Nominations open for DesignEuropa Awards 2024

This edition marks the transition of the DesignEuropa Awards to an annual celebration. This exciting move offers a further increased platform for and more frequent recognition of exceptional design and design management among holders of Registered Community Designs (RCDs).

The aim of the awards is to raise awareness of the design protection system in the EU and to promote design as a valuable intellectual property right that underpins the economy and supports jobs.

Categories

• The Industry Award: RCDs owned by companies with 50 or more employees or with a balance sheet total of EUR 10 million or more.
• The Entrepreneurs and Small Companies Award: RCDs owned by companies with fewer than 50 employees and a balance sheet total of less than EUR 10 million AND/OR established on or since 1 January 2020.
• The Next Generation Design Award: The Next Generation Design category is a special award for young designers up to 29 years old.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: This category is reserved for individual designers with a significant body of work of aesthetic value, created over the course of a career, which has also had a demonstrable impact on the marketplace. Nominees in this category must currently use or have used the RCD system during their professional careers.

Awards

• The Industry Award and The Entrepreneurs and Small Companies Award
  • Candidates are required to submit their entries in accordance with the terms and conditions given below.
    • The panel of judges may nominate up to three finalists in each category. A list of these finalists will be published on the official competition website and in other publications related to the awards.
    • The nominated finalists will be asked to confirm their acceptance of the nomination and consent to the award.
    • The awards for each category cannot be split between two entries.
    • Finalists will be invited to the DesignEuropa Awards ceremony in Riga, Latvia in September 2024.
    • Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the organiser. The winner of each category will receive a trophy and a certificate.
    • Finalists and winners will be featured on the DesignEuropa Awards website, in newsletters, and in other promotional and multimedia material published for disseminating information about this event. Information on the company, the designers and the selected designs will also be included in press dossiers for specialised press and media and may be used for other promotional activities organised by the Office.

• The Next Generation Design Award
  • The winner will be asked to confirm their acceptance of the nomination and consent to the award.
  • The winner will be invited to the DesignEuropa Awards ceremony in Riga, Latvia in September 2024.
  • Travel and accommodation costs will be borne by the organiser. The winner will receive a trophy and a certificate.
  • The winner will be featured on the Office’s website (in the DesignEuropa Awards section), in newsletters, and in other promotional and multimedia material published for disseminating information about this event. Information on the designer will also be included in press dossiers for specialised press and media and may be used for other promotional activities organised by the Office.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award
  • The winner will be asked to confirm their acceptance of the nomination and consent to the award.
  • The winner will be invited to the DesignEuropa Awards ceremony in Riga, Latvia in September 2024.
  • Travel and accommodation costs will be borne by the organiser. The winner will receive a trophy and a certificate.
  • The winner will be featured on the Office’s website (in the DesignEuropa Awards section), in newsletters, and in other promotional and multimedia material published for disseminating information about this event. Information on the designer will also be included in press dossiers for specialised press and media and may be used for other promotional activities organised by the Office.

Candidates and Eligibility

• The Industry Award and The Entrepreneurs and Small Companies Award
  • Candidates are required to submit their entries in accordance with the terms and conditions given below:
    • The competition is open to any person, entity or institution of any nationality, either individually or as a team, provided that they own a valid RCD that is also marketed and sold (in any country).
    • All designs submitted must be valid RCDs at the time of sending the application, with no pending invalidity proceedings. Finalist designs must retain their validity throughout the selection and award period.
    • Designs entered for the competition must be marketed by the owner of the RCD or a licensee.
• The Next Generation Design Award
  • The Next Generation Design category is a special award for young designers up to 29 years old.
  • Candidates are required to submit their entries in accordance with the terms and conditions given below:
    • The competition is open to any person between the ages of 18 and 29 years old by the date of the application period. All designs submitted must be valid RCDs owned by the candidates themselves or any other company or individual (in any country).
    • All designs submitted must be valid RCDs at the time of sending the application, with no pending invalidity proceedings. Finalist designs must retain their validity throughout the selection and award period.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award
  • The Lifetime Achievement category is a special award for designers whose work demonstrates:
    • a significant contribution throughout their career.
    • design excellence.
    • work of aesthetic value.
    • a considerable impact on the market.
    • use of the RCD system.

For more information, visit EUIPO.