How can we help?
To access legal support from just £145 per hour arrange your no-obligation initial consultation to discuss your business requirements.
Business Legal Services
Design Rights
Protect and enforce your design right with the help of our experienced lawyers.
What would be the impact if your new product design was copied as soon as it was launched? Often, when design infringement goes unchecked, it can quickly make a product no longer commercially viable. Whether you decide to use a registered design as a standalone form of protection or used in conjunction with other types of intellectual property rights, they are an extremely powerful way to protect the visual appearance of your product.
Our design rights lawyers will work alongside you to help you navigate common obstacles related to design rights, from registration, exploitation to enforcement.
Experts in intellectual property law
Our team can assist you across all areas of design rights, including:
How we help designers
Protecting the appearance of your product
You’ve invested time, energy, and creativity to design something unique. Unless you register your design, a competitor could copy your design or use it without your permission. Our support extends beyond the registration of a design. We will help you identify the most appropriate registration route for your design based on your businesses requirements, whether that is with the UK IPO, EUIPO, WIPO or through a national registration. We will also help you secure priority for your designs and can protect your designs through the use of NDAs and confidentiality agreements.
Resolving design disputes
Given the high volume of designs being created, it’s almost inevitable that at some point in time you will face infringement issues. Whether you own a design right that has been copied or you have been accused of infringement, our solicitors will use their experience to help you resolve a dispute in a way that will cause minimum disruption to your business. Throughout the process we will be transparent about costs and the likelihood of success, allowing you to make informed decisions on how to resolve the dispute.
Developing strategies to help you profit from your designs
Working alongside the commercial law team we can conduct IP audits to help you identify valuable designs in your business. Once you have registered your designs, we will help you develop a strategy that not only highlights the strengths of your designs but one that also connects you with businesses that are interested in purchasing or licensing your design.
How we do things differently
Flexible pricing plans: Keeping costs under control is particularly important for designers who produce large volumes of designs and file registrations on a regular basis. Our subscription pricing model allows you to receive design right support from senior lawyers for a fraction of the cost of traditional law firms.
Full-service law firm: We work closely with our commercial law team to draft agreements that allow you to make the most of any opportunities that come your way. We will identify and manage risks, whilst giving your teams the flexibility they need to benefit financially from your designs.
Testimonials
What our clients say
It was difficult to find suitable support for my IP problem and such a relief to find Harper James Solicitors. Lindsay was fantastic at guiding me through the process and I couldn’t have been happier with the result.
Mariani Robinson
Founder,
Naturally Lady
What could have been complex, costly and drawn out, was so straight forward with Jill. She secured a settlement in our favour and we couldn’t recommend her more! It feels great to have an array of legal expertise on your side, so we can focus on running our business.
Maddi Cook
Director,
Boss your salon
Lindsay has acted as our in-house legal counsel for around a decade, helping us in complex international licences and contracts involving IP. Lindsay is the person you want to have at your side as you negotiate a deal, helping you to understand the long-term value points for all parties and providing insight into the other party's positioning that helps to balance the give and take in a negotiation.
Eric Newell
Head of Global Business Development,
Aeristech Ltf
The advice set out in Rob’s initial IP audit has helped us create a clear road map for our IP. It has also strengthened our case to get the follow-on grant and with that now secured, I look forward to working with Harper James on the next phase of our IP strategy.
Lucy Fenn
Head of Communications,
eWATERservices
It was difficult to find suitable support for my IP problem and such a relief to find Harper James Solicitors. Lindsay was fantastic at guiding me through the process and I couldn’t have been happier with the result.
Mariani Robinson
Founder,
Naturally Lady
What could have been complex, costly and drawn out, was so straight forward with Jill. She secured a settlement in our favour and we couldn’t recommend her more! It feels great to have an array of legal expertise on your side, so we can focus on running our business.
Maddi Cook
Director,
Boss your salon
Lindsay has acted as our in-house legal counsel for around a decade, helping us in complex international licences and contracts involving IP. Lindsay is the person you want to have at your side as you negotiate a deal, helping you to understand the long-term value points for all parties and providing insight into the other party's positioning that helps to balance the give and take in a negotiation.
Eric Newell
Head of Global Business Development,
Aeristech Ltf
The advice set out in Rob’s initial IP audit has helped us create a clear road map for our IP. It has also strengthened our case to get the follow-on grant and with that now secured, I look forward to working with Harper James on the next phase of our IP strategy.
Lucy Fenn
Head of Communications,
eWATERservices
Why choose our design lawyers
Our design rights solicitors bring a wealth of experience in developing successful IP strategies, managing IP exploitation, and resolving disputes.
We are experts in identifying, protecting, and enforcing clients’ rights across extensive intellectual property portfolios, both in the UK and abroad. Our international experience means that we can advise you on the most appropriate registration routes for your designs and navigate the nuances of international design law. This experience is particularly valuable, especially now that many infringements taken place online, often by businesses operating outside of the UK.
Our team consists of professionals recruited from the top 100 UK law firms or large international businesses. We have advised clients as both external consultants and as in house counsel. This experience allows us to communicate in a way that is clear, pragmatic, and focused on helping you achieve your commercial goals. For more information about our team, click here:
Pricing and service plans
Legal support designed
to fit your business needs
Our three transparent service plans are designed to give you the widest possible access to high-quality legal advice, whatever the size and nature of your business:
Engage
Flexible access to senior solicitors at highly competitive rates
An alternative to our subscription plans, offering access to full service legal expertise on a project-by-project basis.
Enable
Purpose built legal support for start-ups and smaller businesses
Monthly subscription plan for £215 per month, with £145 monthly credit and access to all legal services at 50% discount on our Standard Rates.
Extend
Comprehensive legal partnership for established businesses
Fully account managed and scalable annual subscription plan with support from a curated team of partners and senior solicitors, with up to 34% discount on our Standard Rates.