Challenge a conflicting design, or defend your own.
A competitor’s registered design can block your product line in every market it covers. Our design attorneys oppose and cancel conflicting designs before and after registration, and defend our clients’ designs when they are attacked, with prior-design evidence built by our own search team.
- Pre-registration oppositions and observations where offices allow them
- Post-registration cancellation and invalidity actions worldwide
- Defence of your designs with counter-statements and evidence
Discuss your design dispute
Tell us which design is involved and any deadline. An attorney replies within one business day with options and fees.
Two chances to challenge a design, before and after registration.
A design opposition is a challenge to a design application before it is registered. A cancellation or invalidity action is a challenge to a design that is already registered. Both ask the office to refuse or remove protection that should not exist, usually because an earlier design shows the same thing.
Most design offices do not examine designs in depth before registering them, so many registrations cover designs that were not new. That makes post-registration cancellation the main route in most countries, while pre-registration opposition and observations are available only in some. We use whichever route each office allows, and we defend our clients’ designs against the same attacks.
At a glance
- Pre-registration
- Opposition or observations, where offered
- Post-registration
- Cancellation or declaration of invalidity
- Who can file
- Usually any interested person
- Main grounds
- Novelty, individual character, prior publication
- Decided by
- The design office, with appeal to a court or board
- Key evidence
- Earlier designs with reliable dates
Choose the right moment to challenge a design.
Timing decides the route, the cost and the burden of proof. We advise on which stage gives you the best chance.
Pre-registration opposition
Before the design is registered, in offices that allow it.
- Filed within a fixed period after publication
- Stops the right before it is granted
- Often lower cost than later cancellation
- Third-party observations where no opposition exists
- Needs a watch to catch publications in time
- Not available in many major offices
Post-registration cancellation
After registration, for most of the life of the design.
- Available in almost every design office
- Can be filed when the design is asserted against you
- Removes or narrows the registration
- Works as a defence in infringement disputes
- Burden of proof sits with the challenger
- Decisions can be appealed
Every earlier design, dated and compared.
Design disputes turn on what was public before the filing date. Our search team finds it, proves the date and sets it beside the contested design.
A simplified, fictional example. Real evidence packs include full registration records, archive captures and declarations for each item.
Each ground, backed by its own evidence.
Every opposition or cancellation sets out each ground, the argument and the evidence that proves it, so the office can decide quickly.
| # | Ground and argument | Evidence filed | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lack of noveltyEarlier registration A shows an identical case outline, crown and lug shape. | Registration certificate, publication date, view-by-view overlay | Strong |
| 2 | Lack of individual characterDifferences limited to button placement, which an informed user would hardly notice. | Comparison chart with design freedom analysis | Strong |
| 3 | Prior publicationThe same case appeared in a 2019 catalogue before the priority date. | Dated catalogue, archive captures, declaration | Strong |
| 4 | Dictated by functionStrap lugs are shaped only to fit a standard strap width. | Technical standard and engineering explanation | Supporting |
Six services, on either side of a dispute.
Whether you are challenging a design or defending one, we cover every stage from evidence to settlement.
Pre-registration opposition
Stops a conflicting design before it is registered, in offices that publish designs for opposition or accept third-party observations.
- Watch of new design publications in your classes
- Opposition period and deadline tracked
- Notice of opposition with grounds and evidence
- Third-party observations where no opposition exists
- Reply to the applicant’s counter-statement
- Hearing representation
Post-registration cancellation
Removes or narrows a registered design that should not have been granted, using earlier designs and other grounds.
- Cancellation or invalidity petition drafted
- Prior-design evidence collected and dated
- View-by-view comparison charts
- Expert declarations where helpful
- Hearing and written submissions
- Appeal against the decision
Defending your design
Protects your registration when a competitor files an opposition or cancellation against it.
- Grounds and evidence reviewed on receipt
- Counter-statement and response deadline docketed
- Distinguishing features argued view by view
- Evidence of your own creation and dates
- Amendment or limitation where offices allow it
- Settlement options assessed
Evidence and invalidity search
Finds the earlier designs that decide the case, with publication dates that will stand up before the office.
- Registered designs worldwide
- Catalogues, online stores and trade shows
- Utility patent figures that disclose appearance
- Archive captures and dated records
- Ranked by similarity to the contested design
- Delivered as filing-ready exhibits
Infringement-led challenges
Combines a cancellation action with enforcement strategy when a registered design is asserted against your product.
- Validity and infringement assessed together
- Cancellation as a defence or counter-attack
- Coordination with litigation counsel
- Design-around options reviewed
- Evidence shared across proceedings
- Input for negotiations
Settlement and coexistence
Resolves design disputes without a final decision when a negotiated outcome serves you better.
