Updated rules aim to provide future-proof design protection system reflecting evolution including digitalisation and liberalisation of spare parts market.
MEPs of the Legal Affairs Committee approved new rules on EU designs with 15 votes against 2 and 6 abstentions and related rules on legal protection of designs with 17 votes against 2 and 6 abstentions.
Lower fees and more legal clarity
The new rules on EU designs aim to modernise existing provisions to make them fit for the digital age as well as to improve accessibility and affordability of the design protection, particularly for individual designers and small and medium sized enterprises. According to the new rules, not only physical objects will be eligible for design protection but also those visualised in a graphic or apparent from the spatial arrangement of items such as fonts, logos or maps.
MEPs adjusted respective registration fees to motivate individual designers and small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to protect their designs. The headline feewould amount to 350 euro, while MEPs also adjusted fees for subsequent renewals – starting at 250 euro for the first two renewals and reaching 700 and 1400 euro for the third and fourth renewal respectively.
MEPs also want to restrict certain powers of the executive director of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to bolster legal certainty. So, executive director should only be allowed to require less documentation from applicants respecting the principle of equal treatment or determining amounts of certain expenses in a way to cover the necessary costs.
Single market in repair spare parts
Proposed text ensures further approximation of national design systems and completes the single market in repair spare parts by including repair clause among the rules.
Repairs of components of complex products will not be protected by EU design if the only purpose of repair will be to restore the original appearance of the product. It will only be possible if consumers would be appropriately informed about the identity of the producer of the exclusive repair product.
Yet, consumers will be free to choose their preferred repair product. This will require member states still protecting design of spare parts to withdraw that protection.MEPs support shortening of related transitional period for those countries who wish to do it from ten to at least three years.
Quote
Following the committee vote, Rapporteur Gilles Lebreton (ID, FR) said:
“I am very much in favour of the Commission’s proposal, which has the merit of adapting design protection to the emergence of new technologies such as 3D printing. The compromise amendments simply seek to clarify certain passages in the text. In terms of regulation, the most delicate points involved finding compromises on the scope and duration of the repair clause.”
Next steps
Once the position is approved by the European Parliament as a whole, it will be able to start negotiations with member states about the final text of the legislation.
Background
Industrial design rights protect the appearance of a product. Visual appeal is an important factor influencing consumers’ choice. Following up on the European Parliament resolution from November 2021, the Commission submitted a proposal in November 2022 to amend a regulation on community designs and replace a related directive on the legal protection of designs. The aim is to encourage design innovation in the digital age and make the process of protecting design rights more accessible and efficient while ensuring approximation of national design systems and finalisation of the single market in repair spare parts.