Design protection abroad
Registering your design in the United Kingdom (UK) does not protect it abroad. If you want to protect your design in countries other than the UK, you can do this in two ways.
- You
can apply for a Registered Community Design with the Office for Harmonisation in
the Internal Market
(OHIM) which is based in Alicante, Spain.
The Registered Community Design gives protection in all countries of the European Union (EU).
We have produced a booklet 'Applying for a Registered Community Design' to help you, which is also available from our Central Enquiry Unit by phoning 0845 9 500 505. - If
you want to protect your design in individual counties you generally
have to make a separate
application to each country in which you want protection.
If you apply to register your design in a country like the UK that has signed the 'International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property', you can claim 'priority' from your earliest application for the same design in another Convention country, as long as you apply within six months of the earliest filing date in that Convention country.
