EUIPO Design Patent Application Process

• Scanned copy of the priority document and its English translation/DAS (can be submitted within 3 months from the filing date)
• If the original document contains a color design, the scan/copy must also be in color
• If you claim Community design as priority, you only need to state the previous application number and filing date, and there is no need to provide a priority document.
• If the language of the prior application is not an EU language, the applicant must submit a translation of the RCD application into the first or second language within 2 months from the filing date at the latest.

The initial protection is 5 years, which can be renewed 4 times after expiration, up to a maximum of 25 years

6 months from the earliest priority date

EUIPO only conducts a formal examination of design patent applications. Applicants can submit applications in any official language of the EU. In addition to the language used to submit the application, they must also indicate a second language, namely English/French/German/Italian/Spanish. The language selection cannot be modified once submitted. If the requirements are met, the design authorization can generally be obtained in about 10 days. If the design meets the following conditions, the authorization can be obtained in as fast as 2 days.

• Use a fixed format electronic submission form
• Indicate the design classification number
• Use priority DAS code
• No novelty grace period requirement
• Indicate the applicant and client ID number
• Payment via EUIPO account debit or credit card

Submission method: The application for registration of Community design can be submitted directly to the competent authority by electronic application, postal or personal delivery. The application can be filed with the central industrial property office of the member states or with the Benelux Industrial Property Office BOIP.

• If a Community design application is filed with a national office or a BOIP Member State, the application shall have the same effect as if it had been filed with that Office on the same day, provided that the application is received by EUIPO within two months from the date of filing. If it is not received by EUIPO within the two-month period, the filing date shall be deemed to be the date of receipt by EUIPO. If a Community design application is received shortly after the expiration of the two-month period, the EUIPO examiner shall check whether the period should be extended under one of the conditions provided for in Article 58(4) CDIR.

Language: The application can be submitted in any of the official languages of the European Union and must indicate a second language, i.e. English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. The second language must be different from the language of the application. During the examination procedure, the applicant can use: the first language; if the first language is not the language of the competent authority, the applicant can use the second language at his/her discretion.

Acceptance: For Community design applications submitted electronically, the system will immediately issue an electronic application receipt with the application date and application number recorded.

Priority: An application for a Community design may claim the priority of one or more previous applications for the same design or utility model in any contracting state of the Paris Convention or the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, or in another country with which it has a reciprocal agreement. The applicant must respond to the correction notice issued by EUIPO within 3 months from the date of the correction notice.

• Convention priority: The deadline is 6 months from the date of first application
  • Priority declaration: A priority declaration can be made when filing a Community design application or within one month after the filing date, and must indicate: priority date, priority number and priority country
  • Priority document: DAS code can be provided. If there is no DAS code, a copy of the priority document must be submitted, which can be supplemented within 3 months from the application date at the latest, and a translation must be provided at the same time. If Community design is required as priority, only priority information is required, and a copy of the priority document is not required.
  • Language: If the language of the earlier application is not an EU language, the applicant must submit a translation into the first or second language within 2 months from the filing date at the latest.
• Exhibition priority: Applicants may request exhibition priority within 6 months after the first exhibition. This period cannot be extended.
  • Priority declaration: The applicant must submit a priority declaration within 1 month from the filing date at the latest, stating the exhibition name and the date when the product was first displayed.
  • Priority document: The applicant must provide EUIPO with a certificate issued by the responsible authority at the exhibition, at the latest within 3 months from the filing date. The certificate must state that the design was made public at the exhibition and indicate the opening date of the exhibition and, if the date of first public use does not coincide with the opening date of the exhibition, the date of first public use. The certificate must be accompanied by the identification of the actual public design product duly certified by the competent authority. Priority is granted only if the Community design application was filed within 6 months of the first exhibition at an exhibition recognized for this purpose (i.e. a World Exhibition within the meaning of the Convention on International Exhibitions signed in Paris on November 22, 1928).

Authorization: If the Community Design application meets all the requirements for authorization, it will usually be authorized within 10 working days. If the design does not refer to the product list in DesignClass, the authorization may be delayed. In this case, the product description needs to be translated into the official language of the European Union. All authorized Community Designs are published electronically in the Community Design Bulletin, which is published once a day.

Patent Certificate: After the full text is published, an electronic patent certificate will be issued, and the right holder can download the certificate on "eSearch plus" from the day after the publication. The right holder can request a certified or uncertified copy of the registration certificate. The certificate contains all the information registered in the design register.

• After the grant date, even if the contents of the patent certificate change, no new patent certificate will be issued. However, you can request an extract from the register reflecting the current legal status of the design.
• The certificate contains all the information entered in the Community Design Register on the date of registration.
• Only when there is a textual error or obvious error in the name and address of the applicant can it be corrected at the applicant's request. The correction shall not change the design view and no official fee is charged.
• If there are any errors made by EUIPO, EUIPO will correct them on its own initiative or at the request of the registrant.
   

