A design can be integral to the livelihood of a product and it is important that it is legally protected if its ongoing success depends on its uniqueness. There are two types of design rights – registered and unregistered – in addition to copyright protection, which can also be used to protect less tangible works such as computer software, literature, music and video. Registered design rights give longer and more robust protection than unregistered design rights and can reduce time in legal disputes further down the line. Our qualified attorneys can help you with immediate infringement and dispute issues, as well as strategise and file your IP sensibly for long-term protection and commercial success.
We are able to advise on all aspects of registered and unregistered design rights, as well as the maintenance and ownership of copyright.
We offer filing & prosecution services at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO), at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and internationally using our global network of attorneys. We work with you to consider the scope and future strategy of any designs or copyright you need to protect, ensuring that any variations are considered as part of a successful strategy.
We can represent you in the instance where you are facing any infringement, dispute or enforcement issues with your own designs/copyright or those of competitors.
Our experienced and qualified attorneys are accustomed to the often complex global inter-relationships of other IP types such as patents and trade marks, as well as the particulars of design and copyright themselves. It is our job to identify with confidence the uniqueness and originality of your intellectual property and guide you in the best steps for successful commercial outcome.
Our team provides guidance on the ongoing maintenance, protection and enforcement of your copyright and design rights across the globe.
In addition to important housekeeping services such as renewals and monitoring, our attorneys can operate at a strategic level for your design and copyright portfolio – including ensuring the global protection of your intellectual property through development and implementation of logical enforcement strategies.
As part of our services we can carry out searches to understand the impact of any existing design or copyright registration that may impact your IP strategy and activities.
If there is specific competitor activity of interest to your business, we can carry out regular searches for the publication of any new design/copyright applications or registrations.
Frequently requested as part of a business investment, divestment or acquisition process, we can provide full assessments of design and copyright portfolios to ensure that they are healthy and robust for the required next steps.
All our team members are qualified as either patent or trade mark attorneys, giving you a high-level of professionalism and delivery. Our friendly team members each carry their own specialisms and background knowledge.
‘I could tell you my adventures–beginning from this morning,’ said Alice a little timidly: ‘but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.’
Our simple and proven approach aims to ensure the best possible outcome for any designs and copyright within your business and intellectual property portfolio.
The first, important stage is to understand your business and the part your intellectual property plays within it. We do this through meetings and reviews of your files and documentation. It is our job to draw out the uniqueness of your design at the very start of the process.
If you are aware of existing intellectual property that may impact your desired goal then we would carry out the necessary patent, patentability and freedom-to-operate searches as required to ensure any potential barriers/issues are identified and incorporated into next steps.
We then prepare the necessary documentation in line with the specific project we are working on. This will vary depending on your particular situation and requirements – for example it could be to map out on paper the unique invention for a patent or to prepare complex files for a revocation case.
We will then take the time to ensure you are happy with everything we have drafted before moving to the next stage of dealing with the relevant offices.
Depending on your specific case, we will then submit our documentation to the relevant offices and begin proceedings. With new applications we may also request search and examination reports from the office – before representing you at the various stages of any amendments to your design/copyright specification.
There may be multiple stages of iterations and negotiations with the offices. Our experienced patent attorneys will represent you during these phases, keeping you informed throughout and advising you on how to proceed, obtaining your approval when appropriate.
26 Northumberland Square, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE30 1PW, UK
T: +44 191 570 0039 F: +44 191 247 7102 E: office@heip.co.uk