Sui Generis Intellectual Property Protection for Designs

Designs have historically been protected by copyright, a special design regime, or a cumulation of both. Although special legal regimes for the protection of designs have been introduced on both sides of the Atlantic, the experience with such sui generis rights in the EU and the U.S. differs significantly. This chapter analyses the Community Designs in the EU—sui generis regimes providing an anti-copying right for unregistered designs and an exclusive right for registered designs, as well as the legal regime for the protection of vessel hull designs, which is the only sui generis regime available for the protection of designs in the U.S. The chapter aims to answer the question why the EU Community Designs regimes turned out to be more successful than the U.S. special regime for the protection of vessel hull designs, as well as elaborates on the future of the legal protection of designs.