Correction: If there are defects in the design patent application, the examiner will issue a correction notice and require the applicant to reply within the prescribed period. Before formally issuing the correction notice, the examiner may first issue an informal notice called a "preliminary examination report" to remind the applicant of the potential defects in order to speed up the examination process.

• Possible corrections include: if the application claims one or more priorities, but there is no record in WIPO DAS, or if exhibition priority is claimed but no exhibition priority certificate is submitted, in this case, the examiner will notify the applicant to submit the missing copy of the prior application or exhibition certificate. The applicant must submit a copy of the priority document within 3 months from the date of application.

The design must be in the form of a black and white or color picture or photograph

• Regardless of the form used to file the application (electronic filing, paper or fax), the design must be reproduced on a neutral background and must not be modified with ink or correction fluid.
• The pictures or photographs must be of such quality that all details of the subject matter to be protected can be clearly discerned and may be reduced or enlarged to a size not exceeding 8 cm x 16 cm per image for publication in the Gazette.
• Drawings, photographs (except slides), computer-generated presentations or any other graphic representations, suitable for reproduction, including on a certificate of registration in paper form, are acceptable. Motion simulations generated by three-dimensional computer animations can only be considered as additional technical means of viewing the design and cannot replace traditional static views. CD-ROMs and other data carriers are not acceptable at the EUIPO.
• The background must be neutral and clearly distinguish the design shown in that view from its surroundings, without interference from any other objects, appurtenances or decorations. A single or predominant color in the background is acceptable as long as it stands out against the colors of the design.
   

Specimens: If the application involves a two-dimensional design and the application contains a request for extension, the picture or photographic reproduction of the design may be replaced by a specimen of the design, which is usually a sample of a piece of material such as textiles, wallpaper, lace, leather, etc.

• The sample size must not exceed 26.2 cm x 17 cm, the weight must not exceed 50 grams, and the thickness must not exceed 3 mm. Five samples must be submitted for each sample; in the case of multiple applications, five samples must be submitted for each design.
• The application form and sample must be delivered at the same time by mail or personal delivery. The application date will not be determined before the application form and sample are delivered to the office.
• In principle, the sample will be archived indefinitely. If the design drawing has been replaced by a sample, the applicant must submit a graphic or photo copy of the design at least 3 months before the expiration of the 30-month deferral period, or at least 3 months before the publication date. If the applicant fails to submit a graphic or photo, EUIPO will issue a notice of rectification. If the applicant fails to rectify, the design will be deemed non-existent from the outset.
   

The EUIPO's examination of Community designs is limited to two grounds of non-registration :

• The design does not comply with Article 3a of the Convention on International Trade in Goods and Services, which states: "Design means the overall or partial appearance of a product and, in particular, its lines, contours, colours, shapes, texture and/or materials and/or its decoration. "Product" means any industrial product or handicraft, including, inter alia, components, packaging, packaging, graphic symbols and typefaces intended to be assembled into a complex product, but excluding computer programs. Whether the product applied for is actually manufactured or used in the manner of an industrial product or handicraft, or whether it is capable of being manufactured or used, will not be examined.
• Whether a design discloses the appearance of a "product" in whole or in part will be examined on the design itself, provided that the design clearly indicates the nature of the product, its intended purpose or function, and the product into which the design is intended to be incorporated or applied.
   

You may submit up to 7 views : plan, elevation, cross section, perspective or exploded view. Only one copy of each view needs to be submitted.

• If there are more than 7 views, EUIPO will not consider any additional views when registering and publishing the application. EUIPO will process the views in the order in which the applicant numbered the appearance drawings.
• If there are fewer than 7 views and they are not numbered, the examiner will number the views in the order given in the application.
• The examiner will not change the order or orientation of the views in the application.
   

Fees: The applicant must pay the application fee, registration fee and publication fee at the same time as submitting the application. If the application includes a request for delayed publication, the delayed publication fee must also be paid at the same time. If there are multiple designs, the additional fee for each additional design must also be paid at the same time. If the fees are not paid at the same time as submitting the application, a late payment fee will be charged.

Delayed disclosure of appearance: When submitting an application for a design, the applicant can request to postpone the publication of the design for 30 months from the application date/priority date to avoid the disclosure of the design after it is actually put on the market, thus maintaining a competitive advantage for the right holder. When the authorization is published, the Community Design Bulletin only publishes relevant information about the design, including: application number, application date, authorization date, authorization number, name and address of the right holder, name and address of the agent, but does not publish other details, such as the representation of the design or the description of the product.

Multiple designs: All designs in a multiple design application must have the same right holder. There is no limit to the number of designs contained in the multiple design application. They do not need to be related to each other or similar in appearance, nature or purpose. However, they must meet the "class unity" requirement. The applicant must number the designs contained in the multiple application consecutively using Arabic numerals.

