COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 6/2002
of 12 December 2001
on Community designs(OJ EC No L 3 of 5.1.2002, p. 1)
amended by Council Regulation No 1891/2006 of 18 December 2006 amending Regulations(EC) No 6/2002 and (EC) No 40/94 to give effect to the accession of the European
Community to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement concerning the international
registration of industrial designs(OJ EC No L 386 of 29.12.2006, p. 14)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 308
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission1,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament2,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee3,
Whereas:(1) A unified system for obtaining a Community design to which uniform protection is given
with uniform effect throughout the entire territory of the Community would further theobjectives of the Community as laid down in the Treaty.
(2) Only the Benelux countries have introduced a uniform design protection law. In all the otherMember States the protection of designs is a matter for the relevant national law and is confinedto the territory of the Member State concerned. Identical designs may be therefore protecteddifferently in different Member States and for the benefit of different owners. This inevitably
leads to conflicts in the course of trade between Member States.
(3) The substantial differences between Member States' design laws prevent and distort
Community-wide competition. In comparison with domestic trade in, and competition between,
products incorporating a design, trade and competition within the Community are prevented anddistorted by the large number of applications, offices, procedures, laws, nationally circumscribed
exclusive rights and the combined administrative expense with correspondingly high costs andfees for the applicant. Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13
October 1998 on the legal protection of designs4 contributes to remedying this situation.
(4) The effect of design protection being limited to the territory of the individual Member States
whether or not their laws are approximated, leads to a possible division of the internal market
with respect to products incorporating a design which is the subject of national rights held bydifferent individuals, and hence constitutes an obstacle to the free movement of goods.
1

OJ C 29, 31.1.1994, p. 20 and OJ C 248, 29.8.2000, p. 3
OJ C 67, 1.3.2001, p. 318
3
OJ C 110, 2.5.1995 and OJ C 75, 15.3.2000, p. 35
4
OJ L 289, 28.10.1998, p. 28
2

(5) This calls for the creation of a Community design which is directly applicable in each
Member State, because only in this way will it be possible to obtain, through one application
made to the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Design) inaccordance with a single procedure under one law, one design right for one area encompassing
all Member States.
(6) Since the objectives of the proposed action, namely, the protection of one design right for one
area encompassing all the Member States, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member Statesby reason of the scale and the effects of the creation of a Community design and a Community
design authority and can therefore, and can therefore be better achieved at Community level, theCommunity may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in
Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that
Article, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve thoseobjectives.
(7) Enhanced protection for industrial design not only promotes the contribution of individual
designers to the sum of Community excellence in the field, but also encourages innovation anddevelopment of new products and investment in their production.
(8) Consequently a more accessible design-protection system adapted to the needs of the internalmarket is essential for Community industries.
(9) The substantive provisions of this Regulation on design law should be aligned with therespective provisions in Directive 98/71/EC.
(10) Technological innovation should not be hampered by granting design protection to featuresdictated solely by a technical function. It is understood that this does not entail that a design musthave an aesthetic quality. Likewise, the interoperability of products of different makes should not
be hindered by extending protection to the design of mechanical fittings. Consequently, thosefeatures of a design which are excluded from protection for those reasons should not be taken
into consideration for the purpose of assessing whether other features of the design fulfil therequirements for protection.
(11) The mechanical fittings of modular products may nevertheless constitute an importantelement of the innovative characteristics of modular products and present a major marketing
asset, and therefore should be eligible for protection.
(12) Protection should not be extended to those component parts which are not visible during
normal use of a product, nor to those features of such part which are not visible when the part ismounted, or which would not, in themselves, fulfil the requirements as to novelty and individual
character. Therefore, those features of design which are excluded from protection for thesereasons should not be taken into consideration for the purpose of assessing whether otherfeatures of the design fulfil the requirements for protection.
(13) Full-scale approximation of the laws of the Member States on the use of protected designs
for the purpose of permitting the repair of a complex product so as to restore its original
appearance, where the design is applied to or incorporated in a product which constitutes acomponent part of a complex product upon whose appearance the protected design is dependent,
could not be achieved through Directive 98/71/EC. Within the framework of the conciliation
procedure on the said Directive, the Commission undertook to review the consequences of theprovisions of that Directive three years after the deadline for transposition of the Directive inparticular for the industrial sectors which are most affected. Under these circumstances, it isappropriate not to confer any protection as a Community design for a design which is applied toor incorporated in a product which constitutes a component part of a complex product upon
whose appearance the design is dependent and which is used for the purpose of the repair of acomplex product so as to restore its original appearance, until the Council has decided its policyon this issue on the basis of a Commission proposal.
(14) The assessment as to whether a design has individual character should be based on whether
the overall impression produced on an informed user viewing the design clearly differs from that
produced on him by the existing design corpus, taking into consideration the nature of the
product to which the design is applied or in which it is incorporated, and in particular theindustrial sector to which it belongs and the degree of freedom of the designer in developing thedesign.
(15) A Community design should, as far as possible, serve the needs of all sectors of industry in
the Community.
(16) Some of those sectors produce large numbers of designs for products frequently having ashort market life where protection without the burden of registration formalities is an advantage
and the duration of protection is of lesser significance. On the other hand, there are sectors ofindustry which value the advantages of registration for the greater legal certainty it provides andwhich require the possibility of a longer term of protection corresponding to the foreseeable
market life of their products.
(17) This calls for two forms of protection, one being a short-term unregistered design and theother being a longer term registered design.
(18) A registered Community design requires the creation and maintenance of a register in which
will be registered all those applications which comply with formal conditions and which havebeen accorded a date of filing. This registration system should in principle not be based upon
substantive examination as to compliance with requirements for protection prior to registration,
thereby keeping to a minimum the registration and other procedural burdens on applicants.
(19) A Community design should not be upheld unless the design is new and unless it also
possesses an individual character in comparison with other designs.
(20) It is also necessary to allow the designer or his successor in title to test the products
embodying the design in the market place before deciding whether the protection resulting froma registered Community design is desirable. To this end it is necessary to provide that disclosuresof the design by the designer or his successor in title, or abusive disclosures during a period of 12months prior to the date of the filing of the application for a registered Community design should
not be prejudicial in assessing the novelty or the individual character of the design in question.
(21) The exclusive nature of the right conferred by the registered Community design is consistent
with its greater legal certainty. It is appropriate that the unregistered Community design should,
however, constitute a right only to prevent copying. Protection could not therefore extend todesign products which are the result of a design arrived at independently by a second designer.
This right should also extend to trade in products embodying infringing designs.
(22) The enforcement of these rights is to be left to national laws. It is necessary therefore toprovide for some basic uniform sanctions in all Member States. These should make it possible,
irrespective of the jurisdiction under which enforcement is sought, to stop the infringing acts.

