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Protecting aesthetic innovations? An exploration of the use of registered community designs

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  • Filitz, Rainer
  • Henkel, Joachim
  • Tether, Bruce S.

Abstract

A decade after their introduction, approximately three-quarters of a million European registered community designs (RCDs) have been filed, and recent court cases suggest firms regard them as important for competition. This paper reviews design protection in the European Union, discusses this legal instrument to protect designs and design innovations, and provides an overview of how RCDs are used by firms from different countries and industries. To develop a more detailed understanding of their usage, we also report an exploratory qualitative study on the use of RCDs by German firms in three industries: footwear, car manufacturing and tool-making. This revealed some important differences, notably between judicious filing and “all-you-can-file” strategies, which implies that future research using this instrument requires attention be paid to firm and industry level behaviors. We develop a set of propositions, and set out a research agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Filitz, Rainer & Henkel, Joachim & Tether, Bruce S., 2015. "Protecting aesthetic innovations? An exploration of the use of registered community designs," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 1192-1206.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:44:y:2015:i:6:p:1192-1206
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2015.02.004
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    2. Carolina Castaldi & Sandro Mendonca, 2021. "Regions and trademarks. Research opportunities and policy insights from leveraging trademarks in regional innovation studies," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2138, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Dec 2021.
    3. Barros, Henrique M., 2021. "Neither at the cutting edge nor in a patent-friendly environment: Appropriating the returns from innovation in a less developed economy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).
    4. Heikkilä, Jussi T.S. & Peltoniemi, Mirva, 2023. "The changing work of IPR attorneys: 30 years of institutional transitions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    5. Herz, Benedikt & Mejer, Malwina, 2021. "The effect of design protection on price and price dispersion: Evidence from automotive spare parts," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Heikkilä, Jussi & Peltoniemi, Mirva, 2019. "Great expectations: Learning the boundaries of design rights," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    7. Filitz, Rainer & Henkel, Joachim & Ohnemus, Jörg, 2017. "Digital design protection in Europe: Law, trends, and emerging issues," ZEW Discussion Papers 17-007, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    8. Paulin Gohoungodji & Nabil Amara, 2023. "Art of innovating in the arts: definitions, determinants, and mode of innovation in creative industries, a systematic review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(8), pages 2685-2725, November.
    9. Herz, Benedikt & Mejer, Malwina, 2020. "The effect of design protection on price and price dispersion: Evidence from automotive spare parts," MPRA Paper 104137, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 Nov 2020.
    10. Carolina Castaldi & Kyriakos Drivas, 2023. "Relatedness, Cross-relatedness and Regional Innovation Specializations: An Analysis of Technology, Design, and Market Activities in Europe and the US," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 99(3), pages 253-284, May.
    11. Marcel Seip & Carolina Castaldi & Meindert Flikkema & Ard-Pieter de Man, 2019. "A taxonomy of firm-level IPR application practices to inform policy debates," LEM Papers Series 2019/03, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    12. Jussi Heikkilä, 2019. "IPR gender gaps: a first look at utility model, design right and trademark filings," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 118(3), pages 869-883, March.
    13. Castaldi, Carolina, 2018. "To trademark or not to trademark: The case of the creative and cultural industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 606-616.
    14. Andersson, David E. & Ekman, Anton & Huila, Anton & Tell, Fredrik, 2023. "Industrial design rights and the market value of firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    15. Ghisetti, Claudia & Montresor, Sandro & Vezzani, Antonio, 2021. "Design and environmental technologies: Does ‘green-matching’ actually help?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(5).
    16. Herz, Benedikt & Mejer, Malwina, 2019. "Effects of the European Union trademark: Lessons for the harmonization of intellectual property systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1841-1854.
    17. Corradini, Carlo & D'Ippolito, Beatrice, 2022. "Persistence and learning effects in design innovation: Evidence from panel data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    18. Li Zhang & Xiaoguang Shan, 2023. "The use of intellectual property right bundles and firm performance in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, December.

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