• Each design in a multiple application is examined separately. If the defects of some designs in a multiple application are not corrected within the time limit specified by EUIPO, these designs will be rejected.

Withdrawal and amendment/correction: The applicant may withdraw the application for a registered Community design at any time during the examination period and, in the case of multiple designs, may also withdraw some of the multiple designs in the application. Corrections are only permitted in certain special circumstances.

• The withdrawal of an application must be submitted in writing. If a filing date has been granted, the official fee will not be refunded.
• At the applicant's request, only the name and address of the applicant or agent, clerical or copywriting errors or obvious mistakes may be corrected:
  • Application date
  • Designer Name
  • Second language
  • Brief Description
  • Classification Number
  • Priority date, priority number and priority country
  • Exhibition priority date, priority number and exhibition priority location and description, etc.
• In principle, a design cannot be changed after it has been filed, even if an amended brief is filed on the same day. Any amended or supplementary brief filed at a later stage will not be accepted unless expressly requested by the EUIPO.
   

Restitutio in integrum : If, despite having taken all due care in the circumstances, an application has not been made within the prescribed time limit, a request for restoration of rights (restitutio in integrum) may be made, provided that the direct consequence of the failure to make the application within the prescribed time limit is the loss of rights or the loss of means of relief under the Regulation.

• Rights are re-established only in exceptional circumstances that cannot be predicted empirically and are therefore unforeseeable and involuntary.
• Examples of “all due care” requirements being met:
  • In principle, failure to deliver by postal or courier services does not involve a lack of due care on the part of the parties.
  • The degree of due care that a party must have shown to re-establish its rights must be determined in the light of all relevant circumstances. Relevant circumstances may include relevant errors made by the Office and their impact. Thus, even if the party concerned did not exercise all due care, reinstatement may be granted because of relevant errors made by the Patent Office.
  • Situations such as natural disasters and general strikes are considered to meet all due care requirements
• Examples of when the "all due care" requirement is not met:
  • Document management errors made by company employees or by the computer system itself are foreseeable, so due diligence requires a system to monitor and detect any such errors.
  • The unique workload and organizational pressures on the company's employees do not meet the requirement of "due care"
  • The error in calculating the time limit does not constitute a special event that cannot be predicted based on experience
  • The head of the annual fee department monitors the performance of employees every day, and his mistake does not constitute an extraordinary incident
  • The absence of a key member of the accounting department cannot be considered an extraordinary or unforeseeable event.
  • Clerical errors in entering the closing date cannot be considered extraordinary or unforeseeable events
  • Misunderstanding of applicable law should not in principle be considered an "obstacle" to compliance with time limits
  • The right holder's delay in giving instructions is not an exceptional circumstance
  • Financial problems, bankruptcy and unemployment of the right holder's enterprise cannot be used as reasons to prevent the renewal of the annual fee.
  • The legal error of the agent does not constitute grounds for reinstatement, and the assistant's deletion time limit is not unforeseeable and does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance.
• Time limit: The time limit for filing a request for restoration of rights is 2 months from the date when the cause of non-performance of obligations is eliminated or from the date when the omission is completed; the latest time limit is 1 year from the date when the time limit is missed.
  • The date on which the cause of non-compliance is eliminated is the first date on which the party knew or should have known the facts leading to the non-compliance. If the cause of non-compliance is the absence or illness of the attorney handling the case, the date on which the cause of non-compliance is eliminated is the date on which the attorney returns to work. If the applicant does not submit a renewal application or pay the annual fee, the 1-year period will be calculated from the date on which protection ends, not from the date on which the 6-month period expires.
• Official fee: The applicant must pay a fee for the restoration of rights request within the time limit: EUR 200.
  • An application for "restoration of rights" covering multiple rights requires only one fee if all conditions are met. Otherwise, a separate fee must be paid for each design.
  • Language: In registration proceedings, this is the language indicated in the application; in opposition proceedings, the language of the opposition proceedings; in annual fee proceedings, it can be any of the five languages of the Office. If the wrong language is used, or a translation into the correct language is not submitted on time, the request for restoration of rights will be rejected as inadmissible.
  • Evidence: When filing a petition for reinstatement, the applicant must state the grounds upon which the petition is based and set out the facts upon which it is based. Since the granting of a petition for reinstatement is primarily based on facts, it is best for the applicant to present evidence in the form of an affidavit or affirmation. Statements made by the interested party himself or his employees are generally given less weight than independent evidence.
  • The omitted acts must be completed together with the request for reinstatement of rights at the latest within the deadline for filing the request.

The EUIPO provides a 12-month grace period for publication, allowing designers to verify the likelihood of commercial success before registering the design.

• Authorization fee: Applicants must pay the authorization fee at the same time as the application fee
• Annual fee: The first renewal must be paid within the 5-year validity period. If the annual fee is overdue, it can be paid within 6 months after the expiration date. A 50% late payment fee must also be paid

yes

yes