Novelty
An identical design must not have been publicly available before. If the same appearance was already shown on the market, the protection has no basis.
PROTECTING A PRODUCT'S APPEARANCE
Is your product selling? Then the competition will copy it
Good design is an advantage — but only for as long as it's yours. A registered industrial design gives you the exclusive right to your product's appearance and a real tool to stop imitators. I'll secure your product's look before someone else does it for you.
PLN 0 — initial design assessment. Send photos or drawings of the product and I'll tell you whether it's worth registering.
FIG. 01 / WHAT A DESIGN PROTECTS
An industrial design protects your product's appearance
An industrial design secures what's visible: the lines, shape, colours, texture and ornamentation of the product. And it has teeth.
When a competitor releases something that gives the impression „I've seen this somewhere before", they infringe your right — and changing 30% of the details won't save them if the overall impression stays similar. With a certificate of protection in hand you can easily take copies down from Allegro or Amazon. And a registered design itself raises your brand's value and becomes an asset you can license or sell.
FIG. 02 / LAYERS OF PROTECTION
One product, several layers of protection
An industrial design protects the appearance — but that's not all a product can protect. These forms of protection don't exclude each other, they complement each other, and it's often worth combining several.
Your productthe same item can be secured in several ways at once
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Appearance
Industrial design
Lines, shape, colours, texture and ornamentation — the way the product looks.
This page -
Technical solution
Patent or utility model
The way the product works — its construction and how it operates.
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Name and logo
Trademark
The sign by which customers recognise the product on the market.
I'll tell you which of these protections make sense for your product in particular — not to sell you all of them, but so that no gap is left exposed.
FIG. 03 / REGISTRATION WINDOW
You can show the product before registration — you have 12 months
With patents, any disclosure before filing destroys protection. With industrial designs it's different — you have a 12-month grace period. You can launch the product, check whether it sells, and only then register it, without losing the right to protection.
Window open
Test the market and register
For 12 months from the first disclosure you can launch the product, check sales and only then register it — without losing the right to protection.
Window closed
After 12 months — too late
It's too late to register, and if someone else shows a similar design before you, the novelty is gone. Test the market calmly — but don't put off registration indefinitely.
FIG. 04 / TWO CONDITIONS
Not every appearance can be defended
For a design to actually protect you, it must meet two conditions. Before you invest in registration, I'll assess whether your design meets them — because that determines whether the protection survives a possible dispute.
Individual character
The design must produce a different overall impression on an informed user than what's already on the market. A difference in minor, insignificant details is not enough.
FIG. 05 / STRONG PROTECTION
Registering is easy. Making the protection hold up is harder
The office doesn't check whether your design is really new
If the application is formally correct and paid for, the design will be registered. You get a certificate — but if the design wasn't actually new, a competitor can later invalidate it. So registration alone can be a false sense of security.
FIG. 06 / WHERE TO REGISTER
Where to register: in Poland or across the EU?
I'll match the route to where you sell and how fast you need protection. If you have several appearance variants, I can file them in a single application — which is cheaper than filing separately.
| Criterion | UPRP — Poland | EUIPO — Community design |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of protection | Poland | The whole European Union |
| Registration time | usually a few months | usually about 2 weeksexceptionally fast |
| Several variants in one application | yescheaper than separately | yescheaper than separately |
| When to choose | when you sell mainly in Poland | when you want to enter the EU market fast |
FIG. 07 / STEP BY STEP
How registration works, step by step
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01
Design assessment
I check novelty, individual character and what's worth covering.
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02
Preparing the illustrations
Choosing the views and scope so the protection is strong, not merely formal.
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03
Choosing the route
Poland, the EU, or several variants in one application.
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04
Filing
I file the application on your behalf.
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05
Registration
You obtain the design registration right.
Protection lasts up to 25 years, in 5-year periods — the renewal fee is paid every 5 years.
FIG. 08 / COSTS
What design registration costs — and how to recover part of it
The cost is made up of my fee and the official fees, which are beyond my control. The initial design assessment is free.
Initial design assessment (net)
PLN 0
I'll assess the design and tell you whether it's worth registering — no obligation.
Design registration — fee (net)
PLN 1,700
The same for the Polish (PL) and EU routes.
Official fees
UPRP / EUIPO
UPRP: filing PLN 300, publication PLN 70, first period (years 1–5) PLN 150, subsequent periods from PLN 250 to 2,000. EUIPO: EUR 350 for the first design, EUR 125 for each additional one.
Net prices.
Funding: the SME Fund refunds up to 75% of official fees
For micro, small and medium-sized companies, the SME Fund refunds up to 75% of the official fees for filing a design (up to EUR 700 per company) — on one condition: you must apply for the voucher before filing. If you qualify, I'll handle the application and settle the refund. Availability depends on the current call for applications — I'll check whether it's open.
FIG. 09 / WHY ME
I understand not just the law, but your product too
A patent attorney and materials engineer in one person
With an industrial design this genuinely matters, because to set the scope of protection well you have to understand the product — what it's made of, how it's produced, what in its appearance is an authorial choice and what is dictated by function. I work with manufacturers, including in the plastics and packaging sector, so I look at your design through the eyes of someone who understands how the product is made. And because I also handle patents and trademarks, I can secure the whole product in one place.
FIG. 10 / WHO IT'S FOR
Who I work with and what else is worth considering
I register designs for manufacturers and designers — of furniture, packaging, accessories, plastic goods — wherever a product's appearance is an advantage. If you're not sure what and how to protect, let's start with a free design assessment.
FIG. 11 / FAQ
Frequently asked questions about industrial designs
An industrial design protects a product's appearance, while a patent protects the technical solution. They're two different things, and it's often worth protecting both.
Yes. You have a 12-month grace period — you can put the product on the market and register it within a year without losing protection. But no longer than that.
Up to 25 years, in 5-year periods. The renewal fee is paid every 5 years.
No. The office registers the design once the formal requirements are met. Novelty and individual character are only assessed when someone files for invalidation. That's why a well-prepared application matters so much.
It depends on the market and how fast you need protection. EUIPO is fast and covers the whole EU; UPRP protects in Poland.
Yes. You protect the appearance with an industrial design, the technical solution with a patent or utility model, and the name with a trademark.
Don't see your question here? Write to me — I'll answer specifically.
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