Registered Community Design
The Office for Harmonisation of the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM)
began accepting applications for Registered Community Designs on 1 January 2003. These were deemed to have a filing date of 1 April 2003, when the Community Design came into effect. A registered community design gives the proprietor a single registration, which is valid in all 25 countries of the European Union.
An applicant for a Registered Community Design (RCD) may apply directly to OHIM or may forward the application via the Irish Patents Office together with a handling fee of €25. If an application for a RCD is made via the Irish Patents Office, the Office will acknowledge receipt of the application and immediately forward it to OHIM. Its filing date will be the date of receipt at this Office. With the exception of the handling fee, all other fees including the filing fee must be paid directly to the OHIM.
All details relating to the Community Design Registration System, including application forms and notes regarding completion of same, fees and methods of payment may be obtained from the
OHIM website.
Registered Community Designs are protected for a period of five years. They can be then renewed four times giving a maximum life of 25 years of protection.
Unregistered Designs
With the adoption, on 12 December 2001 of the Community designs Regulation, the protection of unregistered Community designs is available for new designs created after 6 March 2002.
The regulation introduced a protection called "Unregistered Community Design" which is a right that automatically comes into existence by the mere fact of making the products incorporating the designs available to the public (i.e. if the design has been published, exhibited, used in trade or otherwise disclosed in such a way that these events could reasonably have become known to the circles specialised in the sector concerned) within the Community.
The right is limited to three years and forbids the use of copies of original designs. The unregistered design right constitutes a vital element of protection for industries such as clothing and footwear. For example the fashion industry, which renews their collections every season, can therefore be protected against counterfeiting and other infringing copies without the formality or costs involved for their designs in the entirety of the European Union.
The
InnovAccess website provides access to general information on IP issues, including grant/registration procedures and costs, in EU member states.