EUROPEAN COMMISSION Brussels, 6.11.2020 SWD(2020) 264 final COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EVALUATION of EU legislation on design protection {SWD(2020) 265 final} EN EN Table of contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 4 2. BACKGROUND TO THE INTERVENTION ................................................................................. 5 2.1. DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERVENTION AND ITS OBJECTIVES ............................................... 5 2.2. BASELINE AND POINTS OF COMPARISON .................................................................................. 6 3. IMPLEMENTATION/STATE OF PLAY ........................................................................................ 9 3.1. DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT SITUATION ............................................................................ 9 3.2. USE OF THE DESIGN PROTECTION SYSTEM ............................................................................ 10 3.3. TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND AWARENESS OF DESIGN PROTECTION ........... 16 4. METHOD .......................................................................................................................................... 18 4.1. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 18 4.2. LIMITATIONS AND ROBUSTNESS OF FINDINGS ..................................................................... 18 5. ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................................ 19 5.1. OVERALL FUNCTIONING OF THE EU SYSTEM FOR DESIGN PROTECTION .............. 19 5.1.1. GENERAL FEEDBACK ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EU SYSTEM FOR DESIGN PROTECTION .................................................................................................................................... 19 5.1.2. GENERAL FEEDBACK ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE EU INTERVENTION’S OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................................... 20 5.2. PROTECTION TOOLS ................................................................................................................... 20 5.2.1. DIFFERENT WAYS OF PROTECTING DESIGNS ......................................................................... 20 5.2.2. PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS AND SCOPE OF PROTECTION ............................................. 24 5.2.3. RIGHTS CONFERRED ...................................................................................................................... 29 5.2.4. DEFENCES TO INFRINGEMENT ................................................................................................... 31 5.2.5. TERM OF PROTECTION .................................................................................................................. 33 5.2.6. RELATION TO OTHER FORMS OF IP PROTECTION ................................................................. 34 5.2.7. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................. 36 5.3. PROCEDURES ................................................................................................................................. 37 5.3.1. MEANS AND REQUIREMENTS OF DESIGN REPRESENTATION ............................................ 37 5.3.2. DIFFERENT FILING OPTIONS ....................................................................................................... 41 5.3.3. SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION .................................................................................................... 45 5.3.4. ADMINISTRATIVE INVALIDITY PROCEEDINGS ...................................................................... 47 5.3.5. EXPERIENCE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND NATIONAL REGISTRATION SYSTEMS ...... 49 5.3.6. FEES ................................................................................................................................................... 53 5.3.7. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................. 56 5.4. ENFORCEMENT ............................................................................................................................. 58 5.4.1. DESIGN RIGHTS AS PROTECTION TOOLS AGAINST THE UNLAWFUL BEHAVIOUR OF THIRD PARTIES ............................................................................................................................... 59 5.4.2. FUNCTIONING OF THE DESIGN ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM .................................................... 60 1 5.4.3. FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMUNITY DESIGN COURTS......................................................... 62 5.4.4. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................. 63 5.5. SPARE PARTS ................................................................................................................................. 64 5.5.1. SPECIFIC RULES ON SPARE PARTS USED FOR REPAIR PURPOSES ..................................... 64 5.5.2. SEGMENTED INTERNAL MARKET FOR SPARE PARTS .......................................................... 66 5.5.3. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................. 69 5.6. INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION .................................................................................................. 69 5.6.1. LINK TO THE INTERNATIONAL HAGUE AGREEMENT .......................................................... 70 5.6.2. CONFORMITY WITH THE DESIGN LAW TREATY .................................................................... 70 5.7. COHERENCE WITH THE TRADE MARK REFORM .............................................................. 71 5.8. COMPLIANCE WITH THE LISBON TREATY .......................................................................... 72 5.9. OVERALL CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................... 72 ANNEX 1: PROCEDURAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................... 75 ANNEX 2: STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION – SYNOPSIS REPORT ............................................... 78 ANNEX 3: METHODS AND ANALYTICAL MODELS .......................................................................... 85 ANNEX 4: RESULTS OF THE OPEN PUBLIC CONSULTATION – FACTUAL SUMMARY REPORT ............................................................................................................................................. 88 ANNEX 5: OVERVIEW OF COSTS – BENEFITS IDENTIFIED IN THE EVALUATION .................. 132 ANNEX 6: CONVERGENCE OF PRACTICES ....................................................................................... 138 2 Glossary Term or acronym Meaning or definition 3D Printing Study “The Intellectual property implications of the development of industrial 3D printing”, April 2020 CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union Directive Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 on the legal protection of designs EC European Commission Economic Review “The Economic Review of Industrial Design in Europe”, January 2015 Enforcement Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of Directive 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of intellectual property rights EPO European Patent Office EU European Union EUIPO European Union Intellectual Property Office EUTM European Union trade mark EUTM Regulation Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark Fees Regulation Commission Regulation (EC) No 2246/2002 of 16 December 2002 on the fees payable to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) in respect of the registration of Community designs Hague System Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs Implementing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2245/2002 of 21 October 2002 implementing Regulation Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs IP Intellectual property IPR Intellectual property rights Legal Review “Legal review on industrial design protection in Europe”, April 2016 Observatory European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights Public Consultation Public consultation “Evaluation of EU legislation on design protection”, 18 December 2018 - 30 April 2019 RCD Registered Community Design Regulation Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 on Community designs UCD Unregistered Community Design WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization 3 1. INTRODUCTION This evaluation aims to provide an in-depth assessment of the overall functioning of the design protection system in the European Union including both EU and national levels. It analyses to what extent the current EU legislation on design protection, consisting of: Directive 98/71/EC on the legal protection of designs1 (‘the Directive’), Regulation (EC) 6/2002 on Community Designs2 (‘the Regulation’), Regulation (EC) 2245/2002 implementing the Community Design Regulation3 (‘the Implementing Regulation’), and Regulation (EC) 2246/2002 on fees payable to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (‘the Fees Regulation’)4, has achieved its objectives