Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

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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