Fire-extinguisher-style water bottles and design protection: where is the line?

Products that resemble familiar objects tend to perform well in the market. They stand out, feel playful, and are easy to remember. Legally, however, this quickly raises a question: can you actually protect a product that is inspired by an existing object?

In a recent Dutch court decision about a water bottle shaped like a fire extinguisher (ECLI:NL:RBZWB:2026:521), one party tried to stop the sale of a similar bottle by a competitor. The claimant relied on design rights, copyright and slavish imitation. The court did not accept any of these arguments.

What mattered most was how the design was assessed as a whole. The court did not only look at the fact that the bottle resembles a fire extinguisher. It also considered the standard features of many water bottles: a cylindrical shape, a lid, a straw/strap mechanism and the typical proportions of a double-walled stainless steel bottle. These are common features found across the market and do not create a new appearance or a different overall impression. Even the bright red colour was not considered distinctive, as this colour is frequently used for this type of product.

In the end, only the graphic and textual elements could, in principle, qualify for protection. However, these offered no help either. The two bottles differed in wording, icons, layout and even language. As a result, there was no clear overlap in elements that could be legally protected.

This is something we see more often with object-inspired designs. Think of a lighter shaped like a matchstick, a speaker designed to look like a boombox, or a power bank that resembles a battery. The idea may be appealing, but the idea alone is rarely enough for design protection. Protection mainly comes from concrete design choices: details, proportions, finishing and the way elements are combined. That is where the difference lies between being “inspired” and being truly “distinctive”.

Are you working on a design and wondering where protection begins (and ends)? Then it is wise to test this at an early stage. It can save a lot of hassle later on when someone else comes close to your concept.