Designs
According to the established case law, design protection has access to „two- or three-dimensional commercial objects with color and shape designs that are determined and suitable to stimulate the aesthetic sense of form conveyed by the human eye. The patterns (two-dimensional) and models (three-dimensional) must be one in addition, the novelty of the sample or the model as well as a peculiarity of it is required.
To obtain protection under German design law, the design must be registered with the German Patent and Trademark Office. Design protection lasts a maximum of 25 years. Extension fees are payable every 5 years to maintain. The same applies to a Registered Community Design (RCD), which is effective for all countries in the European Union. Community design law also recognizes an unregistered design, which is protected for three years with the first publication.
The design / community design has the effect that only the author (designer or his employer) or his legal successor has the right to reproduce the design or model in whole or in part.