With regard IP law, a design is the outward appearance of a product or part of it, resulting from the lines, contours, colors, shape, texture, materials and/or its ornamentation.

In this respect, a “Community design” has been created and is (as Community trademarks) directly enforceable in each Member State and it provides both the option of an unregistered and a registered Community design right for one area encompassing all Member States. The area of protection increases each time the EU enlarges.

The Community design has equal effect throughout the Community. The OHIM only deals with applications for registered Community designs, since an unregistered Community design requires no filing.

Community design will be protected if it meets the legal requirements of novelty and individual character at the time of filing. The protection granted by a Community design extends to the shape, lines, and contours of a product to which it is incorporated or applied.

A Community trademark may also protect such a shape by mean of the filing of a 3D CTM. The latter will be granted if the product can be considered as a sign which distinguishes the applicant's goods from those of anyone in a similar business. The protection granted by a Community trade mark is related to the distinctiveness of the sign itself compared to identical reproductions and signs with visual, phonetic or conceptual similarities leading to a likelihood of confusion.

It is possible for example to protect packaging as both a CTM and RCD if they meet the corresponding legal requirements: a novel shape becomes synonymous with a company's goods and may then be registered as a trade mark as well as being protected by a Community design on the grounds of its individual character and novelty.