The long-awaited EU design legislation package has been adopted and has come into effect on December 8, 2024. In this article, we at Løje IP highlight the key changes and their implications for stakeholders.
The reform aims to modernize the design law framework, ensuring it aligns with contemporary societal and technological developments. It seeks to enhance legal certainty by clarifying key provisions and incorporating important ECJ rulings that were previously not explicitly reflected. Additionally, the reform focuses on simplification of procedures, affordability of design protection, and further harmonization across the EU, making the system more accessible and consistent for stakeholders.
The updated framework retains its structure of a regulation and a directive:
The European Design Regulation (Amending Regulation on Community Designs No. 2024/2822) will apply from May 1, 2025, with certain provisions requiring secondary legislation—such as new design categories and digital designs—taking effect from July 1, 2026.
The European Design Directive (Recast Directive on the Legal Protection of Designs No. 2024/2823) will enter into force on December 8, 2024, and EU Member States will have until December 9, 2027, to transpose it into national law, potentially introducing measures like administrative cancellation proceedings and provisions for spare parts.
Main Changes Under the New EU Design Legislation
The updated EU design law introduces significant changes to improve clarity, accessibility, and applicability. Below is a summary of the key updates:
1. Terminology and Symbols
- New Terminology: “Community Designs” (formerly ‘RCDs) will now be referred to as European Union Designs (EUDs), and the courts handling design disputes will be called EU Design Courts, aligning with trademark terminology.
- Design Registration Symbol: Holders of registered EUDs may use the Ⓓ symbol to indicate design protection, similar to ® for trademarks and © for copyright. However use of the symbol will still not be neither mandatory nor necessary to use.
2. New Types of Designs (Effective July 1, 2026):
- Expanded scope includes digital designs, such as transitions, animations, and visual effects.
- Protection extended to graphical user interfaces, graphic works, surface patterns, spatial arrangements (The EUIPO has already for a while accepted such types of works for protection), and virtual environments.
3. Representation Requirements (Effective July 1, 2026):
- The new EU design legislation introduces important changes to the representation requirements for designs. The number of views in a design application will no longer be limited to seven, though the exact number of views and the types required—such as for 3D designs—will be determined by secondary legislation.
4. Multiple Design Applications across Locarno classes (Effective May 1, 2025):
- Applicants may include up to 50 designs per application, without restriction to a single Locarno class.
5. Visibility Clarification (Effective May 1, 2025):
- Design features must be visible in the application but do not need to be visible during use, except for component parts of complex products
6. 3D Printing and Goods in Transit (Effective May 1, 2025):
- The protection for an EUD is now extended to cover all preparatory activities necessary for creating 3D-printed copies as well seizure of counterfeit goods in transit.
7. Fee Adjustments (Effective May 1, 2025):
- Application fees remain €350, with reduced fees for multiple designs.
- The system of fee brackets will be abolished
- Renewal fees for the 3rd (15-20 years) and 4th terms (20-25 years) will increase significantly.
8. Protection of unregistered designs from third countries (1 May 2025)
- With the new update of the Design Regulation, Article 110a(5)(2) has been removed, which immediately opens up the possibility that designs that have been first published outside the EEA could also enjoy protection as unregistered EU designs. However, the issue is not unambiguously clarified with this update, and it is to be expected that the issue will be clarified by the European Court of Justice in a not too unforeseeable future.
9. Repair Clause for Spare Parts (Transposition by December 9, 2027)
The repair clause has been a contentious issue for years, and the updated legislation introduces important changes:
- The exemption for spare parts has been narrowed. It now applies only if the manufacturer or seller of a spare part has clearly informed the public—either directly on the part or through other means—that the part is not an original component.
Key Updates on the Design Directive
1. Repair Clause for Spare Parts
- For the first time, the exemption is introduced into the directive. This is a notable shift, as the current directive allows automakers to protect their spare parts from copying. The new rule aligns with the regulation and facilitates a harmonized approach across the EU.
- A transitional period until December 9, 2032, ensures that existing (national) design protections for component parts remain valid during this time. These changes aim to balance design protection with the EU’s single market goals for spare parts.
2. Fast-Track Invalidity Proceedings (Effective no later than December 9, 2027):
- Simplified invalidity process for uncontested cases to address design hijacking and infringements efficiently.
3. Ownership and Presumption of Rights in Design Registration (Effective no later than December 9, 2027):
- The registered design right is presumed to belong to the designer or their successor in title, with joint ownership granted to collaborators in cases of collective creation. If the design is created by an employee as part of their duties or under employer instructions, the employer holds the design rights unless otherwise agreed or dictated by national law. Additionally, the person named as the design’s registered holder or applicant is presumed to be entitled to exercise all rights and act in legal or administrative proceedings concerning the design.
4. Presumption of Validity in Infringement Proceedings (Effective no later than December 9, 2027):
- The presumption of validity for registered designs, which was already part of the regulation, has now been extended to the directive. This means that designs are presumed valid even without prior checks for novelty or individual character. Alleged infringers can challenge validity by filing counterclaims in court or initiating invalidity proceedings to delay infringement cases (“torpedo action”). While invalidity proceedings for EU designs remain available before the EUIPO, the directive encourages—but does not mandate—simpler administrative invalidity proceedings for national designs at national IP offices.
5. Rights of Prior Use in Respect of a Registered Design Right (Effective no later than December 9, 2027):
- The updated directive introduces a prior use defense, aligning with the regulation to protect third parties who, in good faith, had begun using a design or made substantial preparations for its use before the filing or priority date of a registered design right. This defense applies provided the design was independently created and not copied from the registered design. It allows such third parties to continue using the design for the purposes originally intended, offering greater consistency between national and EU design protections.
6. Traditional Cultural Expressions (Effective no later than December 9, 2027):
- Member States may now allow for the invalidation of a registered design if it includes, wholly or partially, elements of cultural heritage deemed to be of national importance.
7. Administrative Invalidity Proceedings (Optional, by December 9, 2027):
- EU Member States are encouraged to adopt administrative procedures for invalidating designs but are not required to do so.
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Løje IP is here to assist you with any questions or concerns regarding the upcoming changes in EU design law. Our team is ready to provide guidance on how these updates may impact your business and help you navigate the new landscape of design protection. If you would like more information or need personalized advice, feel free to reach out to us. You can also read the full adopted law [here] and [here]