(23) Any third person who can establish that he has in good faith commenced use even forcommercial purposes within the Community, or has made serious and effective preparations tothat end, of a design included within the scope of protection of a registered Community design,
which has not been copied from the latter, may be entitled to a limited exploitation of thatdesign.
(24) It is a fundamental objective of this Regulation that the procedure for obtaining a registered
Community design should present the minimum cost and difficulty to applicants, so as to make itreadily available to small and medium-sized enterprises as well as to individual designers.
(25) Those sectors of industry producing large numbers of possibly short-lived designs overshort periods of time of which only some may be eventually commercialised will find advantage
in the unregistered Community design. Furthermore, there is also a need for these sectors to haveeasier recourse to the registered Community design. Therefore, the option of combining a
number of designs in one multiple application would satisfy that need. However, the designs
contained in a multiple application may be dealt with independently of each other for the
purposes of enforcement of rights, licensing, rights in rem, levy of execution, insolvency
proceedings, surrender, renewal, assignment, deferred publication or declaration of invalidity.
(26) The normal publication following registration of a Community design could in some cases
destroy or jeopardise the success of a commercial operation involving the design. The facility ofa deferment of publication for a reasonable period affords a solution in such cases.
(27) A procedure for hearing actions concerning validity of a registered Community design in asingle place would bring savings in costs and time compared with procedures involving different
national courts.
(28) It is therefore necessary to provide safeguards including a right of appeal to a Board of
Appeal, and ultimately to the Court of Justice. Such a procedure would assist the development of
uniform interpretation of the requirements governing the validity of Community designs.
(29) It is essential that the rights conferred by a Community design can be enforced in an
efficient manner throughout the territory of the Community.
(30) The litigation system should avoid as far as possible "forum shopping". It is therefore
necessary to establish clear rules of international jurisdiction.
(31) This Regulation does not preclude the application to designs protected by Community
designs of the industrial property laws or other relevant laws of the Member States, such as thoserelating to design protection acquired by registration or those relating to unregistered designs,
trade marks, patents and utility models, unfair competition or civil liability.
(32) In the absence of the complete harmonisation of copyright law, it is important to establish
the principle of cumulation of protection under the Community design and under copyright law,whilst leaving Member States free to establish the extent of copyright protection and theconditions under which such protection is conferred.

(33) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation should be adopted inaccordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures forthe exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission5,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
Community design
1. A design which complies with the conditions contained in this Regulation is hereinafterreferred to as a "Community design".
2. A design shall be protected:(a) by an "unregistered Community design", if made available to the public in the manner
provided for in this Regulation;(b) by a "registered Community design", if registered in the manner provided for in thisRegulation.
3. A Community design shall have a unitary character. It shall have equal effect throughout theCommunity. It shall not be registered, transferred or surrendered or be the subject of a decision
declaring it invalid, nor shall its use be prohibited, save in respect of the whole Community. This
principle and its implications shall apply unless otherwise provided in this Regulation.
Article 2
OfficeThe Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), hereinafterreferred to as "the Office", instituted by Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December
1993 on the Community trade mark6, hereinafter referred to as the "Regulation on theCommunity trade mark", shall carry out the tasks entrusted to it by this Regulation.
TITLE II
THE LAW RELATING TO DESIGNS
Section 1
Requirements for protection
Article 3
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation:

5

OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23
OJ L 11, 14.1.1994, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3288/94 (OJ L 349, 31.12.1994, p.
83)
6

