Basck’s experienced industrial design intellectual property team combines legal expertise with a technical understanding of the product, turning its appearance – shape, lines, colours and ornamentation – into a protected asset. We guide you through the entire process of intellectual property design.
Our services include advice and novelty searches before filing, national and international applications, as well as full post-registration support. Regardless of where you manufacture and sell your products, we will plan protection so that it covers the markets that truly matter to you.
What is a design?
An industrial design right is an intellectual property right that protects the aesthetic “look and feel” of products, i.e. the visual design of objects. Designs do not protect the functionality of the subject. The design can protect the shape, configuration, composition of pattern or colour, or combination thereof.
Design registration is a fairly quick and cheap IP right to obtain so it is highly recommended for companies that produce products of aesthetic value (e.g. fragrance bottle, car chassis, home appliances)
How should I protect my product?
For filing designs, we recommend having minimum 3 sets of drawings / photos per product:
- black and white drawings of the product as is (e.g. CAD drawings);
- photos of the product as is;
- black and white drawings and/or photos with visual disclaimers to protect the most distinguishing parts of the design that could be reflected in a slightly amended product.
Do I need a design search?
A design search is always recommended, especially if you have global intentions for expansion of the product. It is highly valuable to be aware of potential issues before launching a new product, especially if you still have an option to tweak the design to avoid any infringement risks.
Get in touch with our design team via the contact form to schedule a free meeting to discuss.
How can we help?
- Pre-search advice
- Design novelty search
- First design filing
- International design filings
- Prosecution
- Cancellation
- Cease and desist letters
- Design infringement
- Design monitoring
- Marketplaces monitoring
Benefits of industrial design protection
Registering intellectual property design gives you a monopoly over the appearance of your product: you can stop competitors from introducing products that create the same overall impression. For your company, this is real value – and a strong argument in discussions with investors.
When you protect your design, you gain:
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- Market exclusivity: you can prevent competitors from manufacturing, selling and importing copies – regardless of whether the competitor copied your design or created it independently, as long as their design did not exist before your filing date.
- Fast and cost-effective protection: compared with a patent, registering an industrial design protected by IPR is inexpensive and straightforward, making it a natural choice for products with visual value.
- Protection for years: in the EU and the UK, a design is initially protected for 5 years, with the possibility of renewal in five-year periods up to 25 years; in the USA, the equivalent protection lasts 15 years from the date of grant with no renewal fees. We will tailor it to your product’s life cycle.
- New revenue streams: intellectual property design rights can be sold or licensed, turning your design into an asset that generates income.
Defensive tools: when a competitor copies your product, you have a solid basis to respond and enforce your rights.
Why businesses choose Basck?
Companies come to us looking for a partner who thinks about their IP as their own team would. We treat industrial design intellectual property law as part of a wider business strategy, and we base decisions on data: our analysts and proprietary tools will show you what your competitors are doing before you choose the direction of protection. You gain the most when we start early – we carry out novelty searches while the design can still be improved, before it reaches the market and before you risk a conflict with someone else’s rights.
FAQ: Design IP Services
When should a design be registered?
Ideally, register your design before it is disclosed to the public. Novelty is one of the core conditions for industrial design intellectual property, so the moment your product goes public – a launch, a press push, a stand at a trade fair – you risk eroding or losing the very rights you wanted. Some jurisdictions allow a limited grace period after disclosure, but it is a safety net, not a strategy. Build protection into your launch plan and you keep every option open.
How is design protection obtained internationally?
Design rights are territorial – each country or region grants its own. The efficient route is an international system that lets you reach several jurisdictions from one application, so you are not duplicating paperwork market by market. Let your filing strategy follow your commercial map: where the product will be sold, where it will be made, where copying is most likely. Time it well and coordinate the filings, and your industrial design intellectual property stays consistent and affordable across every region that matters to you.
What types of product features can design protection cover?
This kind of protection covers the appearance layer of an industrial design: how the product looks, not how it works. Shape, configuration, lines, contours, colours, surface decoration – all fair game, whether you are protecting the whole product or just a distinctive part of it. It is a natural fit for packaging, consumer goods and standout design details. Two conditions decide eligibility: the design must be new, and it must have individual character.
What can be done if a registered design is copied?
First, assess whether the competing product creates the same overall impression as your registered design. If it does, your registration gives you a clear basis for action, from a cease-and-desist letter through to legal proceedings. The stronger and cleaner your intellectual property design rights, the more leverage you carry into any dispute. Move early, too: the sooner you respond, the less ground a copycat gains in your market.
How long does industrial design protection last?
Protection opens with a limited term, commonly up to 5 years, and you renew it in further blocks to keep it alive. The maximum duration varies by jurisdiction, often up to 25 years. Keeping protection in force depends on timely renewals and proper IPR portfolio management. In practice, intellectual property for industrial designs gives you medium-term cover that tracks the commercial life of most products rather neatly.
