At the IE Dinner 2019, Carja spoke about the power of design law. In her plea, she showed how entrepreneurs can use this protection against copies.
At the IP Dinner 2019, a major event for intellectual property law professionals, Carja Mastenbroek of Good Law spoke about the power of design law. With her and practical plea, she took the attendees through the benefits of both registered and unregistered designs. The full transcript of her speech can be read back here.
Why design law should not be forgotten
Carja stressed that design right can be a powerful weapon against copying of utensils. Many entrepreneurs ignore this option because of prejudice or ignorance. Yet design law offers unique advantages:
- European protection: European design law applies to the whole of Europe at once, ensuring efficiency in costs and enforcement.
- Flexibility in registration: Up to 12 months after the first disclosure, it can be decided to register a design, for a protection period of 5 to 25 years.
- Low threshold for validity: novelty and individual character are easier to prove than originality in copyright.
- Advantages of registration:vA registered design has significant advantages. Registration creates a legal presumption of validity and allows protection to be precisely tailored to the core of the design. In addition, registration acts as a powerful signal to potential infringers: this design is seriously protected.
Simplicity and power in use
Unlike copyright or slavish imitation, design law has fewer evidentiary requirements. Design law looks purely at the overall impression on the informed user and does not require confusion or derivation. This makes it an ideal complement to existing IP rights.
Restrictions and backup options
Carja also gave insight into the limitations of design law, such as the requirement that an infringer actually uses the design. Still, other IP rights, such as copyright or slavish imitation, always provide additional protection.
Inspiration for practice
Carja concluded her speech by calling on attendees to seriously consider design law in their legal strategies. As she stressed, ‘Cherry picking is allowed. Use all available rights to protect your products.’
With this speech, Carja not only inspired but also gave practical guidance on how to use design law effectively. Curious about her full speech? Read it here.
Read more at: Artikel Carja Mastenbroek over gebruiksvoorwerpen tijdens ie-diner