(a) "design" means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the featuresof, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself
and/or its ornamentation;(b) "product" means any industrial or handicraft item, including inter alia parts intended to beassembled into a complex product, packaging, get-up, graphic symbols and typographic
typefaces, but excluding computer programs;(c) "complex product" means a product which is composed of multiple components which can be
replaced permitting disassembly and re-assembly of the product.
Article 4
Requirements for protection
1. A design shall be protected by a Community design to the extent that it is new and has
individual character.
2. A design applied to or incorporated in a product which constitutes a component part of acomplex product shall only be considered to be new and to have individual character:(a) if the component part, once it has been incorporated into the complex product, remains
visible during normal use of the latter; and(b) to the extent that those visible features of the component part fulfil in themselves therequirements as to novelty and individual character.
3. "Normal use" within the meaning of paragraph (2)(a) shall mean use by the end user,
excluding maintenance, servicing or repair work.
Article 5
Novelty
1. A design shall be considered to be new if no identical design has been made available to the
public:(a) in the case of an unregistered Community design, before the date on which the design forwhich protection is claimed has first been made available to the public;(b) in the case of a registered Community design, before the date of filing of the application forregistration of the design for which protection is claimed, or, if priority is claimed, the date ofpriority.
2. Designs shall be deemed to be identical if their features differ only in immaterial details.
Article 6
Individual character
1. A design shall be considered to have individual character if the overall impression it produceson the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any design
which has been made available to the public:(a) in the case of an unregistered Community design, before the date on which the design forwhich protection is claimed has first been made available to the public;(b) in the case of a registered Community design, before the date of filing the application forregistration or, if a priority is claimed, the date of priority.

2. In assessing individual character, the degree of freedom of the designer in developing thedesign shall be taken into consideration.
Article 7
Disclosure
1. For the purpose of applying Articles 5 and 6, a design shall be deemed to have been madeavailable to the public if it has been published following registration or otherwise, or exhibited,
used in trade or otherwise disclosed, before the date referred to in Articles 5(1)(a) and 6(1)(a) orin Articles 5(1)(b) and 6(1)(b), as the case may be, except where these events could notreasonably have become known in the normal course of business to the circles specialised in the
sector concerned, operating within the Community. The design shall not, however, be deemed tohave been made available to the public for the sole reason that it has been disclosed to a third
person under explicit or implicit conditions of confidentiality.
2. A disclosure shall not be taken into consideration for the purpose of applying Articles 5 and 6
and if a design for which protection is claimed under a registered Community design has been
made available to the public:(a) by the designer, his successor in title, or a third person as a result of information provided or
action taken by the designer or his successor in title; and(b) during the 12-month period preceding the date of filing of the application or, if a priority isclaimed, the date of priority.
3. Paragraph 2 shall also apply if the design has been made available to the public as aconsequence of an abuse in relation to the designer or his successor in title.
Article 8
Designs dictated by their technical function and designs of interconnections
1. A Community design shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product which are solely
dictated by its technical function.
2. A Community design shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product which mustnecessarily be reproduced in their exact form and dimensions in order to permit the product inwhich the design is incorporated or to which it is applied to be mechanically connected to orplaced in, around or against another product so that either product may perform its function.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, a Community design shall under the conditions set out in
Articles 5 and 6 subsist in a design serving the purpose of allowing the multiple assembly orconnection of mutually interchangeable products within a modular system.
Article 9
Designs contrary to public policy or morality
A Community design shall not subsist in a design which is contrary to public policy or toaccepted principles of morality.

Section 2
Scope and term of protection
Article 10
Scope of protection
1. The scope of the protection conferred by a Community design shall include any design which
does not produce on the informed user a different overall impression.
2. In assessing the scope of protection, the degree of freedom of the designer in developing his
design shall be taken into consideration.
Article 11
Commencement and term of protection of the unregistered Community design
1. A design which meets the requirements under Section 1 shall be protected by an unregistered
Community design for a period of three years as from the date on which the design was firstmade available to the public within the Community.
2. For the purpose of paragraph 1, a design shall be deemed to have been made available to the
public within the Community if it has been published, exhibited, used in trade or otherwise
disclosed in such a way that, in the normal course of business, these events could reasonably
have become known to the circles specialised in the sector concerned, operating within theCommunity. The design shall not, however, be deemed to have been made available to the public
for the sole reason that it has been disclosed to a third person under explicit or implicit
conditions of confidentiality.
Article 12
Commencement and term of protection of the registered Community design
Upon registration by the Office, a design which meets the requirements under Section 1 shall beprotected by a registered Community design for a period of five years as from the date of thefiling of the application. The right holder may have the term of protection renewed for one ormore periods of five years each, up to a total term of 25 years from the date of filing.
Article 13
Renewal
1. Registration of the registered Community design shall be renewed at the request of the rightholder or of any person expressly authorised by him, provided that the renewal fee has been paid.
2. The Office shall inform the right holder of the registered Community design and any person
having a right entered in the register of Community designs, referred to in Article 72, hereafterreferred to as the "register" in respect of the registered Community design, of the expiry of theregistration in good time before the said expiry. Failure to give such information shall not
involve the responsibility of the Office.
3. The request for renewal shall be submitted and the renewal fee paid within a period of six
months ending on the last day of the month in which protection ends. Failing this, the request
may be submitted and the fee paid within a further period of six months from the day referred toin the first sentence, provided that an additional fee is paid within this further period.

