Yesterday, 10 October 2024, the EU Council finally approved the renewed acts (Directive and Regulation) that compose the so-called design package, which regulates the protection of industrial designs.
This is the last step before it is published in the Official Journal, from which the terms for the entry into force (20 days) and for the implementation of the discipline as reformed (4 months) will begin.
A major focus is on the new wording of the ‘repair clause’, which limits the scope of protection conferred by the titles considered therein, thereby allowing the use of replacement parts identical to the originals to repair complex products, e.g. in the automotive and electronics sectors.
However, the new legislation entails also, and above all, the harmonisation of the national and European systems for the registration of titles, in addition to a variety of appropriate adjustments to deal with the digital age.