Author: Tiberiu Protopopescu (senior attorney at law), Schoenherr și Asociații SCA

The new EU Design Legislative Reform Package, published in the Official Journal on 18 November 2024, introduces substantial changes that will impact industrial design holders and practitioners across the EU. This Reform Package is comprised of the European Design Regulation (EUDR) and the European Design Directive (EUDD).

On 1 May 2025 EUDR entered into force, which amends Regulation on Community Designs No. 2024/2822. This comes alongside with the EUDD, regarding the Recast Directive on the Legal Protection of Designs No. 2024/2823, which entered into force of 8 December 2024, and must be transposed into national legislation by EU Member States in 36 months.

Thus, the clock has started ticking down for the deadline by which Romania needs to implement secondary legislation in connection with the new EU design reform.

While an immediate effect for design owners is that EU design renewal fees have increased significantly, other key changes introduced by the reform are aimed at increasing protection and providing a significant legal overhaul. Major amendments refer to new terminology, an expanded scope of design protection, limitations of exclusive rights, as well as a much-welcome procedural simplification.

With "Registered Community Designs" ("RCD") and "Unregistered Community Design" ("URCD") set to become "Registered EU Design" ("REUD") and "Unregistered EU Design" ("UEUD"), an interesting change is that holders of REUD will be allowed to use the newly created symbol Ⓓ, similar to ® for trademarks and © for copyright. The new symbol will indicate to third parties that the relevant products are protected as designs.

Digital designs and products, now more protected than ever

With broadened definition of designs and products introduced, applicants will have a greater scope of protection, especially in tech or innovation-driven sectors.

A major change is that designs can now include animation, which is considered as the movement and transition of any of the respective features, with or without retaining their identity. This extends protection to a wider range of digital designs, visual effects and more.

Also, the definition of "products" has been revised to include both physical and non-physical items, where protection can be granted even for spatial arrangements, symbols, logos, surface patterns and graphical user interfaces. This clarification introduces a new avenue of protection for applicants in the technology sector, particularly for virtual environments and UIs.

Challenges related to 3D printing are also addressed. Holders will be able to use REUDs as grounds for infringement claims against third parties concerning the creation, downloading, copying, sharing or distribution of any medium or software that records the respective design.

Impact on certain sectors, especially automotive

Other changes will significantly impact certain industries, such as the automotive repair sector, for instance.

With the introduction of a "repair clause" as a permanent provision in the new EU design legislation, it is explicitly stated that design protection does not extend to a component part of a complex product if the part is used solely to restore the product's original appearance. This exception is strictly confined to repair purposes, and it mandates that the replacement part must visually match the original part.

The inclusion of this clause is a strategic move to address significant disruptions in the internal market for repair spare parts, such as automotive components. Prior to this reform, the legal landscape for design protection of spare parts was fragmented, leading to inconsistencies and barriers within the EU market.

Limitation of exclusive rights

While definitions and the scope of protection will be extended, new limitations are also established to ensure fair trade and access to free speech. These include (i) identification and referencing, and (ii) comment, critique or parody.

Identification and referencing will make interoperability possible, preventing REUD holders from exercising their exclusive rights against third parties that reference goods protected by those designs.

The second new limitation excludes REUD holders from their rights to challenge actions by third parties that parody or critique the designs, ensuring the protection of free speech in EU Member States.

Procedural simplifications

To provide a more user-friendly experience and more uniform applications, as well as to streamline proceedings, the filing process will be centralised. As a result, EU design applications will no longer be submitted through national offices but must be filed directly with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

Once the reform is fully implemented, the "unity of class" requirement will be removed. This allows for a wider variety of designs to be included in a single application. However, to maintain manageability, a limit of 50 designs per application has been introduced. Additionally, the fee structure for multiple design applications has been simplified, making it easier for applicants to protect a diverse range of designs under one filing.

What's next?

While the changes discussed above are merely a small part of a broader reform, we believe that the new EU design legislation will significantly enhance the protection and enforcement of design rights in the EU across various stages of implementation starting in 2025. This responds to the new challenges of the digital age, such as 3D printing and the widespread use of apps.

From a practical standpoint, design holders need to run a detailed check of their existing filings, as well as to assess how this reform will impact their future ones. Further, they also need to reassess their filing strategies before 1 July 2026, when new types of designs will become available, thus resulting in better protection of their products and improved commercial outcomes.