How do we protect the designs of consumer electronics?

APPLE is a good example of protecting many of their consumer products by means of design patents. Since patents are territorial, you need protection in individual countries or groups of countries. One group, for example, is the Office For Harmonization In The Internal/International Market which is a European group. Whether a particular design could be the subject of copyright protection, you would need to consult an IP professional.

I/ First, the underlying technology may be effectively protected through the patent way. And if the said technology uses software, you have to know that these ones are also automatically protected in themselves by copyright law in some countries latin countries such as France.

But you also can protect other electronic items as semiconductors (chips) probably used by your technology by a specific filing of topographies of semiconductor products. The United States were the first to set up in 1984 an ad hoc law for semiconductors: the Chip Protection Act. This legislation served as a model worldwide, especially in Europe and WIPO adopted a text of international scope in 1989 (which could not come into force but is a reference): the Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property for integrated circuits. In all cases, the protection is subject to a filing with the Patent and Trademark Office concerned. The afforded protection overrides the fact that the circuit is built or not. The protected object is the topography in three dimensions, that is to say the configuration of the chip or circuit.

II/ Otherwise, the external appearance and design(s) of your consumer electronics are already, in themselves, protected by copyright (1) due only of their sole creation, subject to certain legal conditions as their originality. A filing and a recording are not required in particular in Latin law countries of Europe while Anglo-Saxon countries suggest a copyright filing (at the Copyright office) mainly to facilitate the award of damages.

Moreover, you have, in fact, the ability to protect the design of your electronics products as three-dimensional models by a design patent (2) and also as a three-dimensional trademark (3). Especially in Europe, you can file a Community three-dimensional design patent and also as a Community three-dimensional trademark before OHIM. These two protections (2 + 3) falls under the actual "industrial property" in that they are acquired by filing and recording.

So you have, in fact, three types of protection (1, 2 and 3) to consider in the field of intellectual property, which are cumulative, additional. Of course, certain legal conditions must be met regarding in particular three-dimensional trademarks. To answer your question completely, I would say that:
- the protection as copyright (1) regarding exploitation rights (as opposed to moral rights) is automatically granted during all the life of the author of the work + 70 years after death (not counting war extensions) according the multinational Conventions of Bern and Geneva whose members include most countries in the world;
- the protection as a design patent (2) is limited in time by the legal duration of the recording (in France, it can not exceed a maximum of 25 years, 5 years + 4 x 5 years in succession);
- while the protection conferred by three-dimensional mark (3) can be "for eternity" if you simply renew your trademark every 10 years (which is the usual legal duration of a trademark in most countries). this is the main difference between the protection conferred by a design patent and that conferred by a copyright (exploitation rights) and a trademark, all three protecting the form in your particular case.

Finally, even if you already enjoy protection by copyright law (1), I recommend using the filing of design patent(s) (2) and, simultaneously, the filing of three-dimensional trademark(s) (3) because you multiply the protective barriers and thus parades against potential infringers and unscrupulous competitors. And your products will be "triply" protected throughout their industrial and commercial operations and as long as necessary.

Naturally, I remain at your disposal should you need further details and will be happy to assist you, especially in a European perspective.

Sincerely yours,
Simon