Protecting Your IP on the Show Floor: Exhibition Tips for Jewellery Businesses

23 Sep 2026

For jewellery businesses, exhibitions offer a valuable opportunity to showcase new designs, meet buyers and grow their brand. However, the more attention your products attract, the more important it becomes to think about intellectual property (IP) protection. A busy exhibition hall can be a great place to generate new business, but it can also expose your designs and branding to unwanted attention.

At National Business Register Group (NBR), we spend our time helping jewellery businesses protect the names, logos and designs they've worked hard to build.

Do The Groundwork Before the Show, Not After

The biggest mistake we see isn't a rival copying a design, it's a business exhibiting a name, logo or collection before it's actually protected, then discovering someone else has registered something similar. A quick search of the trade mark and design registers before you commit to a collection name or logo can save months of dispute later.

If you're launching a new collection at a show, try to get your trade mark or registered design application filed before the doors open, not after. Once your trade mark is registered, you can display the ® symbol in connection with the goods and services covered by the registration. It can also act as a visible deterrent to would-be copyists and brand imitators.

Know The Difference Between "Protected" and "Protectable"

Original designs often benefit from automatic IP protection through copyright and/or unregistered design rights, although the level of protection varies.

Overall, it's weaker and harder to enforce: you would generally need evidence showing that your design existed first and that the competing design was derived from, or copied from, your work rather than created independently.

A registered design gives you a much stronger position — up to 25 years of protection. Unlike unregistered rights, a registered design generally does not require you to prove copying. The key question is whether the competing design creates a different overall impression on the informed user.

There is a 12-month grace period after you first show a design publicly (at an exhibition, online, anywhere) during which you can still file for registration without losing novelty. This grace period preserves your ability to seek registration, but it does not prevent competitors from seeing and attempting to imitate the design in the meantime.

Brief Your Stand Team

Your team on the stand are your first line of defence, so make sure they know:

• Not to hand over CAD files, technical drawings or sample pieces to anyone without a signed NDA - this applies especially to conversations with prospective manufacturers or overseas buyers.
• To watermark or clearly mark any printed or digital catalogues left out for visitors. While markings do not create IP rights themselves, they can help demonstrate ownership and deter casual copying.
• To take note (politely, discreetly) of who's photographing the stand closely, particularly close-up shots of settings and detailing rather than general shots.
• What your registered rights actually are, so they can speak to them confidently if a buyer or a competitor asks.

After The Show

Once the stand's packed away, keep a dated record of everything you exhibited: photos of the stand, sketches, prototypes, catalogue copies - even for designs you haven't formally registered. If a dispute ever arises, being able to show exactly what you had, and when, makes a real difference.

The Quick Version

Before you exhibit: search the registers, file your trade mark and design applications, get your NDAs ready.

On the stand: brief your team, mark your materials, display your registration proudly.

During the show: keep an eye out for copies and gather evidence on the spot.

After the show: file your records and watch the register for anyone following a little too closely in your footsteps.

Don't Accidentally Lose Confidential Information

Trade marks and designs are only part of the picture. If your work incorporates a unique setting technique, alloy or plating formulation, or gemstone sourcing method, that information may be best protected as confidential information or a trade secret. If sensitive details need to be disclosed to manufacturers, distributors or development partners, consider using a suitable confidentiality agreement before sharing them.

How NBR can help

National Business Register helps jewellery businesses protect their brands through trade mark, design and monitoring services, that flag potential conflicts before they become disputes. If you're exhibiting this season and want a second pair of eyes on what needs protecting before you go, contact the team on 0800 069 9090 or email us.

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Source: National Business Register