The legislative reform’s great designs

Abstract Design law has undergone a major reform after more than 20 years of existence, with the publication of Directive 2024/2823 of 23 October 2024 on the legal protection of designs and Regulation 2024/2822 of 23 October 2024 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2246/2002 [2024] OJ L2024/2822. The purpose of this Practice Point is to provide a quick overview of the most significant changes brought by the Design Legislative Reform Package to the existing legal framework. The contribution has a practical bias and is aimed at readers who wish rapidly to find the key amendments to both the recast Directive on the legal protection of designs and the amending Regulation on EU designs. The Design Legislative Reform Package seeks inter alia to broaden both the definition of a ‘product’ and the ways in which designs can be represented; to liberalize the spare parts market; to provide for new exceptions to the exclusive right while extending its scope to ‘external transit’ and 3D printing; to prevent the appropriation of cultural heritage through abuse of the registration system and to provide for an optional cancellation procedure of national designs.