Industrial Design Protection in Luxembourg: How to Register and Maintain Your Design Rights

Luxembourg, as part of the Benelux region, offers a straightforward and reliable system for protecting industrial designs. The registration process is administered through the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP), which also covers Belgium and the Netherlands. This unified system allows applicants to secure broad protection across multiple jurisdictions under a single procedure. The following guide outlines the key requirements, procedures, and maintenance rules for obtaining and keeping a design right valid in Luxembourg.

Authority: 

• Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP), https://www.boip.int/en

Term of Protection: 

• A registered design is valid for up to 25 years from the filing date, renewable every 5 years.

Filing Deadline: 

• Design protection in Luxembourg may be sought through either:
  •    The Benelux design route, or
  •    The EU design route
• both of which must be filed within 6 months from the earliest priority date.

Required Documents for Design Applications: 

To file an industrial design application in Luxembourg, the following documents must be prepared: 

• Representations / Figures
• Brief description
• Power of Attorney
• Certified copy of the priority document (DAS unavailable)
• Ownership Statement / Employment Statement / Priority Assignment

Process & Procedure:

• Applications for a design patent in Luxembourg can be submitted to the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP). The BOIP conducts only a formal examination of the design, without assessing its novelty or uniqueness. The design or model pertains to the visual and aesthetic appearance of a product, such as shape, structure, and texture, not based on any functional considerations. Images or photographs can be presented in two dimensions, or as three-dimensional objects. They can depict the appearance applied to the entire product or just a part of it. Compositions can consist of two-dimensional elements like patterns, lines, or colors of the product, or three-dimensional elements like shapes or textures.
• Applicants may request a publication delay, which can be extended for up to 12 months.

Grace Period for Novelty:

• If a design is disclosed by the designer, the successor in title, or a third party acting in bad faith, a 12-month grace period applies from the date of disclosure, during which the novelty of the design remains unaffected.

Grant and Renewal Fees:

•    No grant fees are required for registered designs.
•    Renewal fees must be paid within 12 months before the expiry of the current validity period. A 6-month grace period is allowed for late payment, subject to a EUR 20 surcharge.

Granting Time: 

• The average time for design registration is approximately 3 - 5 months from the filing date.

Conclusion

Luxembourg’s participation in the Benelux intellectual property system provides an efficient and cost-effective pathway for securing design protection across multiple European countries. By understanding the required documentation, timelines, and renewal procedures, applicants can safeguard their creative designs for up to 25 years. For businesses seeking to protect their product aesthetics or brand identity, registering an industrial design in Luxembourg is a strategic step in strengthening intellectual property in Europe.