Europe takes action to implement law of design rights

The law also applies to non-technology products, such as handicraft items, the pattern of a plate or the lid of a fountain pen.

The deadline for Member States to implement the Directive was 28th October 2001. However, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland and Sweden have still not implemented it. The Commission announced yesterday that it has decided to send formal requests to them, calling upon them to implement the law. Should these Member States fail to give a satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

The UK's implementing regulations were brought into force on 9th December 2001, missing the EU's deadline by a few weeks.

The Directive:

• Defines what constitutes a "design";
• Establishes the criteria for protection (a design has to be new and have an individual character);
• Fixes the duration of protection (minimum of 5 years and maximum of 25 years);
• Fixes the scope of protection (the right holder has the exclusive right to use the design and to prevent any third party from using it);
• Establishes limits to the design right (for example, it would not normally cover inter-connections between components); and
• Establishes rules on the nullity of the registration of a design.