The new EU design law reform
On March 14, 2024, the new EU design law reform was adopted by the EU Parliament.
The modernization of the Design Directive will further harmonize national design law across the EU and digital technologies will be taken into account in design law in the future.
The exact date of entry into force has not yet been set, but it is expected to be soon.
Innovations in the protection of designs
The concept of design and product is being expanded: a product is no longer just any physical object, but also any digital object.
This means that digital products (digital spaces, digital objects, graphic user interfaces) will also be eligible for design protection, which in turn will also make metaverse objects or NFT objects eligible for protection.
However, it is still not possible to obtain design protection for computer programs.
Dynamic design elements, such as movements of features, the transition to other forms of appearance and different types of animations will be eligible for design protection.
A repair clause for spare parts for national designs will be introduced. Individual components of complex products can be reproduced by third parties, provided that the consumer is clearly and unambiguously informed of the industrial origin and the identity of the manufacturer of the component. This should enable the consumer to use components for repairs that do not originate from the original manufacturer.
IP right holders can prohibit the distribution of software and media for the production of design-infringing products (e.g. via 3D printing).
The Union-wide Community design will be called “Union design” in future.
There will be a new registration symbol for the national design and the Union design. Based on the ® for registered trademarks and the © for copyrights, the “D in a circle” will indicate a product protected by a registered design.
Changes to the EUIPO fee schedule
In order to simplify the application process, the application fees charged by the EUIPO and the registration fees, which were previously shown separately, will be combined into a single fee.
It is to be expected that the renewal fees will be increased. These may be due 4 times up to the maximum term of protection of 25 years.
Design and trademark law
The regulations on logos and graphic signs remain unchanged, as they continue to be regarded as products within the meaning of design law. The interface between design law and trademark law also remains, as signs that are protected under trademark law are also worthy of protection from the perspective of design law.
Über Philipp Henrichs:
Philipp Henrichs, Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für Gewerblichen Rechtsschutz, studierte Rechtswissenschaften an der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf und der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. befasst sich mit der rechtlichen Durchsetzung und Verteidigung marken-, design-, wettbewerbs- und urheberrechtlichen Ansprüchen.