Accelerated Examination of EU Design Applications

There are two ways to submit an application to the EUIPO for registration of a Community Design, namely:

• (i) Filing an application directly with the Office or the central industrial property office of a Member State, or with the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP)
• (ii) File an international registration with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) designating the European Union

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 it 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 its 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 set out in Article 58(4) CDIR.

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 the DesignClass, the authorization may be delayed. In this case, the product description needs to be translated into the official language of the EU.

Community designs can be examined more quickly using the following methods. If they meet the accelerated procedures, they can be granted within 2 working days:

• Submit your application electronically using the four-step form
• Use DesignClass for product description and classification
• The priority document for which priority is claimed is already available in WIPO DAS and the DAS code is submitted with the electronic application (not required for first filing)
• No exhibition priority required
• Fill in agent registration number
• The fee is deducted from the agent's current account registered with EUIPO or paid by credit card