Design rights should follow the products and markets that create value. We help businesses organise registrations, monitor deadlines and assess portfolios in acquisitions, investment rounds and commercial restructurings.
The decisions that matter
Connect each registration to the product, owner, territory, filing date, renewal date and commercial status. Duplicate or outdated register entries can conceal gaps in coverage. We review licences, security interests and recorded ownership changes where relevant.
Make renewal decisions deliberately
A renewal review should consider current revenue, replacement products, copying risks and the remaining legal term. The same commercial product may rely on several registrations with different deadlines. Do not treat a product-family label as a substitute for a register-level schedule.
Prepare for due diligence
Investors and buyers need evidence of title, filing history, disputes, licences and material weaknesses. We identify missing assignments and assess whether the portfolio actually covers the products and markets described in the transaction.
Connect the register to the business
A useful portfolio schedule links each right to the product and version it protects, the current owner, territory, status, renewal date and supporting contract. The same commercial range may depend on several registrations. Missing assignments or outdated names should be identified before a dispute or transaction makes correction urgent.
Renewal and cost decisions
Review product life, revenue, licensing, replacement models and copying exposure before abandoning a right. Country terms vary: Australia, Indonesia, the United States and Canada cannot be managed by copying the EU renewal schedule. Record the reason for a non-renewal and obtain instructions from the authorised business contact while there is time to act.
Due diligence and corrective work
A buyer should inspect filed representations, chain of title, maintenance, licences, disputes and security interests. Compare claimed coverage with actual products and markets. Missing rights may not be recoverable after disclosure, so distinguish defects that can be corrected from gaps requiring a commercial allocation of risk. Closing documents should identify the assignments and recordals still required.
Three portfolio reviews
A group can reconcile rights held by subsidiaries after a restructuring. A buyer can test whether the core product appearance is actually covered in its principal markets. A licensee can check that important registrations will remain in force for the commercial term and that it has an effective remedy if the owner fails to maintain them.
What we need to begin
Useful starting material includes clear product images or drawings, the intended applicant, designer and ownership information, planned countries, earlier filings and all known disclosure dates. Tell us whether the product is a prototype, a final production model or a family of variants, and identify the commercial deadline.
Scope, fees and next steps
We first identify the legal question and the information needed to answer it. The proposed scope distinguishes filing or analysis, office correspondence, negotiations and proceedings, together with official charges and any foreign-adviser work. You receive a matter-specific proposal before the agreed steps are taken. Where another jurisdiction is involved, we coordinate with local advisers as required.
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Legal resources
Official guidance and legal framework. The applicable right, filing date and jurisdiction determine the detailed rules. Editorial review: 11 November 2026.