- Without-prejudice negotiations
- Coexistence and consent agreements
- Licensing options
- Withdrawal or limitation terms
- Multi-country settlements
- Agreements drafted with counsel
Each office, its own route to challenge.
Pre-grant and post-grant options differ widely between offices. We act directly or with local counsel under one strategy.
- Pre-registration
- No opposition; designs are examined before registration
- Post-registration
- Cancellation petition under Section 19 of the Designs Act, 2000, at any time
- Pre-grant
- Third-party preissuance submissions of prior art
- Post-grant
- Post-grant review within 9 months of grant, then reexamination or inter partes review
- Pre-registration
- No opposition; designs are registered after a formal check
- Post-registration
- Application for a declaration of invalidity, during the life of the design
- Pre-registration
- No opposition
- Post-registration
- Application to invalidate the registration
- Pre-grant
- No opposition
- Post-grant
- Request for invalidation, at any time after grant
- Pre-registration
- Third-party information submissions
- Post-registration
- Trial for invalidation
- Post-registration
- Time-limited opposition after the registration is published
- Later
- Trial for invalidation before the IP Trial and Appeal Board
- International registration
- No central opposition
- Post-registration
- Invalidity under the national law of each designated country
A summary for guidance only. Periods, fees and available routes depend on the office and the type of registration, and we confirm them for every case.
Nine grounds to refuse or cancel a design.
The grounds available depend on the office, but most cases rest on one or more of these.
Lack of novelty
An identical design, or one differing only in immaterial details, was made public before the filing or priority date.
Lack of individual character
The overall impression on an informed user is no different from an earlier design.
Prior publication
The design was published, sold or shown in a way that destroyed novelty before filing.
Not a design
The subject is a mechanical device, a principle of construction or otherwise outside the definition of a design.
Dictated by technical function
Features are shaped only by their function, or must fit another product.
Conflict with an earlier right
The design uses an earlier trade mark, copyright work or other protected right.
Not the proprietor
The registered owner was not entitled to the design.
Public order and morality
The design is contrary to public order or accepted principles of morality.
Prior registration
The same design was already registered in the same class by someone else.
From the first notice to a final decision.
A clear process gives you an early view of your chances, and a case filed well within the deadline.
- 01
Case review
Design, deadline and your goals assessed.
- 02
Evidence search
Earlier designs found, dated and ranked.
- 03
Strategy
Route, grounds and chances explained.
- 04
Filing
Notice, petition or counter-statement filed.
- 05
Evidence rounds
Replies, declarations and comparisons.
- 06
Hearing and decision
Arguments presented, and appeal if needed.
An earlier design only counts if you can prove when it became public. We preserve archive captures, catalogue dates and declarations from the start, so the evidence holds up at the hearing.
Discuss your caseDesign disputes run by design specialists.
Attorneys, searchers and drawing specialists working on one team, so evidence, comparisons and arguments are prepared together.
In-house design search
Earlier designs found by our own searchers, not outsourced.
Visual comparisons
View-by-view overlays and charts prepared by our drawing team.
Design attorneys
Arguments on novelty and individual character from practitioners who know design law.
Multi-office reach
India, US, EU, UK, China, Japan, Korea and Hague designations.
Deadline control
Opposition periods and response dates docketed on receipt.
Confidentiality
Strict non-disclosure and conflict checks on every matter.
Questions about design oppositions.
Answers to what clients ask us most.
Facing a conflicting design?
Send us the design number and any deadline. We will reply with your options within one business day.
Discuss your case01What is the difference between design opposition and cancellation?
Opposition challenges a design application before it is registered. Cancellation, also called invalidation, challenges a design after registration. Many offices offer only cancellation.
02Can I oppose a design in India?
India does not have a pre-registration opposition for designs. A registered design can be challenged at any time through a cancellation petition before the Controller under Section 19 of the Designs Act, 2000.
03What evidence do I need?
Earlier designs that look the same or create the same overall impression, with reliable proof of when they became public. Registrations, catalogues, archived web pages and declarations are common.
04Who can file a challenge?
In most offices any interested person can file. Some grounds, such as conflict with an earlier right, can only be raised by the owner of that right.
05Someone has challenged my design. What should I do?
Check the deadline for your reply straight away. We review the grounds and evidence, gather proof of your own creation and prepare a counter-statement that defends the registration.
06Can a cancellation action be used as a defence?
Yes. If a registered design is asserted against your product, a cancellation action can remove or narrow it, and is often run alongside the infringement defence.
07Can disputes be settled?
Yes. Many design disputes end in coexistence, licensing or withdrawal agreements. We assess settlement options alongside the formal case.
Challenge a conflicting design, or protect the one you own.
Share the design number and any deadline. An attorney will reply within one business day.
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