How to enter Europe's new design awards

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

How to enter Europe's new design awards

ED-logo

The new EuropaDesign awards will celebrate excellence in design and design management among RCD owners. You can enter yourself or nominate someone else

designeuropa-awards

The awards, to be held in November this year in Milan, will be presented to companies and individual designers. The only criteria for consideration is that their designs must be protected by valid registered Community design (RCD) rights.

There are three categories: industry (for companies with more than 50 employees and more than €10 million in turnover/balance sheet); small and emerging companies (including companies established after January 1 2013, regardless of size); and lifetime achievement (for individual designers with a significant body of work).

Designs will be judged based on aesthetic value and visual appeal; demonstrable impact on the market; and sound marketing and management of design and other IP rights. 

Winners will be decided by a jury representing design, business and IP rights.

Applications for the industry and small/emerging company award can be submitted by the RCD owners themselves or by third parties, who can also nominate individuals for the lifetime achievement award.

The awards are being organised by OHIM (soon to be renamed EUIPO) and the Italian IP office (UIBM).

No doubt designers will appreciate this new opportunity to recognise the creation and use of what is often seen as an under-appreciated IP right. By contrast, the European Inventor Awards, organised by the EPO, are now in their 11th year: this year's ceremony will take place in Lisbon on June 9.

The only question is: who will design the EuropaDesign trophies? They had better look good. And will they be registered as RCDs?

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Powell Gilbert’s opening in Düsseldorf, complete with a new partner hire, continues this summer’s trend of UPC-related lateral movement
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications
Magdalena Bonde discusses Abion’s AI experiments and reveals why an entrepreneurial mindset and a willingness to learn about a business are essential skills
Partner Ginevra Righini explains how she secured victory for the Comité Champagne in its fight against an EUTM application for ‘Nero Champagne’
Volkan Hamamcıoğlu joins us for our ‘Five minutes with’ series to discuss meditation, tackling deadlines, and taking inspiration from Hamlet
A $110 million US verdict against Apple and an appellate order staying a $39 million trademark infringement finding against Amazon were also among the top talking points
Attorneys are watching how AI affects trademark registrations and whether a SCOTUS ruling from last year will have broader free speech implications
Patent lawyers explain why they will be keeping an eye on the implications of a pharma case and on changes at the USPTO in the second half of 2025
The insensitive reaction to a UK politician crying on TV proves we have a long way to go before we can say we are tackling workplace wellbeing
Adrian Percer says he was impressed by the firm’s work on billion-dollar cases as well as its culture
Gift this article