Design Rights

Our experience spans the entire life of your design rights and registrations

It’s not just about getting a design patented or registered. It’s also about what to do next. From new product development through patenting, litigation, appeal, and even the sale of your portfolio, Finnegan can help. We work with innovative clients of all sizes, including Fortune 100, Global 1000, and public and private organizations across all industries, all around the world.

We represent clients on U.S. design patent matters at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and before its Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), including in post-grant reviews and interferences involving design patents—both highly specialized matters. In Europe, Finnegan represents applicants for design registration directly at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), and the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA). We also use the Hague system at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which enables protection to be applied for in multiple countries through a simplified filing process.

In the US, the EU, and the UK, we regularly advise clients regarding infringement, validity, and freedom to operate, and we provide comprehensive evaluation of design rights as part of intellectual property (IP) transactions. We have litigated design patent matters in U.S. district courts and before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), and the U.S. Supreme Court. Wherever, your design protection needs take you, we have the experience to advise you along the way.

When your reach is global, protection of your design rights should extend there, too

Our offices in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and our professional relationships with more than 200 firms throughout the world, help our clients obtain protection for their product designs in domestic and international markets. We have direct experience prosecuting U.S. design patents and registering European and UK design rights for clients from across the globe. We also coordinate filings in more than twenty countries and take advantage of international filing systems, such as the Hague Agreement. And, when your rights are threatened, we have the resources to move quickly to protect your interests.

Obtain immediate protection and relief

When litigation becomes necessary to protect a client’s interests or to address a competitor’s challenge, our trial lawyers stand ready to swiftly move into action. Litigating design patent cases presents unique challenges, such as marshaling the right evidence by working closely with experts and survey evidence. Finnegan has successfully litigated dozens of cases involving all aspects of design patent law in U.S. courts and before government tribunals, including the PTAB. We also handle design validity challenges and appeals to the Boards of Appeal at the EUIPO and UKIPO as well as managing appeals to the courts in the UK and Germany.

Design rights may be only one piece of your IP puzzle

Finnegan’s experience in all areas of IP law, including utility patents, trademarks, and copyright, as well as IP aspects of advertising and trade secrets, enables us to form complementary strategies to best protect your company’s products on many fronts. Design rights are often applied for and litigated over alongside utility patents, trademarks, or trade dress, and our lawyers draw on decades of experience in these IP areas to collectively protect our clients’ interests.