This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Harmonised national laws on the protection of designs
Harmonised national laws on the protection of designs
Harmonised national laws on the protection of designs
Harmonised national laws on the protection of designs
SUMMARY OF:
Directive 98/71/EC ensuring the protection of industrial designs
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE DIRECTIVE?
It aims to harmonise national laws on the protection of design to ensure the right holder has the same protection in all EU countries.
National laws exist alongside an EU-wide system for obtaining a Community design covered by uniform protection.
KEY POINTS
The directive applies to design* rights registered:
Conditions of protection
To qualify for protection, a design has to be new and have an individual character. EU countries protect designs by registering them and conferring exclusive rights on their designers.
Term of protection
The design is protected for one or more periods of 5 years, with a maximum duration of 25 years. The protection confers on the holder the exclusive right to use the design and to prevent any third party from using it.
Rights conferred by registration
The registration of a design shall confer on its holder the exclusive right to use it and to prevent any unauthorised third party from using it.
Restriction of rights
The rights conferred by a design right do not extend to:
Also excluded from protection are:
Invalidity
A design right can be declared invalid, in certain defined cases, even after it has lapsed or has been surrendered (i.e. the right has been given up by the rights holder).
Relationship with other forms of protection
If, in an EU country, designs are protected by laws concerning unregistered designs, copyright, trademarks, patents and utility models or any other law, these laws still apply side by side with the specific legislation on the protection of designs.
FROM WHEN DOES THE DIRECTIVE APPLY?
It has applied since 17 November 1998. EU countries had to incorporate it into national law by 28 October 2001.
BACKGROUND
For more information, see:
* KEY TERMS
Design: The appearance of all or part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation.
MAIN DOCUMENT
Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 on the legal protection of designs (OJ L 289, 28.10.1998, pp. 28-35)
RELATED ACTS
Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs (OJ L 3, 5.1.2002, pp. 1-24)
Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.
last update 07.07.2016