A well-designed product can be synonymous with the image of your undertaking, and thus becomes a valuable asset for you. If you do not protect your design, others may benefit from your intellectual property.

Nevertheless, depending on the national or regional law system, a design which has not be registered may still be protected in different ways:

- under industrial property law (as an unregistered design),

- as copyright (if exists as an original man-made work)  or

- under unfair competition law.