If the innovative idea is of an aesthetic nature, the Design tool can be used.

If the innovative idea is of an aesthetic nature, the Design tool can be used.

The registration object must be new and have an individual character, and concerns the appearance of the entire product or part of it as resulting, in particular, from the characteristics of the lines, contours, colours, shape, surface structure and/or the materials of the product itself and/or its decoration.

It is advisable to immediately make use of the Community Design, which allows to obtain, with a single application filed with the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union (EUIPO), a design registration that has the same effects in all countries of the European Union. This registration may include multiple designs belonging to the same Locarno class, with a cost advantage depending on the number of designs. Within six months it is possible to extend the protection to other countries by claiming the priority of the first filing.

Registration of the Design in Italy or at the EUIPO lasts 5 years and can be extended for one or more periods of 5 years up to a maximum of 25 years.