The European Parliament has adopted the update of the EU design rules last week. ECTA has been an active contributor to the legislative process (alongside INTA and MARQUES) and advocated strongly for a number of changes.

This new set of rules addresses among others the emergence of new technologies such as 3D printing and artificial intelligence. EU design protection will now clearly cover new designs beyond physical objects to visualised graphics, arrangements as interior and exterior environments, including also features as moving or transitioning animations.

The regulation and directive will enter into force 20 days after their publication in the Official Journal. The regulation will start to apply after 4 months and Member States will have 36 months to transpose the directive into their national systems.

For more information, please refer to the official press release here.

Advocacy Process and Joint Efforts of ECTA, INTA, and MARQUES

In recent years, ECTA has been highly engaged in the domain of design, particularly in the ongoing EU Design Reform. This involvement includes active participation in meetings with officials from institutions such as the European Commission, EUIPO, and WIPO, alongside dedicated events, Conference sessions, and significant contributions from our Committees, in particular the Design Committee.

ECTA has submitted several individual position papers and other contributions related to designs: a Position Paper on 3D Printing and its Implications on Design Law (see here), a Position Paper on the Interpretation of Technical Functionality under Art. 8(1) CDR (see here), as well as a Position Paper on Rim Design and the Repair Clause (see here).

As concern the EU Design Reform, ECTA has regularly engaged in discussions with officials during its Bilateral Meetings with the European Commission and the EUIPO, and has jointly advocated throughout the legislative process with other associations, notably INTA and MARQUES.

In July 2018 the three associations submitted a Joint Paper on the Legal Review of the EU Designs System (see here), and in January 2021 Joint Comments on the European Commission’s Inception Impact Assessment (see here).

During the Public Consultation in January 2023, joint comments were submitted to review the European Commission’s proposals for a revised EU Designs Regulation and Directive (see here). In June 2023, concrete wording recommendations were provided to the European Parliament for the proposed reform text.

Most recently, in October 2023, during the final stages of the legislative process, we offered a joint perspective on the amendments proposed by the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs and by individual Members of the Parliament (see here).

We express our gratitude to the ECTA Design Committee for their significant contributions to the policy initiatives of the association in recent years.