A new era for EU designs

New legislation governing EU designs has now taken effect, as of 1 May 2025, bringing a number of substantive and procedural changes to design protection in the European Union.  These changes bring a welcome update to the previous legislation that had remained largely unaltered since the late 1990s.  The new EU Designs Regulation seeks to modernise design law in Europe, and to consolidate the law and practice that has developed over the last 20 years in relation to technological developments such as 3D printing, animated graphical user interfaces, and virtual products in the Metaverse.

We have highlighted some of the key changes below:

Terminology and definitions

The new Designs Regulation brings EU designs terminology into line with EU trade marks by renaming "registered Community design" to "registered European Union design".  The Regulation also introduces a new registered design symbol Ⓓ which registered design owners can now use on products and packaging to show that the design in question is the subject of a registered EU design.

The definition of "design" has also been extended so as to expressly encompass design features such as movement, transition and animation, thereby ensuring that animated graphical user interfaces are now expressly protectable under the EU design system.

Furthermore, the definition of the term "product" has also been extended so as to include non-physical objects, including those materialised in digital form.  Hence, virtual products and designs that subsist only in the Metaverse, such as virtual goods and the virtual arrangements of items forming a spatial environment, are also now expressly protectable under an EU design.

Scope of protection

The Regulation extends the scope of protection granted by an EU design, making it easier for EU design owners to challenge the creation and distribution of electronic materials relating to a protected design.

More specifically, an EU design now confers on the design owner the right to create, download, copy, share or distribute to others any medium or software which records the design for the purpose of enabling the manufacture of the product in which the design is incorporated or to which the design is applied.  An EU design can therefore now be used as an express means of enforcement in relation to 3D printing activities, such as 3D print file sharing sites.  This strengthens the rights of EU design owners and aligns with the growing use of additive manufacturing techniques across a wide range of sectors, providing design owners with a means of challenging the unauthorised creation and distribution of digital CAD files and 3D print files.

Furthermore, to align with the EU trade mark position, an EU design is also now enforceable against counterfeit products which transit the EU, even if those products are not in fact released for free circulation in the EU.  This therefore provides EU design owners with an opportunity to challenge counterfeit goods moving across the EU, using EU Customs detention provisions and the EU courts.

The Regulation also introduces some new defences to design infringement, including acts carried out for the purpose of identifying or referring to a product as being that of the design owner, and acts carried out for the purpose of comment, critique or parody, provided that such acts are compatible with fair trade practices and do not unduly prejudice the normal exploitation of the design.

Repair clause

The Regulation solidifies the transitional repair clause in the previous legislation, aiming to encourage sustainability and to foster competition in the spare parts market.

The repair clause provides that an EU design is not enforceable in relation to component parts of a complex product upon whose appearance the design of the component parts is dependent, and which are used for the sole purpose of repair of that complex product to restore its original appearance.  Accordingly, it will no longer be possible for design owners to use EU designs to claim a monopoly in the appearance of spare parts where those spare parts are used to restore the appearance of the original product.  However, this provision will only apply if the component part in question remains visible in the complex product.  Furthermore, any manufacturer or seller of a spare part in question, wishing to rely on the defence, must show that it has informed consumers (through a clear and visible indication on the product or another appropriate form) about the commercial origin of the products and the identity of the manufacturer, so that consumers may make an informed choice between competing products.

It is expected that this provision will encourage consumers in the European Union to repair existing products, thereby driving forward the EU's sustainability goals.  However, a number of questions remain as to how the repair clause will be implemented and policed moving forward, especially in relation to parts that may not necessarily be sold for the purpose of restoring the original appearance of the complex product.

Procedural changes

The Regulation introduces a number of procedural changes to registered EU designs, including a simplified set of fees relating to EU designs. Whilst renewal fees have now increased quite substantially, particularly older designs being renewed for a third or fourth term, the application and publication fees have been simplified.

In turn, when publication of a design is deferred at the time of filing, that design will automatically proceed to publication at the end of the deferment period without any further action being required by the design owner.  It is, however, possible for the design owner to either request earlier publication or, in the alternative, to request surrender of the design to ensure that publication does not take place. 

Insofar as filings are concerned, the previous unity of Locarno class restriction to multiple design applications (whereby a single application encompassing multiple designs could only be filed if the designs in question related to products falling within the same Locarno class) has been abolished.  It is therefore now possible to file a multiple EU design application relating to very different products and designs so as to benefit from the lower filing fees. On the other hand, a limit of 50 designs has been imposed on multiple design applications, such that if protection is required for more than 50 designs, separate multiple applications may be required.

We also expect future changes to be made to the way in which designs may be represented in a registered EU design application, hopefully by increasing the number of representations that may be submitted, and by providing an opportunity to file design representations in alternative forms, such as digital CAD files and animated video files.  However, such changes are only due to be introduced upon entry into force of a new Implementing Regulation, expected in July 2026.

Impact and practical implications 

The changes made to EU designs law are welcomed and will hopefully make it easier to secure protection for unusual designs, such as animated graphical user interfaces, virtual goods, virtual store layouts, etc.  It should also be possible to now directly enforce EU designs against unlicensed websites sharing 3D print files and CAD files that comprise protected designs.

On the other hand, it may now be more difficult to claim a monopoly in the appearance of spare parts where those spare parts are used to restore the appearance of the original product.

It will also be interesting to learn of the new rules that are to be implemented relating to how designs may be represented in registered EU design applications, and we await the Implementing Regulation with interest.

For further information regarding the new EU Designs Regulation, please contact your usual Marks and Clerk attorney.