European Union design

{{Update|part=|date=May 2025|reason=The Community design was replaced by the European Union design on 1 May 2025. The article refers to previous Directives and Regulations which have been repealed or will no longer be applicable once the reforms are fully implemented}}{{Short description|Unitary industrial design right that covers the European Union}} {{Primary sources|date=July 2020}} A '''European Union design''' is a unitary industrial design right that covers the European Union. It has both unregistered and registered forms. The name ''European Union design'' (EU design) was adopted 1 May 2025.<ref name="Reg2024_2822">{{Cite web |title=Regulation - EU - 2024/2822 - EN - EUR-Lex |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/2822/oj |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=eur-lex.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref>

Previously, this industrial design right covening the European Union was named '''Community design'''. The '''unregistered Community design''' ('''UCD''') came into effect on 6 March 2002 and the '''registered Community design''' ('''RCD''') was available from 1 April 2003.

==Legal basis== Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002,<ref>{{Cite web |title=EUR-Lex - 02002R0006-20130701 - EN - EUR-Lex |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/6/2013-07-01 |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=eur-lex.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref> as implemented by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2245/2002,<ref>{{Cite web |title=EUR-Lex - 02002R2245-20070725 - EN - EUR-Lex |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2002/2245/2007-07-25 |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=eur-lex.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref> created both unregistered and registered European Community designs. The Community design is a unitary right that has equal effect across the European Union.<ref>Council Regulation 6/2002, Article 1(3)</ref> The unregistered form of the right has existed since 6 March 2002 while the registered form came into effect on 1 April 2003.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=OHIM - What is a Community design? |url=http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/RCD/communityDesign.en.do |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080801043310/http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/RCD/communityDesign.en.do |archive-date=1 August 2008}}</ref>

By Regulation (EU) 2024/2822, the name was changed to ''European Union design''; this change took effect on 1 May 2025.<ref name="Reg2024_2822" />

==Definitions == A design is defined as "the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation".

Designs may be protected if: *they are ''novel'', that is if no identical design has been made available to the public; *they have ''individual character'', that is the "informed user" would find it different from other designs which are available to the public. Where a design forms part of a more complex product, the novelty and individual character of the design are judged on the part of the design which is visible during normal use.

==Scope of protection== The scope of protection conferred by a Community design includes any design which does not produce a different overall impression on an informed user, taking the degree of freedom of the designer into consideration.<ref>Council Regulation 6/2002, Article 10</ref> A Community design further confers on its holder the exclusive right to use it and to prevent any third party not having his consent from using it.<ref>Council Regulation 6/2002, Article 19(1)</ref> For an unregistered Community design, however, the contested use must have resulted from copying the protected design.<ref>Council Regulation 6/2002, Article 19(2)</ref>

==Term== An unregistered Community design lasts for a period of 3 years from the date on which the design was first made available to the public within the Community.<ref>Council Regulation 6/2002, Article 11</ref> A design shall be deemed to have been made available to the public within the Community if "it has been published, exhibited, used in trade or otherwise disclosed in such a way that, in the normal course of business, these events could reasonably have become known to the circles specialised in the sector concerned, operating within the Community. The design shall not, however, be deemed to have been made available to the public "for the sole reason that it has been disclosed to a third person under explicit or implicit conditions of confidentiality."<ref>Council Regulation 6/2002, Article 11.</ref>

A registered Community design (RCD<ref name=":0" />) lasts for up to 25 years from the date on which an application for registration was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees.<ref>Council Regulation 6/2002, Articles 12 and 13</ref> The registration process is administered by the EUIPO in Alicante.<ref>[http://oami.europa.eu/ows/rw/pages/RCD/index.en.do OHIM website, Designs]</ref>

==Effects== The unregistered Community design provides useful, short-term protection for items of short market duration. The registered Community design provides substantial cost savings compared to obtaining national registrations in individual European countries.<ref>[http://www.itma.org.uk/save/Community_design.pdf ITMA Briefing Paper, The Community Design] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524205353/http://www.itma.org.uk/save/Community_design.pdf |date=2011-05-24 }}</ref> The Community design also permits those having business in a number of European countries to protect their designs in all of those countries more simply.

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Intellectual property law of the European Union Category:Industrial design law Category:Industrial design