The European Commission adopted proposals for a revised Regulation and Directive on designs on 28 November.

The Proposal for a Directive on the legal protection of designs is available here and the Proposal for a Regulation on Community designs is available here.

In a press release, the Commission said the revisions “will make it cheaper, quicker and more predictable to protect industrial designs across the EU”.

The proposals aim to modernise the pan-EU framework and national regimes.

The revisions introduce a “repair clause” providing that designs can be reproduced for spare parts of complex products such as cars. This clause will have legal effect for future designs; designs already granted will remain covered for a transitional period of 10 years.

The repair clause is Article 19 of the proposed Directive and states:

1.    Protection shall not be conferred on a registered design which constitutes a component part of a complex product, upon whose appearance the design of the component part is dependent, and which is used within the meaning of Article 16(1) for the sole purpose of the repair of that complex product so as to restore its original appearance.

2.    Paragraph 1 cannot be invoked by the manufacturer or the seller of a component part of a complex product who failed to duly inform consumers, through a clear and visible indication on the product or in another appropriate form, about the origin of the product to be used for the purpose of the repair of the complex product, so that they can make an informed choice between competing products that can be used for the repair.

3.    Where at the time of adoption of this Directive the national law of a Member State provides protection for designs within the meaning of paragraph 1, the Member State shall, by way of derogation from paragraph 1, continue until …[OP please insert the date = ten years from the date of entry into force of this Directive] to provide that protection for designs for which registration has been applied before the entry into force of this Directive.

Paragraphs (1) and (2) appear in almost identical form in Article 20a of the proposed Regulation.

The proposals will be sent to the European Parliament and Council for adoption. Once adopted, EU Member States will have two years to transpose the Directive into national law.

Most amendments to the Community Design Regulation will become applicable three months after its entry into force, but some will only apply 18 months after.