How can I protect the design of my product ?

In the Benelux you can protect your design by registering it with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). Thinking bigger? You can also opt for protection in the whole of the EU or beyond.

Before applying to register your design, carefully check that it is new and has its own individual character, to make sure that your design is valid. The registering authority will not check this for you. You can check this yourself through a search in the relevant databases (in the Benelux, the EU and internationally). However as not all designs are registered you should also check magazines, catalogues of exhibitions, internet, etc. Need assistance? Then consult a specialised professional advisor near you via the Benelux association for trademark and design law.

Bear in mind that disclosing your design yourself can also destroy its novelty or individual character, for example by exhibiting or marketing your design before you have registered it. However, as an exception, you as the creator are allowed twelve months to apply to register your design after making it available to the public.