Designs

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Design is at the heart of innovation – and robust legal protection for design rights is vital for design-led businesses across all sectors.

Our top-ranked IP team has a dedicated Design Law Group focusing on the protection and commercialisation of designs in the UK and abroad. We offer support across the full lifecycle of designs, from initial product clearance to filing strategy, design portfolio management, tackling counterfeit and copycat products, advising on exploitation and licensing opportunities, and working with customs authorities to stop infringing imports from entering the UK market. We can help maintain and grow the value of your design portfolio while protecting your business from those who seek to trade off your design innovation and success.

We help businesses of all sizes navigate the complex UK legal framework of designs and to devise pragmatic and cost-effective protection strategies, avoiding the loss of valuable design rights as a result of Brexit. We are acutely aware of the challenges facing design businesses operating across the UK/EU border, and we closely monitor this evolving legal landscape to ensure our advice is practical, forward looking and future-proof. 

Our Design Law Group includes members of our market-leading trade mark, patent, copyright and IP litigation teams. Through this combined experience, we offer a full suite of IP expertise to support your product development and enforcement strategies. What set us apart is not only the range, depth and quality of knowledge and experience, but also our ability and determination to understand your business and the key commercial drivers surrounding your products and brands.

"The CMS team understands the underlying complexities and produces high-quality work in line with our desired outcomes. The team demonstrates a good breadth of skills and experience across different types of IP work."

Intellectual Property, UK - London, Chambers & Partners, 2023

"It is really a pleasure to work with CMS. They are well organised, their team is engaged, they have a proactive approach and their advice is invaluable."

Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design, UK - Solicitors, London, Legal 500: 2022

"At the top of their game."

Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design, UK - Solicitors, London, Legal 500, 2021

"CMS have an outstanding team, providing heavyweight, cross discipline advice and support."

Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design, UK - Solicitors, London, Legal 500, 2021

"An extremely professional, capable team."

Intellectual Property: Trade Marks, Copyright and Design, UK - Solicitors, London, Legal 500, 2021
Patent com­mer­cial­isa­tion
CMS Umbra
24/04/2023
European Designs Case Law Round Up
The CMS Intellectual Property Teams from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK summarise recent designs cases of significance.
11/04/2023
EU Design Rights - Frequently Asked Questions
Please fill in this short form to read our answers to frequently asked questions about EU Design Pro­tec­tion. Mem­bers of our dedicated Design Law Team are happy to provide further information – their...

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16/11/2023
CMS and IPDefine Announce Global Patent Initiative
International law firm CMS, in collaboration with patent AI specialist IPDefine Ltd., have developed a cutting-edge turnkey solution which is poised to make intellectual property monetisation more accessible...
28/06/2023
Registered Designs (UK)
Find out what can be registered as a design and what the benefits are of doing so. We talk you through the process of design registration in the UK and some of the common challenges you may face.  
24/04/2023
European Designs Case Law Round Up
The CMS Intellectual Property Teams from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK summarise recent designs cases of significance. 
11/04/2023
EU Design Rights - Frequently Asked Questions
Please fill in this short form to read our answers to frequently asked questions about EU Design Pro­tec­tion. Mem­bers of our dedicated Design Law Team are happy to provide further information – their...
19/03/2020
Works of Artistic Craftmanship: IPEC considers CJEU Cofemel decision
The Cofemel (C-683/17) decision saw the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) hold that there were two requirements for copyright protection under Directive 2001/29/EC (the “InfoSoc Dir­ect­ive”):...