Copyright includes literary and artistic works, e.g. music, texts and drawings. Software is also copyright-protected. If considered an original work, industrial designs may also be protected by copyright.

Copyright arises through the creation of an original work and cannot be registered in Denmark. Copyright exists for 70 years after the demise of the creator.

Read more about copyright in our FAQ or on the website of the Ministry of Culture.

The purpose of a trademark is to distinguish the products of an enterprise - or the enterprise itself - from those of other enterprises. Trademarks may consist of words, logos, slogans, letter and number combinations, but may also consist in the shape of the goods themselves or their packaging - e.g. a perfume bottle.

A trademark right in Denmark can be obtained by:

• putting the mark to use in Denmark
• filing for a Danish national registration
• filing for a Community Trademark registration (CTM).

The advantages of registration instead of mere use include an easier means of documenting your rights. A trademark is valid for 10 years and may be renewed for 10 years at a time. In principle, a trademark may thus last eternally.

For more information about trademarks, see the website of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.

Protection of a design pertains to the appearance of the product or a part of the product, e.g. clothes, furniture or the pattern on tissue paper.

Design protection is obtained in Denmark by:

• putting the design to use in the EU
• filing for a Danish national registration
• filing for the registration of a Community Design.

It applies to both the national and the Community design that they are valid for 5 years and may be renewed 4 times - i.e. for a maximum length of protection for 25 years. The unregistered design right is valid for 3 years starting from the publication of the design and this period is not extendable.

More information on designs is available at the website of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.

A patent is the protection of a technical solution – not the idea as such. For example, patent protection cannot be given to the idea of making wind shield wipers which do not leave streaks. However, patent protection may be awarded to the technical solution which solves the problem of streaks from wind shield wipers.

Patent protection is obtained in Denmark by:

• applying for and receiving a Danish patent
• applying for and receiving a patent in Europe (EPO)
• applying for an international patent and seeking national protection in Denmark (PCT).

The protection of a patent lasts for up to 20 years starting from the date of the application.

Find more information about patents on the website of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.

The protection of utility models is similar to that of patents, but the purpose of utility model protection is to serve the need for protection of smaller enterprises and of technical inventions which do not quite meet the criteria for patent protection. Utility models are particularly common in relation to agricultural instruments, furniture construction and household articles.

Utility model rights are obtained in Denmark by:

• filing a Danish national application directly
• filing an application in Denmark based on an international application.

A utility model registration is valid for 3 years from the date of application and may be renewed for a further 2 periods of 3 and 4 years respectively. The maximum length of protection for a utility model is thus 10 years.

Find more information about utility models on the website of the Danish Patent and trademark Office.

A geographical indication (GI) is a designation used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, reputation or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that origin. The origin can be a locality, region or possibly a country. The production of GI products is subject to certification requirements.

GI's can have great commercial value and can be exposed to infringement/counterfeiting and are therefore protected.

For more information on the four EU Regulations, see the website of the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.

Under certain conditions geographical indications can also be registered as collective marks pursuant to the Act on collective marks. For further information on this subject see the website of the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.

The manufacturing and sale of unauthorized smart cards and cardsharing that gives illegal access to coded television signals is a criminal offense. The ban also applies to personal use of such equipment.

Smart cards and card sharing / Illegal access to TV channels

The law on Radio and Television Operations protects providers of coded radio or television signals against equipment that can provide free access to such payment-based services. Providers of on-demand services are included and thus protected by the law.

The law states that it is illegal to manufacture, import, convert, possess or modify decoders or other decoding equipment if the purpose is to allow unauthorized access to the content of a coded radio or television program. Advertising or similar of such equipment is also not permitted. The prohibition thus applies to both activities that make decoding equipment illegally available to the users, but also the user's actual unauthorized use of such devices.

The regulation will typically affect the use of unauthorized decoding equipment such as unauthorized smart cards that gives illegal access to pay television. But also receiving an encryption code through card sharing services falls under the regulation.