4. Renewal shall take effect from the day following the date on which the existing registration
expires. The renewal shall be entered in the register.
Section 3
Right to the Community design
Article 14
Right to the Community design
1. The right to the Community design shall vest in the designer or his successor in title.
2. If two or more persons have jointly developed a design, the right to the Community design
shall vest in them jointly.
3. However, where a design is developed by an employee in the execution of his duties orfollowing the instructions given by his employer, the right to the Community design shall vest in
the employer, unless otherwise agreed or specified under national law.
Article 15
Claims relating to the entitlement to a Community design
1. If an unregistered Community design is disclosed or claimed by, or a registered Community
design has been applied for or registered in the name of, a person who is not entitled to it under
Article 14, the person entitled to it under that provision may, without prejudice to any otherremedy which may be open to him, claim to become recognised as the legitimate holder of theCommunity design.
2. Where a person is jointly entitled to a Community design, that person may, in accordance withparagraph 1, claim to become recognised as joint holder.
3. Legal proceedings under paragraphs 1 or 2 shall be barred three years after the date of
publication of a registered Community design or the date of disclosure of an unregistered
Community design. This provision shall not apply if the person who is not entitled to theCommunity design was acting in bad faith at the time when such design was applied for ordisclosed or was assigned to him.
4. In the case of a registered Community design, the following shall be entered in the register:(a) the mention that legal proceedings under paragraph 1 have been instituted;(b) the final decision or any other termination of the proceedings;(c) any change in the ownership of the registered Community design resulting from the final
decision.
Article 16
Effects of a judgement on entitlement to a registered Community design
1. Where there is a complete change of ownership of a registered Community design as a resultof legal proceedings under Article 15(1), licences and other rights shall lapse upon the enteringin the register of the person entitled.
2. If, before the institution of the legal proceedings under Article 15(1) has been registered, theholder of the registered Community design or a licensee has exploited the design within theCommunity or made serious and effective preparations to do so, he may continue such

exploitation provided that he requests within the period prescribed by the implementing
regulation a non-exclusive licence from the new holder whose name is entered in the register.
The licence shall be granted for a reasonable period and upon reasonable terms.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply if the holder of the registered Community design or the licensee
was acting in bad faith at the time when he began to exploit the design or to make preparations to
do so.
Article 17
Presumption in favour of the registered holder of the design
The person in whose name the registered Community design is registered or, prior to registration,
the person in whose name the application is filed, shall be deemed to be the person entitled inany proceedings before the Office as well as in any other proceedings.
Article 18
Right of the designer to be cited
The designer shall have the right, in the same way as the applicant for or the holder of aregistered Community design, to be cited as such before the Office and in the register. If thedesign is the result of teamwork, the citation of the team may replace the citation of theindividual designers.
Section 4
Effects of the Community design
Article 19
Rights conferred by the Community design
1. A registered Community design shall confer on its holder the exclusive right to use it and toprevent any third party not having his consent from using it. The aforementioned use shall cover,in particular, the making, offering, putting on the market, importing, exporting or using of a
product in which the design is incorporated or to which it is applied, or stocking such a productfor those purposes.
2. An unregistered Community design shall, however, confer on its holder the right to preventthe acts referred to in paragraph 1 only if the contested use results from copying the protected
design.
The contested use shall not be deemed to result from copying the protected design if it resultsfrom an independent work of creation by a designer who may be reasonably thought not to be
familiar with the design made available to the public by the holder.
3. Paragraph 2 shall also apply to a registered Community design subject to deferment ofpublication as long as the relevant entries in the register and the file have not been madeavailable to the public in accordance with Article 50(4).
Article 20
Limitation of the rights conferred by a Community design
1. The rights conferred by a Community design shall not be exercised in respect of:(a) acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes;(b) acts done for experimental purposes;

(c) acts of reproduction for the purpose of making citations or of teaching, provided that suchacts are compatible with fair trade practice and do not unduly prejudice the normal exploitationof the design, and that mention is made of the source.
2. In addition, the rights conferred by a Community design shall not be exercised in respect of:(a) the equipment on ships and aircraft registered in a third country when these temporarily enter
the territory of the Community;(b) the importation in the Community of spare parts and accessories for the purpose of repairingsuch craft;(c) the execution of repairs on such craft.
Article 21
Exhaustion of rights
The rights conferred by a Community design shall not extend to acts relating to a product inwhich a design included within the scope of protection of the Community design is incorporated
or to which it is applied, when the product has been put on the market in the Community by theholder of the Community design or with his consent.
Article 22
Rights of prior use in respect of a registered Community design
1. A right of prior use shall exist for any third person who can establish that before the date offiling of the application, or, if a priority is claimed, before the date of priority, he has in goodfaith commenced use within the Community, or has made serious and effective preparations tothat end, of a design included within the scope of protection of a registered Community design,
which has not been copied from the latter.
2. The right of prior use shall entitle the third person to exploit the design for the purposes forwhich its use had been effected, or for which serious and effective preparations had been made,before the filing or priority date of the registered Community design.
3. The right of prior use shall not extend to granting a licence to another person to exploit thedesign.
4. The right of prior use cannot be transferred except, where the third person is a business, alongwith that part of the business in the course of which the act was done or the preparations were
made.
Article 23
Government use
Any provision in the law of a Member State allowing use of national designs by or for thegovernment may be applied to Community designs, but only to the extent that the use isnecessary for essential defence or security needs.

Section 5
Invalidity
Article 24
Declaration of invalidity
1. A registered Community design shall be declared invalid on application to the Office inaccordance with the procedure in Titles VI and VII or by a Community design court on the basisof a counterclaim in infringement proceedings.
2. A Community design may be declared invalid even after the Community design has lapsed or
has been surrendered.
3. An unregistered Community design shall be declared invalid by a Community design court on
application to such a court or on the basis of a counterclaim in infringement proceedings.
Article 25
Grounds for invalidity
1. A Community design may be declared invalid only in the following cases:(a) if the design does not correspond to the definition under Article 3(a);(b) if it does not fulfil the requirements of Articles 4 to 9;(c) if, by virtue of a court decision, the right holder is not entitled to the Community design under
Article 14;(d)7 if the Community design is in conflict with a prior design which has been made available tothe public after the date of filing of the application or, if priority is claimed, the date of priorityof the Community design, and which is protected from a date prior to the said date(i) by a registered Community design or an application for such a design,or(ii) by a registered design right of a Member State, or by an application for such a right,or(iii) by a design right registered under the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement concerning theinternational registration of industrial designs, adopted in Geneva on 2 July 1999, hereinafterreferred to as “the Geneva Act”, which was approved by Council Decision 954/2006 and which
has effect in the Community, or by an application for such a right;(e) if a distinctive sign is used in a subsequent design, and Community law or the law of theMember State governing that sign confers on the right holder of the sign the right to prohibit
such use;(f) if the design constitutes an unauthorised use of a work protected under the copyright law of a
Member State;(g) if the design constitutes an improper use of any of the items listed in Article 6ter of the "Paris
Convention" for the Protection of Industrial Property hereafter referred to as the "Paris
7

Amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1891/2006 of 18.12.2006. Date of entry into force: 1 January 2008

Convention", or of badges, emblems and escutcheons other than those covered by the said
Article 6ter and which are of particular public interest in a Member State.
2. The ground provided for in paragraph (1)(c) may be invoked solely by the person who isentitled to the Community design under Article 14.
3. The grounds provided for in paragraph (1)(d), (e) and (f) may be invoked solely by theapplicant for or holder of the earlier right.
4. The ground provided for in paragraph (1)(g) may be invoked solely by the person or entity
concerned by the use.
5. Paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be without prejudice to the freedom of Member States to provide thatthe grounds provided for in paragraphs 1(d) and (g) may also be invoked by the appropriate
authority of the Member State in question on its own initiative.
6. A registered Community design which has been declared invalid pursuant to paragraph (1)(b),(e), (f) or (g) may be maintained in an amended form, if in that form it complies with therequirements for protection and the identity of the design is retained. "Maintenance" in an
amended form may include registration accompanied by a partial disclaimer by the holder of theregistered Community design or entry in the register of a court decision or a decision by the
Office declaring the partial invalidity of the registered Community design.
Article 26
Consequences of invalidity
1. A Community design shall be deemed not to have had, as from the outset, the effects specified
in this Regulation, to the extent that it has been declared invalid.
2. Subject to the national provisions relating either to claims for compensation for damage
caused by negligence or lack of good faith on the part of the holder of the Community design, or
to unjust enrichment, the retroactive effect of invalidity of the Community design shall notaffect:(a) any decision on infringement which has acquired the authority of a final decision and been
enforced prior to the invalidity decision;(b) any contract concluded prior to the invalidity decision, in so far as it has been performed
before the decision; however, repayment, to an extent justified by the circumstances, of sums
paid under the relevant contract may be claimed on grounds of equity.
TITLE IIICOMMUNITY DESIGNS AS OBJECTS OF PROPERTY
Article 27
Dealing with Community designs as national design rights
1. Unless Articles 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 provide otherwise, a Community design as an object ofproperty shall be dealt with in its entirety, and for the whole area of the Community, as a national
design right of the Member State in which:(a) the holder has his seat or his domicile on the relevant date; or(b) where point (a) does not apply, the holder has an establishment on the relevant date.

2. In the case of a registered Community design, paragraph 1 shall apply according to the entries
in the register.
3. In the case of joint holders, if two or more of them fulfil the condition under paragraph 1, theMember State referred to in that paragraph shall be determined:(a) in the case of an unregistered Community design, by reference to the relevant joint holder
designated by them by common agreement;(b) in the case of a registered Community design, by reference to the first of the relevant joint
holders in the order in which they are mentioned in the register.
4. Where paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 do not apply, the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 shallbe the Member State in which the seat of the Office is situated.
Article 28
Transfer of the registered Community design
The transfer of a registered Community design shall be subject to the following provisions:(a) at the request of one of the parties, a transfer shall be entered in the register and published;(b) until such time as the transfer has been entered in the register, the successor in title may notinvoke the rights arising from the registration of the Community design;(c) where there are time limits to be observed in dealings with the Office, the successor in title
may make the corresponding statements to the Office once the request for registration of thetransfer has been received by the Office;(d) all documents which by virtue of Article 66 require notification to the holder of the registered
Community design shall be addressed by the Office to the person registered as holder or his
representative, if one has been appointed.
Article 29
Rights in rem on a registered Community design
1. A registered Community design may be given as security or be the subject of rights in rem.
2. On request of one of the parties, the rights mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be entered in theregister and published.
Article 30
Levy of execution
1. A registered Community design may be levied in execution.
2. As regards the procedure for levy of execution in respect of a registered Community design,
the courts and authorities of the Member State determined in accordance with Article 27 shallhave exclusive jurisdiction.
3. On request of one of the parties, levy of execution shall be entered in the register andpublished.

