Under
German law
The law of Germany (german: das Recht Deutschlands), that being the modern German legal system (german: Deutsches Rechtssystem), is a system of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of G ...
, the registered design (German: ''eingetragenes Design''), formerly called ''Geschmacksmuster'' ("aesthetic model"),
is a form of
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
that extends
industrial design rights
An industrial design right is an intellectual property right that protects the visual design of objects that are purely utilitarian. An industrial design consists of the creation of a shape, configuration or composition of pattern or color, or co ...
over the visual design of objects that is not purely utilitarian. The term of a ''Geschmacksmuster'' is twenty-five years (ยง 27 (2) GeschmMG), as it is for a
community design.
See also
*
Design patent
In the United States, a design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of an article of manufacture. Design patents are a type of industrial design right. Ornamental designs of jewelry, furniture, beverage containers ...
* ''
Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt'' (German Patent and Trade Mark Office)
*
EU Directive on the legal protection of designs
* ''
Gebrauchsmuster In German and Austrian patent laws, the ''Gebrauchsmuster'' (GebrM), also known as German utility model or Austrian utility model, is a patent-like, intellectual property right protecting inventions.
The Gebrauchsmuster is slightly different from t ...
'' (German utility model)
*
Trade dress
Trade dress is the characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is an aspect of trademark law, which is a form of intelle ...
References
External links
Designsat the ''Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt'' (German Patent and Trade Mark Office)
*
Deutsches Geschmacksmustergesetz(German Design Patent Law)
German intellectual property law
Industrial design
{{Germany-law-stub