

It is therefore timely that such modernisation of the EU legislation on industrial designs is a component of the European Commission’s Intellectual Property Action Plan. The aim is to make IPR for industrial design easier to access and exercise and thus to help support the transition to the digital and green economy.

While the adoption of harmonised legislation represented a major advance by aligning the different approaches in many Member States - it is vital that any new legislation is fit for purpose for the burgeoning knowledge economy.

To discuss this – and the need for reform – the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise is pleased to invite you to a webinar entitled “An updated design protection mechanism – the need for action”.

Some of the themes for discussion include:

• Protection for spare parts as part of the circular economy
• Would examination increase the value of the registration of
• Why is the current use of design protection so low?

We hope you can join us for this important topic.

After you have signed up for this webinar you will receive a streaming link on March 16.