EU Council gives final approval to designs protection package

The reform package consists of a directive on harmonising national design protection law between member states and a regulation amending the existing EU-wide rules on community designs. The package will improve the protection of industrial designs in the era of digital designs and 3D printing, set new amounts for the fees to be paid in order to register and renew an EU design, prevent cultural heritage from being registered as design, and also liberalise the spare parts market to help drive sustainability.

Under the new regime, designs created through 3D printing can now be visualised and registered. Further, the reforms facilitate the protection of industrial designs, which could include digital representations of designs, such as 3D models or digital renderings.

One of the biggest changes will be the introduction of an EU-wide ‘repair clause’. Under this, spare parts may not enjoy design protection if these are ‘must-match’ parts used for the repair of complex products, such as cars, and whose appearance is dependent on the appearance of original parts. Consumers must be provided with sufficient information to be able to tell that they are not buying original parts. The change is expected to increase competition especially in the automotive spare parts market, but also in many other industries. There is an eight-year transitional period to allow existing designs of component parts to be protected once the new regime comes into force.  

The repair clause will put an end to the decade-long dispute on the scope of protection especially in the automotive aftermarket and create a level playing field in the EU. It is also intended to help the European Green Deal by driving for repairable and thus more sustainable products. The introduction of the repair clause will have practical implications on the IP strategy of companies in the automobile industry and beyond.

However, the package’s lack of specific rules governing AI-created designs is among the criticisms from the industry. 

The reform package was first presented in November 2022, and the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a deal on the reform package in December 2023. The European Parliament adopted the Design Reform package in March this year. Having received the official approval from both the European Parliament and Council, both pieces of legislation will come into force 20 days after their official publication, with the regulation starting to apply four months after that while the directive will have to be implemented by member states into national law within 36 months.