Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU Council strive to improve the safety of industrial designs in the era of digital designs and 3D printing.
The European Council has assumed two legislative acts under the design package: the modified directive on the legal protection of designs and the amended regulation on community designs. The directive and regulation adopted will drive the procedure to enlist designs at the EU level cheaper and more comfortable and will harmonise procedures between European and national systems.
What is the significance of the “repair clause”?
They also introduced the so-called “repair clause” with new regulations to exempt from design protection the spare parts utilised for the repair of complex products (such as spare parts for the car-repair sector). There will be a coordinated transitional period to permit existing designs of parts to be protected during the transition from the current legal framework to the legislation adopted.
When will the new regulations come into effect?
In the next steps, after being signed by the President of the European Parliament and the President of the Council, the directive on the legal protection of designs will be issued in the Official Journal of the European Union and will take effect on the 20th day following its publication. Member States will have a term of 36 months to take the necessary steps to transpose the directive.
Also, the regulation amending the regulation on Community designs will take effect on the twentieth day following of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It will take effect 4 months later.
Why is harmonizing design procedures important for the EU?
Design-intensive industries mean almost 16% of GDP and 14% of all jobs in the Union. On 10 November 2020, the Council requested the Commission to present proposals to update the EU design protection provisions, which were nearly 20 years old.
On 28 November 2022, the Commission issued a package of measures containing two proposals: a regulation amending Council regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs and a declaration on the legal protection of designs (recast of directive 98/71/EC). The Council assumed its position on 25 September 2023.
