True to its name, Design Law: Global Law and Practice is global in scope, targeting a wide audience from “practitioners as well as scholars, right holders as well as aspiring designers, policymakers as well as students” (p. 2). The book’s approach to design law includes an expansive span of topics, ranging from introductory for those new to design law to sophisticated as appropriate for more experienced legal practitioners.
Design Law begins with a thorough introduction, providing an overview of the most salient topics covered in the book: cumulative protection; functionality; spare parts and the right to review; visibility; and emerging technologies. This section provides a brief discussion of the countries that possess interesting or unusual applications of these topics or that, in the alternative, do not have the applicable framework. While this might not be enough of an introduction for a complete novice to the topic, the overview provides a comprehensive basis for someone relatively new to design law, allowing them to have enough of a basis to tackle the rest of the book.
The next section of the introduction discusses present-day trends and challenges in design law, providing a basis for the topics to be covered in Parts II and III of the book. These parts deal with international treaties and their application as well as “substantive design law issues” (p. 23). Before delving into Part I: Design Laws Around the World Country-by-Country, the introduction concludes with an overview of proposed European Union (EU) design law reforms based on expected significant changes. Both the Design Regulation and the Design Directive were still outstanding at the time of the book’s publication in 2024, but the reform package was published in November 2024, with parts set to take effect beginning in May 2025.
Organized alphabetically by country, Part I begins with Australia and ends with Design Prosecution before the EUIPO and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Part I also includes a lengthy discussion of design law in China; industrial design law in France, Italy, India, and Japan; design protection in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, and Sweden); design patent law in the United States (US); and a post-Brexit review of design protection in the United Kingdom (UK). The chapters vary in length and depth of coverage regarding the individual countries, but the expertise of the individual authors shines through, even as the depth of treatment of individual topics and countries varies.
Part II: International Treaties and Jurisdiction dedicates a chapter to the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) for industrial design registration before discussing the “forbidden words” (p. 441) at the heart of the controversy surrounding the draft Design Law Treaty. The last chapter in this part covers the European approach to multistate infringement of design rights. Part III: Present-Day and Future Trends covers topics from “prior art in design law, viewed from an international perspective” to a chapter on “fashion in design law, with a focus on EU Law” (p. 23). Also included is a chapter dedicated to redesigning design protection and another on the European perspective on the concept of aesthetic creative freedom. The book concludes with two chapters discussing “the way forward” (p. 24) and where design law may be headed, with one focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) and another on where design law may be headed within a circular economy.
Design Law: Global Law and Practice is crafted to resonate with a diverse audience, striking a balance between complexity and simplicity. It engages both seasoned professionals and those new to the field, making complex legal principles accessible and engaging while still providing a discussion of the more intricate aspects of design law. The book offers a comprehensive overview of the topics covered while providing a well-reasoned forecast of the future of global design law.
