EU Adopts Design Protection Package

On 10 October, the European Council adopted two legislative acts under the design package: the revised directive on the legal protection of designs and the amended regulation on community designs. The adopted texts update the current design legislation to improve the protection of industrial designs in the era of digital designs and 3D printing.

This is the last step in the decision-making procedure.

Better Design Protection

The newly adopted EU directive and regulation simplify and reduce the cost of registering designs at the EU level while harmonizing procedures across European and national systems. They introduce a “repair clause,” exempting spare parts for complex products (e.g., car repairs) from design protection. A harmonized transitional period will ensure the protection of existing component design rights during the shift to the new legal framework.

Next Steps

The EU Council has approved the legislative acts on design protection. After signing by the Presidents of the European Parliament and Council, the directive will be published in the EU Official Journal, taking effect 20 days later, with Member States given 36 months to implement it. The amended regulation on Community designs will also take effect 20 days post-publication and apply after 4 months.

More Information: consilium.europa.eu/en/press/p[…]tection-package

Last updated: 19/11/24