Industrial Design Enforcement & Protection

▌ A. DESIGN INFRINGEMENT ADVISORY

Assessing Infringement: Before Taking Action

A clear-headed professional assessment is the essential first step before any enforcement action or response. Our six-stage assessment includes:

1. Registration validity: Confirm the design registration is valid, currently in force, and correctly owned.
2. Scope of protection: Determine coverage based on registered representations and drawings.
3. Infringement assessment: Evaluate if the accused product creates the same overall impression.
4. Available defences: Assess prior use, experimental use, or invalidity claims.
5. Commercial impact: Quantify damage and likely remedies.
6. Enforcement options: Identify mechanisms, costs, and probability of success.

The Informed User Standard: Infringement is assessed from the perspective of an 'informed user'—someone familiar with the product category who notices visual differences but is not a specialist expert.

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▌ B. CEASE AND DESIST NOTICES

A professionally drafted cease and desist letter is the standard first step, typically more commercially efficient than immediate court action. It creates a documented record of the infringer's awareness.

• • Identification of registered design(s) and registration numbers.
• • Precise analysis of infringing visual features.
• • Demand for cessation of manufacture, import, and sale.
• • Request for destruction of infringing goods and tooling.
• • Deadline for response and statement of enforcement actions.

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▌ C. OPPOSITION PROCEEDINGS

Filing an opposition during the official publication period prevents competitors from obtaining conflicting registrations. We provide:

• Proactive monitoring of newly published design applications.
• Professional assessment of grounds: prior rights, lack of novelty, or bad faith.
• Preparation, filing, and prosecution of the formal opposition notice.
• Gathering of evidence and settlement/consent negotiations.

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▌ D. CANCELLATION ACTIONS

Challenging a Competitor's Existing Registered Design

Grounds for cancellation include Lack of novelty (prior art exists), Functional design (dictated by technical function), Bad faith registration, and Non-disclosure of own prior disclosures.

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▌ E. CUSTOMS RECORDATION SUPPORT

Formally recording your designs with border authorities enables officers to intercept and seize infringing products at the point of import.

• Filing UAE Federal and emirate-level Customs recordation applications.
• GCC Customs recordation across Saudi Arabia (ZATCA), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman.
• Creation of product identification guides for Customs training.
• Coordination during active seizure and detention proceedings.