Article 31
Insolvency proceedings
1. The only insolvency proceedings in which a Community design may be involved shall bethose opened in the Member State within the territory of which the centre of a debtor's maininterests is situated.
2. In the case of joint proprietorship of a Community design, paragraph 1 shall apply to the shareof the joint proprietor.
3. Where a Community design is involved in insolvency proceedings, on request of thecompetent national authority an entry to this effect shall be made in the register and published in
the Community Designs Bulletin referred to in Article 73(1).
Article 32
Licensing
1. A Community design may be licensed for the whole or part of the Community. A licence may
be exclusive or non-exclusive.
2. Without prejudice to any legal proceedings based on the law of contract, the holder may
invoke the rights conferred by the Community design against a licensee who contravenes any
provision in his licensing contract with regard to its duration, the form in which the design may
be used, the range of products for which the licence is granted and the quality of products
manufactured by the licensee.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions of the licensing contract, the licensee may bringproceedings for infringement of a Community design only if the right holder consents thereto.
However, the holder of an exclusive licence may bring such proceedings if the right holder in theCommunity design, having been given notice to do so, does not himself bring infringement
proceedings within an appropriate period.
4. A licensee shall, for the purpose of obtaining compensation for damage suffered by him, be
entitled to intervene in an infringement action brought by the right holder in a Community
design.
5. In the case of a registered Community design, the grant or transfer of a licence in respect ofsuch right shall, at the request of one of the parties, be entered in the register and published.
Article 33
Effects vis-à-vis third parties
1. The effects vis-à-vis third parties of the legal acts referred to in Articles 28, 29, 30 and 32 shallbe governed by the law of the Member State determined in accordance with Article 27.
2. However, as regards registered Community designs, legal acts referred to in Articles 28, 29
and 32 shall only have effect vis-à-vis third parties in all the Member States after entry in theregister. Nevertheless, such an act, before it is so entered, shall have effect vis-à-vis third parties
who have acquired rights in the registered Community design after the date of that act but who
knew of the act at the date on which the rights were acquired.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to a person who acquires the registered Community design or aright concerning the registered Community design by way of transfer of the whole of theundertaking or by any other universal succession.

4. Until such time as common rules for the Member States in the field of insolvency enter into
force, the effects vis-à-vis third parties of insolvency proceedings shall be governed by the law of
the Member State in which such proceedings are first brought under the national law or the
regulations applicable in this field.
Article 34
The application for a registered Community design as an object of property
1. An application for a registered Community design as an object of property shall be dealt within its entirety, and for the whole area of the Community, as a national design right of the Member
State determined in accordance with Article 27.
2. Articles 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 shall apply mutatis mutandis to applications for registered
Community designs. Where the effect of one of these provisions is conditional upon an entry in
the register, that formality shall be performed upon registration of the resulting registered
Community design.
TITLE IVAPPLICATION FOR A REGISTERED COMMUNITY DESIGN
Section 1
Filing of applications and the conditions which govern them
Article 35
Filing and forwarding of applications
1. An application for a registered Community design shall be filed, at the option of the applicant:(a) at the Office; or(b) at the central industrial property office of a Member State; or(c) in the Benelux countries, at the Benelux Design Office.
2. Where the application is filed at the central industrial property office of a Member State or at
the Benelux Design Office, that office shall take all steps to forward the application to the Officewithin two weeks after filing. It may charge the applicant a fee which shall not exceed theadministrative costs of receiving and forwarding the application.
3. As soon as the Office has received an application which has been forwarded by a central
industrial property office of a Member State or by the Benelux Design Office, it shall inform theapplicant accordingly, indicating the date of its receipt at the Office.
4. No less than 10 years after the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall draw
up a report on the operation of the system of filing applications for registered Community
designs, accompanied by any proposals for revision that it may deem appropriate.
Article 36
Conditions with which applications must comply
1. An application for a registered Community design shall contain:(a) a request for registration;(b) information identifying the applicant;(c) a representation of the design suitable for reproduction. However, if the object of theapplication is a two-dimensional design and the application contains a request for deferment ofpublication in accordance with Article 50, the representation of the design may be replaced by aspecimen.
2. The application shall further contain an indication of the products in which the design isintended to be incorporated or to which it is intended to be applied.
3. In addition, the application may contain:(a) a description explaining the representation or the specimen;(b) a request for deferment of publication of the registration in accordance with Article 50;(c) information identifying the representative if the applicant has appointed one;(d) the classification of the products in which the design is intended to be incorporated or towhich it is intended to be applied according to class;(e) the citation of the designer or of the team of designers or a statement under the applicant's
responsibility that the designer or the team of designers has waived the right to be cited.
4. The application shall be subject to the payment of the registration fee and the publication fee.
Where a request for deferment under paragraph 3(b) is filed, the publication fee shall be replacedby the fee for deferment of publication.
5. The application shall comply with the conditions laid down in the implementing regulation.
6. The information contained in the elements mentioned in paragraph 2 and in paragraph 3(a) and(d) shall not affect the scope of protection of the design as such.
Article 37
Multiple applications
1. Several designs may be combined in one multiple application for registered Community
designs. Except in cases of ornamentation, this possibility is subject to the condition that the
products in which the designs are intended to be incorporated or to which they are intended to be
applied all belong to the same class of the International Classification for Industrial Designs.
2. Besides the fees referred to in Article 36(4), the multiple application shall be subject topayment of an additional registration fee and an additional publication fee. Where the multiple
application contains a request for deferment of publication, the additional publication fee shall be
replaced by the additional fee for deferment of publication. The additional fees shall correspondto a percentage of the basic fees for each additional design.
3. The multiple application shall comply with the conditions of presentation laid down in theimplementing regulation.
4. Each of the designs contained in a multiple application or registration may be dealt withseparately from the others for the purpose of applying this Regulation. It may in particular,
separately from the others, be enforced, licensed, be the subject of a right in rem, a levy of
execution or insolvency proceedings, be surrendered, renewed or assigned, be the subject ofdeferred publication or be declared invalid. A multiple application or registration may be divided
into separate applications or registrations only under the conditions set out in the implementing
regulation.

