The European Commission is taking formal proceedings against ten
Member States for failing to implement into their national law a
Directive on the legal protection of designs. The law protects the
appearance of products, including graphics, icons and
typefaces.
The law also applies to non-technology products, such as
handicraft items, the pattern of a plate or the lid of a fountain
pen.
The deadline for Member States to implement the Directive was
28th October 2001. However, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain,
Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland and Sweden
have still not implemented it. The Commission announced yesterday
that it has decided to send formal requests to them, calling upon
them to implement the law. Should these Member States fail to give
a satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may refer
the matter to the European Court of Justice.
The UK's implementing regulations were brought into force on 9th
December 2001, missing the EU's deadline by a few weeks.
The Directive:
- Defines what constitutes a "design";
- Establishes the criteria for protection (a design has to be new
and have an individual character);
- Fixes the duration of protection (minimum of 5 years and
maximum of 25 years);
- Fixes the scope of protection (the right holder has the
exclusive right to use the design and to prevent any third party
from using it);
- Establishes limits to the design right (for example, it would
not normally cover inter-connections between components); and
- Establishes rules on the nullity of the registration of a
design.
