EU Design Reform – what you need to know

The EU design system is undergoing its most significant reform in the last 20 years. The reforms seek to modernise EU design law by broadening the scope of protection available to design owners and strengthening enforcement mechanisms. Key features of the reform include recognition of the growth of digital and animated designs and greater flexibility when filing multiple design applications.

The changes have been divided into Phase I, which applied from 1 May 2025, and Phase II, which took effect on 1 July 2026. 

Alongside the legislative changes, the EUIPO Design Guidelines have been comprehensively updated to reflect the new framework and provide guidance on how the EUIPO will examine and administer design applications going forward.

The key changes and their practical implications for businesses seeking to protect and enforce their designs within the EU are outlined below:

• Broader Protection: Digital, animated, and virtual designs are now expressly covered by EU design law.
• Flexibility with Filings and Changes to Fees: Application processes have been simplified and may offer increased cost efficiency, particularly for portfolios that encompass multiple products.
• Expanded Enforcement: New legal rights and remedies have been introduced to address new forms of infringement such as use of 3D printing technologies and customs will have greater powers to seize goods in transit.
• Spare Parts: The implementation of a new “repair clause” is expected to influence strategies concerning the protection and commercialisation of component parts.
• Streamlined invalidity proceedings: Fast track invalidity proceedings will be available.

Broader Protection | 3D, digital and animated designs

One of the most significant developments is the expansion of what can qualify for design protection. The concept of a "design" now expressly covers movement, animation and transitions, while the definition of a "product" has been broadened beyond physical embodiments to include digital and virtual creations, such as graphical user interfaces (GUIs), icons, digital graphics and virtual environments. 

To reflect these developments, Phase II reforms have introduced the acceptance of dynamic and animated representations, meaning that instead of relying solely on static images, applicants can now use moving or animated representations to capture transitions and movement of digital elements, for example user interface changes and digital element transitions between screens. 

However, the requirement to use visual disclaimers only to indicate features for which protection is not claimed remains unchanged, which potentially presents some practical challenges. That said, while the EUIPO continues to recommend the use of broken lines to indicate disclaimed elements of a design for static representations, it recognises that alternative visual disclaimers such as blurring or colour shading may be more appropriate for animated designs. Moreover, as design representation technologies continue to evolve and further forms of visual disclaimers may emerge, the EUIPO intends to develop harmonised guidance and standards to accommodate this evolution.

More flexibility when filing design applications

Previously, multiple designs included in one application generally had to belong to the same Locarno class. This restriction has been removed, allowing businesses to include designs for different types of products in a single multiple application, provided the application does not exceed 50 designs.

In addition, the previous seven-view limit for static views has been abolished, and applicants can now submit up to 10 static views for each design, allowing for a more comprehensive representation of the product. 

For dynamic (3D) or animated designs which feature movement, transitions or animation, applicants are also able to represent their designs using new digital formats such as MP4, OBJ and STL. Only one file in either of these formats can be uploaded per design representation. 

OBJ and STL formats are best suited to representing shape accurately, but they do not fully support colour, texture or material features. Given the limitations, this file format should only be used when the focus is an accurate representation of the shape of the product. MP4s therefore likely offer the best file format for animated or transitional digital designs. 

Fees

The EU design fee will remain EUR 350, with a uniform reduced fee of EUR 125 for the second to the tenth design in a multiple design application. The fees for each design from the eleventh onward are further reduced to EUR 50. However, subsequent renewal fees, especially for the 3rd and 4th renewal period, will be significantly increased. The rationale for this is that the EUIPO only wishes to maintain on the register designs that are actually in use on the market. 

Where there is a request to defer publication of an application, the deferment fee must be paid at the moment of filing. As publication fees have been abolished, it will not be possible to defer the publication of the design simply by not paying the publication fee. If, for any reason, a party wishes to avoid publication, and they have not applied for deferment, it will now only be able to do so by withdrawing the application. 

Expanded Enforcement

3D printing is now captured by activities that can be prohibited, including creating, downloading, copying, sharing, or distributing any medium or software that records the design for this purpose.

The reform also introduces greater protection against counterfeit goods moving through the EU where rights holders can prevent infringing products from transiting through the EU, even if those goods are not intended for sale within the EU market. This will enhance customs authorities' ability to act on suspected infringements during transit. 

Defenses have also been updated and broadened to specifically include referential use, comment, critique and parody. 

Spare Parts Market

A new “repair clause” excludes spare parts used for repair of complex products from the scope of registered design protection. The exclusion is limited to “must match” parts only (i.e. parts that are used to restore the original appearance of the product).  

This change provides helpful clarification and prevents misuse of design rights to block repairs.

Streamlined Invalidity Proceedings

Changes have also been made to invalidity proceedings, including the introduction of an expedited procedure where a design holder fails to defend the registration.

As EU designs are registered without substantive examination of their novelty and individual character, the fast-track invalidity will be particularly helpful in cases of infringement, when actions of the legitimate design owner will not be contested. This may assist businesses facing clearly invalid registrations and could provide a more efficient mechanism for clearing obstacles to enforcement or commercialisation.

Our Thoughts

These reforms bring about many welcome changes that give legal certainty to right holders and allow them to avail of a modern system which is better suited to the needs and requirements of the current market, recognising that modern products increasingly derive their value from digital interactions rather than purely the physical appearance of a product. Businesses can now more effectively protect screen displays, transitions, animations and interactive visual features through the design registration system.

For further information or to discuss the protection for your designs, please contact Amy Salter, Alison Brennan, Hazel Flood.