Your design is what they see first

Designs

Design protection is the most under-used right in most portfolios, and often the most practical. Registration is fast and inexpensive compared with a patent, and against a copycat product it is frequently the easier right to enforce. We start with a novelty and priority analysis, then advise on the representations themselves - the drawings or photographs you file determine the scope you get, and getting them wrong is the most common way protection is lost before it begins.

From there we handle filing and prosecution in Switzerland, the European Union and, through the Hague System and our correspondent network, internationally - so a product launched in one market is covered in the ones it is heading for.

We keep the portfolio current with renewals and deadline tracking, structure the assignments, licences and franchise agreements that turn a design into revenue, and act when someone copies it: customs recordals, takedowns, infringement and unfair-competition actions, and mediation where a negotiated outcome serves you better than a fight.

What we handle

• Novelty and priority analysis
• Advice on drawings and representations
• Filing and prosecution of applications
• Registration in Switzerland, the EU and via the Hague System
• Appeals and invalidity proceedings
• Renewals, deadline tracking and portfolio management
• Assignment, licence and franchise agreements
• Enforcement against copycat products
• Customs recordals and anti-counterfeiting
• Unfair competition and dispute resolution
• Mediation and negotiated settlements