Article 38
Date of filing
1. The date of filing of an application for a registered Community design shall be the date on
which documents containing the information specified in Article 36(1) are filed with the Officeby the applicant, or, if the application has been filed with the central industrial property office ofa Member State or with the Benelux Design Office, with that office.
2. By derogation from paragraph 1, the date of filing of an application filed with the central
industrial property office of a Member State or with the Benelux Design Office and reaching the
Office more than two months after the date on which documents containing the information
specified in Article 36(1) have been filed shall be the date of receipt of such documents by the
Office.
Article 39
Equivalence of Community filing with national filing
An application for a registered Community design which has been accorded a date of filing shall,in the Member States, be equivalent to a regular national filing, including where appropriate thepriority claimed for the said application.
Article 40
Classification
For the purpose of this Regulation, use shall be made of the Annex to the Agreement establishingan International Classification for Industrial Designs, signed at Locarno on 8 October 1968.
Section 2
Priority
Article 41
Right of priority
1. A person who has duly filed an application for a design right or for a utility model in or for
any State party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, or to theAgreement establishing the World Trade Organisation, or his successors in title, shall enjoy, forthe purpose of filing an application for a registered Community design in respect of the same
design or utility model, a right of priority of six months from the date of filing of the first
application.
2. Every filing that is equivalent to a regular national filing under the national law of the State
where it was made or under bilateral or multilateral agreements shall be recognised as giving rise
to a right of priority.
3. "Regular national filing" means any filing that is sufficient to establish the date on which theapplication was filed, whatever may be the outcome of the application.
4. A subsequent application for a design which was the subject of a previous first application,
and which is filed in or in respect of the same State, shall be considered as the first application
for the purpose of determining priority, provided that, at the date of the filing of the subsequent
application, the previous application has been withdrawn, abandoned or refused without being
open to public inspection and without leaving any rights outstanding, and has not served as abasis for claiming priority. The previous application may not thereafter serve as a basis forclaiming a right of priority.
5. If the first filing has been made in a State which is not a party to the Paris Convention, or to
the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation, paragraphs 1 to 4 shall apply only inso far as that State, according to published findings, grants, on the basis of a filing made at the
Office and subject to conditions equivalent to those laid down in this Regulation, a right ofpriority having equivalent effect.
Article 42
Claiming priority
An applicant for a registered Community design desiring to take advantage of the priority of aprevious application shall file a declaration of priority and a copy of the previous application. If
the language of the latter is not one of the languages of the Office, the Office may require atranslation of the previous application in one of those languages.
Article 43
Effect of priority rightThe effect of the right of priority shall be that the date of priority shall count as the date of thefiling of the application for a registered Community design for the purpose of Articles 5, 6, 7, 22,
25(1)(d) and 50(1).
Article 44
Exhibition priority
1. If an applicant for a registered Community design has disclosed products in which the design
is incorporated, or to which it is applied, at an official or officially recognised international
exhibition falling within the terms of the Convention on International Exhibitions signed in Parison 22 November 1928 and last revised on 30 November 1972, he may, if he files the application
within a period of six months from the date of the first disclosure of such products, claim a rightof priority from that date within the meaning of Article 43.
2. An applicant who wishes to claim priority pursuant to paragraph 1, under the conditions laid
down in the implementing regulation, must file evidence that he has disclosed at an exhibition
the products in or to which the design is incorporated or applied.
3. An exhibition priority granted in a Member State or in a third country does not extend theperiod of priority laid down in Article 41.
TITLE VREGISTRATION PROCEDURE
Article 45
Examination as to formal requirements for filing
1. The Office shall examine whether the application complies with the requirements laid down in
Article 36(1) for the accordance of a date of filing.
2. The Office shall examine whether:(a) the application complies with the other requirements laid down in Article 36(2), (3), (4) and(5) and, in the case of a multiple application, Article 37(1) and (2);(b) the application meets the formal requirements laid down in the implementing regulation for
the implementation of Articles 36 and 37;(c) the requirements of Article 77(2) are satisfied;(d) the requirements concerning the claim to priority are satisfied, if a priority is claimed.
3. The conditions for the examination as to the formal requirements for filing shall be laid downin the implementing regulation.
Article 46
Remediable deficiencies
1. Where, in carrying out the examination under Article 45, the Office notes that there are
deficiencies which may be corrected, the Office shall request the applicant to remedy themwithin the prescribed period.
2. If the deficiencies concern the requirements referred to in Article 36(1) and the applicant
complies with the Office's request within the prescribed period, the Office shall accord as thedate of filing the date on which the deficiencies are remedied. If the deficiencies are notremedied within the prescribed period, the application shall not be dealt with as an application
for a registered Community design.
3. If the deficiencies concern the requirements, including the payment of fees, as referred to in
Article 45(2)(a), (b) and (c) and the applicant complies with the Office's request within theprescribed period, the Office shall accord as the date of filing the date on which the application
was originally filed. If the deficiencies or the default in payment are not remedied within theprescribed period, the Office shall refuse the application.
4. If the deficiencies concern the requirements referred to in Article 45(2)(d), failure to remedy
them within the prescribed period shall result in the loss of the right of priority for theapplication.
Article 47
Grounds for non-registrability
1. If the Office, in carrying out the examination pursuant to Article 45, notices that the design forwhich protection is sought:(a) does not correspond to the definition under Article 3(a); or(b) is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality, it shall refuse theapplication.
2. The application shall not be refused before the applicant has been allowed the opportunity ofwithdrawing or amending the application or of submitting his observations.
Article 48
Registration
If the requirements that an application for a registered Community design must satisfy have been
fulfilled and to the extent that the application has not been refused by virtue of Article 47, theOffice shall register the application in the Community design Register as a registered
Community design. The registration shall bear the date of filing of the application referred to in
Article 38.

