Applications are filed at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), or by international filing through the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

This guide was last updated in January 2018.

A Registered Community Design (RCD) covers all 28 member states of the European Union. The Community Design System runs parallel to the Design Legislation of each national EU member state.

A RCD is a monopoly right for the appearance of the whole or part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and materials of the product and/or its ornamentation.

To be registrable a design must be new and have individual character. To be new, the design is required to differ from known designs by more than "immaterial details". To have individual character a design must create a different overall impression on an informed user. Although a design application can be filed up to one year after the design has been made public; it is preferable that a design application is filed as soon as the design is created.

There is a €350 fee for one RCD application, and an additional fee for each extra design applied for.

A RCD can last up to 25 years (the Registration has to be renewed for a fee every  five years within the 25 year period). Member states of the European Union:

  • Austria
  • Belguim
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malta
  • The Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Republic of Ireland
  • Romania
  • United Kingdom

Information required to file application:

  • Full name and address of applicant
  • Country and state, if appropriate, of incorporation of the applicant
  • Name and address of designer
  • Good representation of the design including views
  • Indication of the product within the Locarno classification to which the design is applied
  • Details of application on which Convention Priority is to be claimed, if any.
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