CABINET CHAILLOT

Changes to the European design

On 10/10/2024, the Council of the European Union definitively adopted the Directive and the Regulation amending the legal framework applicable to designs. The two texts must now be published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU).

The Directive will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the OJEU, and Member States will have 36 months to transpose it in their national corpus of law.

The Regulation for designs filed with the EUIPO will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the OJEU and will apply after a period of 4 months.

Among the noteworthy changes, it will be possible to file multiple applications for products that do not belong to the same class of the Locarno Classification, and 3D files may be used instead of, or in addition to, the usual views. More than 7 views may be filed.

These texts also introduce a ‘repair clause’ that excludes from design protection spare parts for a complex product that are used to restore its original appearance, but only for repair purposes and if the spare part looks exactly like the original part (i.e. a damaged door or a broken car light that has to be replaced to make the car look exactly like it did).

Member States may now also prohibit, for the protection of cultural heritage, the registration of national designs consisting of signs of cultural heritage of national interest (for example, the traditional costume of a region). To define the limits of this provision, reference is made to the UNESCO definition of ‘cultural heritage’.

National offices will be able to introduce a cancellation procedure. French office has already indicated that this will be possible.

On a more anecdotal note, the designation of designs filed with the EUIPO is changing from ‘Community designs’ to ‘EU designs’, to bring it into line with the new designation of the EU trademark, introduced by EU Regulation 2007/1001.

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