Design protection in Europe
Registering your design in the United Kingdom (UK) does not protect it elsewhere in the European Community (EC).
To protect your design throughout the EC, you can apply for a Registered Community Design (RCD) at the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). To get protection in individual EC countries, you must make a separate application to each country.
You can use your UK design application to claim priority when applying in the EC within 6 months of your UK application date. This means that your later application is treated as if you applied on the same date as in the UK.
Your design may have some automatic protection in the EC through Community Unregistered Design right and national copyright laws.
