What does design protection cost?

Design protection is typically not as expensive as many people think. For example, a design registration is significantly cheaper than a patent (protection of inventions). Here we try to give you an overview of what it costs to protect your design at home and abroad.

The two typical costs

The total cost of a design registration typically consists of two items:

Authority registration fee (including a renewal fee every 5 years).
Cost of the consultant preparing the application.

Let's look at government fees first.

1. Government fees

Here are the three most common registration fees paid to the authorities in connection with a design registration.

Denmark: 1200 DKK
EU: 350 EUR (approx. 2600 DKK)
International (WIPO): 414 CHF (approx. 2800 DKK).
For the WIPO international application, you also have to pay 2500 DKK for each designated country (e.g. USA or Japan).

* Not all countries have joined the International Design Scheme. This is the case for China and Russia. For a full list of countries that have acceded to the Geneva Convention see here. If you would like information on fees in a specific country, please feel free to contact us.

2. Costs incl. advisor

Protection needs and complexity vary from design to design. Sometimes an adviser simply assists with the correct submission of an applicant's material to the authorities - but more often there will be a degree of advice that optimises and modifies, to ensure that protection is effective and the ability to enforce is better, if necessary. At Larsen & Birkeholm we always provide a fixed price and you are welcome to book a no obligation consultation here. Below we have tried to give an indication of the typical price range of design protection. Please note that prices are inclusive of government fees.