Unregistered design rights in the fashion industry

How to stop your fashion designs being copied?

Under EU law, protection for unregistered designs comes via Council Regulation (EC) No. 6/2002 on Community Design.

In order for a design to be considered to have individual character, the overall impression which that design Systems produces on the informed user must be different from that produced on such a user by one or more earlier designs, this taken individually, or by a combination of features taken in isolation and drawn from a number of earlier designs (under Article 6 of the Regulation).

Legally, it is up to the designer asserting unregistered design protection to prove individual design aspects which constitute individual character within the meaning of Article 6 of the EU Regulation.

At Briffa, we would always recommend registering creative designs as the existence of a registered design on a public register is often enough on its own to stop others from trying to exploit your design.