Design

What is design?

A design is the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from its features, in particular the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation. If the design is new and has individual character, it may be granted legal protection as a design (design protection).

Design protection may be granted to the appearance of the whole or a part of any industrial or handicraft product which is new and has individual character, where such appearance results in particular from the features of the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation. In Hungary, such protection may be obtained by applying to the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO), in accordance with the rules detailed in the guide below.  

Any design that is new and has individual character may be granted design protection.

A design is defined as the appearance of the whole or a part of an industrial or handicraft product. Design protection valid in the territory of Hungary arises as a result of a procedure before the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (HIPO), as provided by law.

Design protection shall last for five years from the filing date of the application. It may be renewed for further periods of five-years each, four times at the most. If design protection is renewed, the new period shall begin on the day following the date of expiration of the previous period.

The holder of the design right shall have the exclusive right to exploit the design and to grant a licence to others for its exploitation.

Any person may inspect the documents of the design application after the date of the grant of design protection and and may obtain a copy thereof against payment of a fee.