If you want to protect your design in Sweden, apply for protection with the Swedish Intellectual Property office (Patent- och registreringsverket, PRV).

File a design application at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

If your application is registered, you will receive a design protection that is valid for a maximum of 25 years. It is important to know that you have 12 months to register your design at the Swedish Intellectual Property office if it has been published before you apply for design protection. This is called the grace period.

Requirements on designs

Must be new

The design must be new.

Distinctiveness

The overall impression must be different from designs that are previously known.

You can find out if the product is unique on your own

You will need to investigate whether your design is different from previously known and registered designs, or whether it is considered too simple.

Design databases at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

The Swedish Intellectual Property office also has consulting services to help you find out if your design is new, if there are similar products, and who your competitors are.

Consulting services at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office 

What does it cost?

Fees and payment for design protection at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

Protection is not always necessary

There are some instances where protection is not necessarily the best solution. If you have created something that has a very short life span, you may not need to apply for design protection, because the competitors will not have time to plagiarise your design during the short time the product is in demand.

Design protection and design patent

Two terms for the same thing. The Swedish Intellectual Property Office, usually uses the term design protection when describing and providing information. Legal texts use the term “design patent”. Whatever term is used, they now stand for the same thing, meaning the protection of the appearance of a product.

Examples of designs

See examples of design protected at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

When your design has been registered

Monitoring your design

When you have registered your design, it is your responsibility to monitor your right(s).

Monitoring your design at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

Unauthorized use - infringement

If someone uses your invention, design, trademark, or copyright without permission, the person is infringing. You must also make sure not to infringe on the rights of others.

Unauthorized use – infringement at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

Renewals and alterations

Remember to renew your design registration.

Design protection is valid for a maximum of 25 years. The registration is valid for one or more five-year periods, counted from the date that you filed your application. When you submit your application, you can state how many periods you would like your registration to be valid for. Alternatively, you can renew your design protection at the end of each five-year period.

Renewals and alterations at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

Strategy for intangible assets

Strategy for intangible assets may sound complicated. But a good strategy shows the importance of the intangible assets for the company's business and how they are intended to be used and protected.

Strategy for intangible assets at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office

Valuation of intangible assets

Intangible assets often account for a very large part of a company's value. It is therefore important to evaluate them.

Valuation of intangible assets at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office