Design rights

Mon 3rd Mar 2025

Meet us at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire.

Thu 17th Oct 2024

Patent and Trade Mark Attorney Felix Daul has joined our Munich office as a Partner

Thu 10th Oct 2024

Page White Farrer Patent Attorney Andy McKinlay has been announced as a mentor for TopTech 2025.

Thu 13th Jul 2023

Thu 2nd Feb 2023

On 25 January 2023, the UK IPO announced new procedures which provide clarity about the requirements for UK representation and a UK address for service for trade mark and design matters, post Brexit.

Fri 7th Oct 2022

The Department of International Trade is offering an Internationalisation Fund for businesses based in England as part of the European Regional Development Funding (ERDF). The scheme offers match-funded grants of between £1,000 - £9,000.

Fri 8th Jul 2022

Innovate UK are today launching a new series of grants totaling £30 million. The Fast Start: Innovation Grants application process is open for entry to innovative UK small and micro-businesses from 11 to 26 July 2022.

Fri 24th Jun 2022

Page White Farrer attorneys attended a variety of events over the course of London Tech Week, from conferences to webinars, gaining key insights to further develop their expertise in tech IP in a range of fields.

Mon 20th Jun 2022

For any business which is launching a new product, tough decisions need to be made about where to invest your (often scarce) financial resources.  Should you attend this trade fair? Or visit more suppliers? Invest in more marketing or build up the sales team?

Wed 8th Jun 2022

Page White Farrer is pleased to announce the promotion of three European patent attorneys in our London office.

Wed 4th May 2022

On 5 May 2022, the Geneva text of the Hague Agreement (1999) will enter into force in China.  This will enable applicants seeking registered design protection via the Hague system to designate China, as well as up to 93 other countries, when filing a Hague design application. 

Fri 4th Jun 2021

If you are interested in the law and innovation, then intellectual property support might be a career path to consider. 

Tue 13th Apr 2021

When the UK left the EU, new intellectual property rights and exclusions were created in the system of protection for designs. These changes mean that companies and designers have some important choices to make about where to disclose designs first; whether to register designs; and if so, where to register their designs first. Oliver Spies and David Roberts highlight the three key lessons for design owners.

Thu 18th Feb 2021

The latest report from the EU IPO is the result of research by the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property into ‘the impact, role and public perception of intellectual property in the economy of the EU.

Thu 31st Dec 2020

Page White Farrer is delighted that two of its expert patent attorneys, Virginia Driver and Tom Woodhouse, have contributed to a book on artificial intelligence and the law around this, with a chapter delivering insights on intellectual property.

Wed 25th Nov 2020

Subject to final legislative implementation, from 1 January 2021 you will need an address for service in the UK, Gibraltar or the Channel Islands for new UK patent, registered trade mark and registered design applications, for granted EP(UK) patents if a representative for the proprietor is to be appointed, and for any proceedings concerning patents. An address for service in the EEA will no longer be acceptable.

Thu 19th Nov 2020

For EU design registrations which are registered and published by the end of 2020, an equivalent “cloned” UK registered design will be automatically created at no cost to the EU registered design rights holder. 

Fri 13th Nov 2020

After the UK leaves the EU at the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January 2021, new EU registered community designs (RCDs) will no longer provide registered design protection in the UK.

After 1 January 2021, if you wish to obtain both EU and UK registered design protection, it will be necessary to apply for these registered designs separately.

Sat 17th Oct 2020

Innovate UK has published its updated ‘Design in Innovation Strategy’ to cover the period 2020 to 2024, as part of the government’s commitment to increase public and private investment in R&D activities.

Wed 14th Oct 2020

Figures published by the UK Intellectual Property Office show a marked upturn in the number of filings of trade mark and design right applications since April 2020.

Fri 25th Sep 2020

This is a brief note on the position concerning how EU-wide trade marks and EU-wide registered designs will be affected by Brexit from 1 January 2021. The advice below is applicable to trade marks and designs equally.

Please note the European Patent Office is not an EU institution and European patents and patent applications are not affected by Brexit.

This is a very important notice for the owners of EU-wide trade marks and designs. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Mon 24th Aug 2020

An audit of your intellectual property will pay dividends as it enables a business to identify new revenue streams, enhance business value, implement best practice, assess and reduce the risk of competition.  It is particularly important for any business with a strong brand or knowledge-based products or services.

Thu 23rd Apr 2020

Patent attorney Virginia Driver recently gave a presentation to the Bruntwood SciTech Wednesday community, looking at how individual innovators can protect their inventions and creations.

Wed 8th Apr 2020

We hope that you are keeping well and are settling into this new way of working.

Mon 6th Apr 2020

It seems that some of the Intellectual Property Offices are experiencing issues, but some have arranged extensions of deadlines. Some offices have closed. Problems are occurring in the courts where some hearings are being cancelled.

Fri 27th Mar 2020

The UKIPO announced changes to its services on 27 March 2020 as a result of the business /postal disruption during the coronavirus pandemic.

Wed 11th Mar 2020

Finding and entering new markets is key to the growth of any business, whether this is selling to a new industry sector or into a foreign territory. But this can be time-consuming and labour intensive and difficult to do well if you do not have anyone who speaks the language, understands the sector or is familiar with differences in the cultural or regulatory environment.

Wed 5th Feb 2020

With talk of the House of Lords heading to Yorkshire, Page White and Farrer is one step ahead! The leading firm of patent and trade mark attorneys has taken new office space in Platform, the trendy hub for tech and innovation in Leeds city centre.

Fri 22nd Mar 2019

Amidst the ongoing uncertainty regarding Brexit, this is the current position and the anticipated effects of Brexit on trade marks and designs.

Tue 25th Sep 2018

On 24 September, the UK government released its latest pre-Brexit updates for businesses in regard to the implications for intellectual property. These papers outline the situation in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario, explain the implications for businesses in the UK, the EU and other countries, and they highlight any actions which are required by businesses and other stakeholders.

Wed 27th Jun 2018

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Dirk C. Söltenfuss has joined our Munich office as a partner.

Mon 11th Jun 2018

Subject to any transitional arrangements or other changes in law following Brexit, scheduled for 29 March 2019 when the United Kingdom will leave the European Union, there will be no copyright or unregistered design right protection in the UK for the 3‑dimensional aspects of industrial designs for nationals of most non‑EU countries. This includes nationals of, amongst others, the US, Canada, Australia, China, Japan and South Korea.

Mon 7th May 2018

Last year saw yet another period of growth for the Hague System as the international registration body for the protection of industrial designs.

Sun 1st Apr 2018

The Hague Agreement or Hague System, is a procedure that allows for the international registration of industrial designs through a single application filed at the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Thu 1st Mar 2018

Patent attorney David Roberts reviews the CJEU judgement C-361/15 - Easy Sanitary Solutions v Group Nivelles and give some background and implications of the case.

Fri 10th Feb 2017

For British designers, China is an important manufacturing location for British-designed products as the fast-growing economy creates increasing demand. However, those looking to take advantage of this demand should first ensure that they have considered the intellectual property risks that China presents.

Mon 5th Dec 2016

The results of a recent EU-wide study have been published by the European Patent Office and the EU Intellectual Property Office. The study analysed the impact of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on the European economy in terms of gross domestic product, employment, wages and trade.

Fri 30th Sep 2016

The fees for registering a design and renewals have been reduced. The UK Intellectual Property Office will allow applicants to register with online forms for a reduced fee of £50 and renew registered designs for a significant reduction.