Can I protect a design that I have already made public?
Often the disclosure itself is the obstacle – once a design is out in the open, it may no longer count as new. Some jurisdictions cushion this with a limited grace period, so the real answer depends on two things: how long ago you disclosed, and where you now want protection. This is exactly where an early assessment of your IP industrial design position earns its keep, because acting fast after disclosure can still rescue certain rights.
Your IP Attorneys
Katarzyna Wit
European Trade Mark & Design Attorney, Manager of Scandinavia Operations and Wrocław Office
John Hård
European Patent Attorney
Göran Gustavsson
Swedish Patent Attorney
Dr Magdalena Domoń
European Patent Attorney
Paulina Zarycka
European Trade Mark & Design Attorney, Polish Patent Attorney
Bianca Peachey
Of Counsel
Katarzyna Wit
European Trade Mark & Design Attorney, Manager of Scandinavia Operations and Wrocław Office
- Wrocław, Poland
Kasia is a Polish Patent Attorney and EUIPO Professional Representative operating in Wroclaw, Poland. Kasia works on projects related to trade marks, designs, as well as oppositions and negotiations. She conducts IP audits and advises clients on strategies for obtaining IP protection and sustainable inventions. Kasia is the manager of Wroclaw office and coordinates work at Basck Scandinavia. Prior to joining Basck, Kasia worked as a legal communication specialist at Credit Suisse and in court & enforcement proceedings at Noble Bank S.A. Kasia holds a Master in Laws from the University of Wrocław.
John Hård
European Patent Attorney
John is a European and Swedish Patent Attorney with over 20 years of experience in various IP roles. John has substantial experience in patenting software, control systems and user interface technologies. He prepares and prosecutes patent applications primarily in the telecom disciplines and computer science disciplines, as well as in mechanical disciplines. As a tutor John has extensive practice in training patent engineer staff, project team leaders and managers in patent matters and also has substantial experience in conducting workshops and project reviews for identifying inventions and for developing design around solutions.
Göran Gustavsson
Swedish Patent Attorney
- Lund, Sweden
Göran is a European and Swedish patent attorney and the head of Basck Scandinavia. He has more than 30 years experience of helping companies with their patent portfolios, IP commercialisation and strategic development of innovation. Göran with Gipon Konsult AB joined Basck in May 2019. Göran previously worked as a Business Support Manager in Awapatent AB.
Dr Magdalena Domoń
European Patent Attorney
Magda is a Polish and European Patent Attorney, specialising in intellectual property protection in the fields of life sciences, biochemistry, and bioengineering. She works with both domestic and European patents, handling processes related to obtaining and enforcing patent rights. With extensive scientific knowledge and experience in intellectual property, she supports clients in securing innovation and developing effective patent strategies. She holds a PhD in Biochemistry from Université Lyon 1 and the Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology.
Paulina Zarycka
European Trade Mark & Design Attorney, Polish Patent Attorney
- Warsaw, Poland
Paulina Zarycka is a Polish Patent Attorney and an EUIPO Professional Representative with expertise in trade mark oppositions and invalidation proceedings, trade mark and design filings, IP clearance searches, coexistence agreements, and patent validations in Poland. She has contributed significantly to successful trade mark coexistence agreements between Polish SMEs and major European companies. She helps clients identify which inventions, names, or designs may require protection and align their IP strategy with future plans, emphasising practical and cost-effective guidance. Paulina holds a Master of Law degree from the University of Wrocław and a Bachelor’s in Romance Philology from the University of Warsaw.
Bianca Peachey
Of Counsel
- New York, US
Bianca is a passionate advocate and dedicated corporate counsel with deep experience across global IP, technology, and innovation. She has built patent practices for Global 500 brands, advised on M&A involving intellectual assets, designed legal process outsourcing solutions, and was part of a leading international IP law firm. Bianca began her career in a neuroscience discovery lab before joining the University of Oxford’s Technology Transfer Office. She has since worked across the patent ecosystem - leading an offshore LPO IP team, designing patent analytics services for CPA Global, supporting IP-related M&A at Thomson Reuters, to her time at Marks & Clerk LLP. Before building an award-winning patent practice at Starbucks, she served as Associate Vice President of Patents at L Brands (parent of Victoria’s Secret, Pink, and Bath & Body Works). Bianca’s approach is rooted in science, strategy, and commercial impact. Bianca's practice spans portfolio development, litigation management, negotiation and settlement strategy, creative anti-patent troll defences, and trade secret programs. A member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents, Bianca secured the first USDA Plant Variety Protection for coffee seeds by a U.S. company and was named among the WIPR Diversity & Inclusion Top 100 (2025).
Need advice on Intellectual Property?
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