Welcome to Designpublisher
 
For a long time it was not possible for designers to protect their product designs against copying throughout the EU without investing a great deal of time and money. Almost unnoticed by the public this situation has now been remedied by the European Parliament:

As of 1 April 2003 it is possible to register a Community design at the Office for Harmonization in Alicante/Spain which provides EU-wide protection for the appearance of a new product.

The unregistered Community design, which has already been in existence since 6 March 2002, is completely new, as this has been used in only a few members states to date. This is created by a simple disclosure of the design.

But how "disclosure” is to be interpreted according to Section 7 of the Council Regulation ((EC) No. 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs) is still unclear. Does a single inconspicuous publication at a regional fair in a small member state suffice to claim protection for the whole EU? Does the design have to be exhibited at an international fair? Does actual use in ordinary trade suffice? And from what time on can protection be sought? How is proof to be furnished when the design was first disclosed?

All these uncertainties have arisen because the Community design is still very young and no case law yet exists. So what could be more convenient than using the Internet? It guarantees that the appearance of a product is published on a specific date of which proof can be provided. Designpublisher has set itself the goal of presenting new designs on the Internet cheaply, effectively and well-organized and thus of satisfying the "disclosure" requirement.