DESIGNS

 
As a member of the European Union, Sweden offers different possibilities to obtain design protection in the country. No matter which form of protection you choose; Hansson Thyresson Patentbyrå AB offers professional representation before OHIM, WIPO, the Swedish Patent and Registration Office and the Swedish Courts.
 
National Registration and Establishment
Swedish national design applications are examined by the Swedish Patent and Registration Office. After a completed examination the design is entered into the design register. The registration is published in the Swedish Design Gazette. The advertisement is published to give the public an opportunity to file an opposition against the registration. Opposition may result in full or partial revocation of the registered design. An opposition against a registration must be in writing and filed within two months of the date when the registration was advertised.

 

 

Community Design Registration
It is also possible to obtain design protection in Sweden by filing a Community Design Application in the OHIM office in Alicante. Community Designs registered by the OHIM will enjoy protection in all twenty-seven Member States. A detailed examination is not required in order to ensure that designs qualify for protection. Instead, the OHIM will be able to annul non-qualifying registrations after invalidity proceedings.

 

To be eligible for protection, designs must be new and must have an individual character. In other words it must be apparent to the public that they are different from products which existed previously. It is possible also to claim protection through unregistered designs under similar conditions. Unregistered designs will be protected for three years while a registration will last for up to 25 years. Registrations will need to be renewed every five years up to that maximum.

 

Only legal practitioners subject to certain conditions may act before the OHIM in design matters. Professional representatives entered on the list of representatives for trade mark matters before the OHIM automatically are qualified for representation also in design matters.

 

Regardless of which route you choose Hansson Thyresson Patentbyrå AB offers a team of attorneys authorised by the Swedish Intellectual Property Attorneys Association and by the OHIM office and a qualified administrative team to represent you or your clients in Sweden and OHIM, respectively, with regard to design matters.