What Are Design Rights?
May 22, 2025 - May 22, 2025
Design rights are play an important role alongside the protection of trademarks and copyright at keeping the copyright of products within the fashion industry.
Designs can be registered, the laws relating to these registered designs protect the design being used or copied by other competition. The rights in different countries have differences in their cost and duration.
Design rights protect the appearance and design behind a product, not the feel or a product, concept or the way a product works.
Design rights are broad and can cover a range of different products, including fashion garments and patterns.
Many companies use design rights within the fashion industry to protect their products as it covers
- the structure
- look or design
- footwear
- accessories, such as handbags
Companies can chose to register an individual part of their design.
In the UK designs can be protected without registration, this only applies to three dimensional designs only.
Design right protection is registering your design for protection, however you can also protect your designs without design right protection.
Designs can be registered or can remain unregistered. There are design rights which offer protection in the EU and the UK that cover a system of design protections – known as community designs in the UK.
These community designs are harmonised across the EU and collectively refer to to Harmonised designs.
