30 November 2016 the winner of the new DesignEuropa Award will be announced for the first time. The awards ceremony is initiated by EUIPO (The European Union Intellectual Property Office) and it will take place in Milan.
The DesignEuropa Award will mark and honour the design industry and its big impact on growth and innovation within the EU. According to EUIPO, design intensive industries stand for 12.2% of the employment in the EU and they produce up to 13% of the EU GDP. Therefore, EUIPO sees a reason to celebrate and honour innovative design companies in Europe with this shared award.
“This award will be a celebration of talented creators in inventive companies, to whom intellectual property is a key asset”, says chairman of the harmonisation office, António Campino.
About the DesignEurope Award
The award divides into a line of categories. The first one is “industries”, which covers companies with more than 50 employees and a turnover above ten million EUR. The second category includes smaller newly started companies with less than 50 employees and a turnover below ten million EUR. Finally, there is an award for a renowned and special effort named “the Lifetime Achievement award”.
You can either send in your own company’s design or nominate another design company. The finalists are appointed by a jury that consists of selected professionals within the fields of trade, design and IPR.
See this year’s nominees and read more about the application conditions hereDesign as property right
Design is one of the intellectual property rights that is most accessible and fast to obtain, and with a European design registration, it is now possible to win an award for your product.
A design registration protects the look and design of a product and it gives the owner exclusive rights to market this particular product in up to 25 years. A registration can either stand alone or supplement a patent or trademark protection of the product. This gives the owner plenty of time to utilise the design commercially.
Are you next year’s winner?
Applying for this award is a great opportunity for design-industries with a valid RCD (Registered Community Design), since it may be valuable to achieve mentioning and recognition connected to EUIPO and European design in general.
Plougmann Vingtoft has had the pleasure of helping several Danish design companies such as Stelton and Ferm Living protect their products in Denmark and in the rest of the world.
Does your company wish to protect a unique design? Then contact our experienced experts, who will be ready to tailor a solution that fits your company.
