Dezeen promotion: designers and brands from across the globe are invited to submit applications and nominations to this year's DesignEuropa Awards.
Organised every two years by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the DesignEuropa Awards has two categories that are now open for applications and nominations: the Small and Emerging Companies Award and Industry Award.
Giorgetto Giugiaro won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016
The event, which is now in its third edition, celebrates excellence in design and design management among Registered Community Design (RCD) holders.
The RCD is a unitary intellectual property right, valid in every Member State of the EU, which offers design protection to every type of business, from multinationals to individual designers. Alberto Meda, Franco Caimi and Francesco Meda won the Small and Emerging Companies Award in 2016
According to research from the EUIPO and the European Patent Office, industries that make use of design protection are responsible for supporting over 14 per cent of all employment in the EU, which comprises around 30.7 million jobs.
These companies also contribute to over two trillion euros to the EU's gross domestic product (GDP).
The DesignEuropa Awards were initiated on the back of these statistics, in order to commemorate designers and companies that bring their works to the market with the protection of the RCD.
The awards celebrate excellence in design and design management among RCD holders
Each...