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EU Directive 2024/2823 (hereinafter “this Directive”) amends the previous Directive 98/71/EC on the protection of designs. It constitutes a legislative reform aimed at modernising, harmonising, and streamlining the design protection system within the EU.
Although there is still time before the deadline for its transposition, this is an interesting amendment that reflects the latest technological advances. We explain its content below.
1. Background to the amendment and transposition deadline
Recognising that the existing design regime was insufficient to cover new forms such as digital design, 3D printing, graphical user interfaces, and animations, the EU considered a comprehensive revision of the 1998 Directive to be necessary.
This Directive was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on November 18th, 2024, and entered into force on December 8th, 2024.
In addition, Member States are required to complete its transposition into national law by December 9th, 2027.
This amendment aims to modernize the EU design protection system and achieve harmonisation within the single market, including extending protection to new areas such as information technology, digital content, and user interfaces.
2. Amendments
(1) Definition of “design”
Article 2 of this Directive revises the definition of “design,” extending protection beyond physical appearance to include “movement, transition, or any other sort of animation.”
This amendment establishes a framework for the legal protection of digital designs, such as graphical user interfaces (GUIs), dynamic designs, and lighting effects.
(2) Multiple applications
Article 27 of this Directive allows for the inclusion of multiple designs in a single application. This enables the collective application and management of designs for product families, with the expectation of streamlining procedures and reducing costs.
(3) Deferment of publication
Article 30 of this Directive establishes a system that allows the disclosure of design information to be deferred for up to 30 months from the application. This allows companies to adjust the timing of disclosure to their market launch strategies.
(4) Spare parts clause
Article 19 of this Directive excludes from protection any design of component of a complex product, the appearance of which the design of said component depends on, and the sole purpose of which is to repair its appearance.
This provision safeguards free competition in the aftermarket for repairs.
We explained this point earlier in our article: PROVISIONAL DEAL ON REPAIR CLAUSE
(5) Introduction of the Ⓓ mark
Article 24 of this Directive allows the Ⓓ mark to be placed on registered designs.
This indication is expected to strengthen deterrence against unauthorised copying and improve the visibility of rights.
(6) Combating unauthorised reproduction and illegal distribution via the Internet
Article 16.2 of this Directive prohibits creating, downloading, copying, and sharing or distributing to others any medium or software that records the design.
The main purpose of this provision is to protect against infringements of design rights facilitated by the growing prevalence of 3D printers.
(7) Progress of the draft bill in Spain
Spain held a prior consultation to draft a bill amending the current legislation between February 17th and March 6th, 2025.
As noted above, the deadline for transposition is December 9th, 2027, so no specific draft bill is yet in sight. However, it will be necessary to closely monitor developments to see what design rights legislation is established, taking into account the amendments made by this Directive.
Satoshi Minami
Vilá Abogados
For more information, please contact:
24th of December, 2025
