Designs

Disputes

There are often disagreements about whether a design can be protected, the breadth of that protection, who owns the rights in question, who may commercialise a design, and how may they do so. Further, if somebody is making, offering, putting on the market, importing, exporting or using a product which creates the same overall impression as your own, it may be possible to stop them by bringing proceedings against them to enforce your registered or unregistered design rights.

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Conflicts about the appearance of products or graphic symbols arise in all sorts of contexts. For example, there may be disagreements about who created the design, in what circumstances (e.g. during the course of employment), who should own the design, whether the design is somehow offensive, whether or not the design is or can be validly registered, whether a person authorised/licenced to use a design is acting within the scope of the licence, and whether or not a third party’s activities infringe whatever design rights exist in the appearance of the product/symbol.

The courts and Intellectual Property Offices are there to resolve disputes if necessary, though it is usually less expensive to resolve them before formal proceedings are brought or decided. Our attorneys regularly settle disputes of all different types and complexities, usually without the need for pursuing proceedings all the way through to decisions. Nonetheless, often a compromise cannot be reached, and we have considerable experience addressing design disputes before the UKIPO, EUIPO and courts, as well as coordinating and managing disputes overseas.

Whatever your dispute, we can help you get the bottom of it and offer sensible, practical advise to help you resolve it as quickly and cost effectively as desired.