How can you obtain an international design protection?

The EU design system is an exact copy of the EU trademark system and design registrations also have to be registered in the same place, namely the Harmonization Office in Alicante, Spain. You file one application to this office, and if the application is approved then the design right will be valid in all EU countries.

Another substantial advantage is that you can obtain a 3 year protection in the entire EU just by taking into use your design. Hereby a design protection is granted that is very similar to the one you can obtain in Denmark in accordance with the Marketing Act, but cannot be obtained many other EU countries at present. This protection is in particular relevant to products with a short life cycle.

There is another international registration system that is administered by the UN organization World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, namely the Hague System. Denmark is not a part of the present Hague-system, but in 1999 a large number of improvements to this system were adopted. Denmark has signed this revised treaty along with a large number of other countries. This treaty came into force in 2002 and means that you can file one international application in which you point out countries among the member countries in which you want your design to be registered. If the international application is approved the design will be registered. However, the countries pointed out in the application may subject the design to a further examination; corresponding to the examination that the national design applications in the country in question is subject to. The result of an international application may be that the registration is valid in 8 out of 10 singled out countries.