Designs: Council gives its final approval to the “designs protection package”

Yesterday, the Council adopted two significant legislative acts under the designs protection package: the revised Directive on the legal protection of designs and the amended Regulation on designs.

The adopted texts update the current design legislation to enhance the protection of designs in the era of digital designs and 3D printing.

What's changing:

• Harmonisation of procedures between European and national systems.
• Introduction of the "repair clause," which exempts spare parts used for the repair of complex products (such as car repair parts) from design protection.
• Establishment of a harmonised transitional period to protect existing designs of component parts during the transition to the new legal framework.

Next steps:

• Following the Council’s approval, the legislative acts will be signed by the Presidents of the European Parliament and the Council.
• The Directive will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and will enter into force 20 days after its publication.
• Member States will have 36 months to transpose the Directive into their national legislation.
• The Regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication and will apply 4 months later.