Topic 3: Design and Patents

Industrial Design Protection in Europe

• Distinct from utility: Industrial design, as per the Community Design Regulation (CDR), protects the appearance of products, not their function. A product's design can be protected even if the product is not useful.
• Protection Period: Designs are protected for 70 years.
• Key Legislation: The Design Directive and the CDR are the primary legal instruments. The European Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) is the governing body.
• Protected Aspects (Art. 3 CDR): Appearance of products (or parts) – handles, soles, etc., resulting from lines, contours, texture. Designs contrary to public order/morality are excluded. Designs strictly dictated by function are not protected.
• Examples: The Brompton bicycle design is not protected if the appearance is a direct consequence of its function.
• Novelty Requirement: A design must be new to the market.
• Individual Character Requirement: Designs must possess originality/difference from existing designs. The "informed user" standard is used (a consumer attentive to details). The overall impression matters.
• Informed User Example: Slight differences in a barstool (with many design constraints) are significant than minor design changes in a dress.
• Disclosure Exceptions: If the designer publicly reveals their design, they have 12 months to apply for protection.
• Burden of Proof: The party claiming infringement bears the responsibility of demonstrating disclosure.
• Unregistered Community Designs: Protection arises automatically upon first public EU disclosure. Duration is 3 years. This protection only applies to identical products (not similar ones).

Patent Protection

• Legal Basis: The European Patent Convention (EPC, 1973) guides patent law, and the European Patent Office (EPO) manages its application.
• Patent Nature: A patent grants exclusive rights to inventors (individuals or businesses) to produce, sell, and use their invention within a specific geographical area for a given time, usually a maximum of 20 years.
• Patent Disclosure Requirement: Patent holders must disclose their invention's methodology or process.
• Patent Requirements (Art. 52.1 EPC): Novelty (not previously publicly disclosed), Inventive Step (not obvious to a skilled person in the field), and Industrial Application (practical function with commercial value).
• Novelty (Art. 54): An invention must be novel – not part of the existing public knowledge (state of the art). Disclosure can be public in any form (oral, written, video) anywhere in the world.
• Inventive Step: The invention must represent a non-obvious advancement to a knowledgeable practitioner in the field (Art. 56).
• Industrial Application (Art. 57): The invention must have a demonstrable commercial value.
• Non-Patentable Items: Mathematical methods, scientific discoveries (unless relating to a medical application), works of art, business schemes, or collected information.
• Computable programs: Can be patented if they have a technical contribution or effect.
• Non-Patentable Due to Morality (Art. 53): Inventions contrary to public order or morality (e.g., x-ray glasses), plant/animal varieties (except microbiological processes), clinical treatment/diagnosis methods. (Medicines, equipment, and pharmaceuticals can be patented.)
• Patent Exhaustion: Licensing a patent to another producer in a different country transfers the rights regarding products made from the license to that other country's laws and the licensee.

International Patent Protection

• World Level (WIPO): World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the international body overseeing global patent standards through the Treaty within the WTO. The TRIPS Agreement further regulates patent laws.
• Regional Level (EU): The European Patent Convention (EPC) is a multilateral treaty establishing a unified patent system within Europe. The EPO manages patent applications. A patent application in multiple countries (e.g., France, Germany) generates separate patents in each country. Enforcement remains national.

Explore the key aspects of industrial design protection in Europe through this quiz. Learn about the distinct features that separate design from utility, the legislation that governs design rights, and the requirements for novelty and individual character. Test your knowledge on how designs like the Brompton bicycle are treated under European laws.