Article 49
Publication
Upon registration, the Office shall publish the registered Community design in the Community
Designs Bulletin as mentioned in Article 73(1). The contents of the publication shall be set out inthe implementing regulation.
Article 50
Deferment of publication
1. The applicant for a registered Community design may request, when filing the application,that the publication of the registered Community design be deferred for a period of 30 months
from the date of filing the application or, if a priority is claimed, from the date of priority.
2. Upon such request, where the conditions set out in Article 48 are satisfied, the registered
Community design shall be registered, but neither the representation of the design nor any filerelating to the application shall, subject to Article 74(2), be open to public inspection.
3. The Office shall publish in the Community Designs Bulletin a mention of the deferment of the
publication of the registered Community design. The mention shall be accompanied byinformation identifying the right holder in the registered Community design, the date of filing theapplication and any other particulars prescribed by the implementing regulation.
4. At the expiry of the period of deferment, or at any earlier date on request by the right holder,
the Office shall open to public inspection all the entries in the register and the file relating to theapplication and shall publish the registered Community design in the Community Designs
Bulletin, provided that, within the time limit laid down in the implementing regulation:(a) the publication fee and, in the event of a multiple application, the additional publication fee
are paid;(b) where use has been made of the option pursuant to Article 36(1)(c), the right holder has filedwith the Office a representation of the design.
If the right holder fails to comply with these requirements, the registered Community design
shall be deemed from the outset not to have had the effects specified in this Regulation.
5. In the case of multiple applications, paragraph 4 need only be applied to some of the designs
included therein.
6. The institution of legal proceedings on the basis of a registered Community design during theperiod of deferment of publication shall be subject to the condition that the information
contained in the register and in the file relating to the application has been communicated to theperson against whom the action is brought.
TITLE VI
SURRENDER AND INVALIDITY OF THE REGISTERED COMMUNITY DESIGN
Article 51
Surrender
1. The surrender of a registered Community design shall be declared to the Office in writing by
the right holder. It shall not have effect until it has been entered in the register.

2. If a Community design which is subject to deferment of publication is surrendered it shall bedeemed from the outset not to have had the effects specified in this Regulation.
3. A registered Community design may be partially surrendered provided that its amended form
complies with the requirements for protection and the identity of the design is retained.
4. Surrender shall be registered only with the agreement of the proprietor of a right entered in theregister. If a licence has been registered, surrender shall be entered in the register only if the rightholder in the registered Community design proves that he has informed the licensee of his
intention to surrender. This entry shall be made on expiry of the period prescribed by the
implementing regulation.
5. If an action pursuant to Article 14 relating to the entitlement to a registered Community design
has been brought before a Community design court, the Office shall not enter the surrender in theregister without the agreement of the claimant.
Article 52
Application for a declaration of invalidity
1. Subject to Article 25(2), (3), (4) and (5), any natural or legal person, as well as a publicauthority empowered to do so, may submit to the Office an application for a declaration ofinvalidity of a registered Community design.
2. The application shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to havebeen filed until the fee for an application for a declaration of invalidity has been paid.
3. An application for a declaration of invalidity shall not be admissible if an application relating
to the same subject matter and cause of action, and involving the same parties, has been
adjudicated on by a Community design court and has acquired the authority of a final decision.
Article 53
Examination of the application
1. If the Office finds that the application for a declaration of invalidity is admissible, the Officeshall examine whether the grounds for invalidity referred to in Article 25 prejudice themaintenance of the registered Community design.
2. In the examination of the application, which shall be conducted in accordance with theimplementing regulation, the Office shall invite the parties, as often as necessary, to fileobservations, within a period to be fixed by the Office, on communications from the other parties
or issued by itself.
3. The decision declaring the registered Community design invalid shall be entered in the register
upon becoming final.
Article 54
Participation in the proceedings of the alleged infringer
1. In the event of an application for a declaration of invalidity of a registered Community design
being filed, and as long as no final decision has been taken by the Office, any third party who
proves that proceedings for infringement of the same design have been instituted against him
may be joined as a party in the invalidity proceedings on request submitted within three monthsof the date on which the infringement proceedings were instituted.

The same shall apply in respect of any third party who proves both that the right holder of theCommunity design has requested that he cease an alleged infringement of the design and that hehas instituted proceedings for a court ruling that he is not infringing the Community design.
2. The request to be joined as a party shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall not be
deemed to have been filed until the invalidity fee, referred to in Article 52(2), has been paid.
Thereafter the request shall, subject to any exceptions laid down in the implementing regulation,
be treated as an application for a declaration of invalidity.
TITLE VIIAPPEALS
Article 55
Decisions subject to appeal
1. An appeal shall lie from decisions of the examiners, the Administration of Trade Marks andDesigns and Legal Division and Invalidity Divisions. It shall have suspensive effect.
2. A decision which does not terminate proceedings as regards one of the parties can only beappealed together with the final decision, unless the decision allows separate appeal.
Article 56
Persons entitled to appeal and to be parties to appeal proceedings
Any party to proceedings adversely affected by a decision may appeal. Any other parties to theproceedings shall be parties to the appeal proceedings as of right.
Article 57
Time limit and form of appeal
Notice of appeal must be filed in writing at the Office within two months after the date of
notification of the decision appealed from. The notice shall be deemed to have been filed only
when the fee for appeal has been paid. Within four months after the date of notification of thedecision, a written statement setting out the grounds of appeal must be filed.
Article 58
Interlocutory revision
1. If the department whose decision is contested considers the appeal to be admissible and wellfounded, it shall rectify its decision. This shall not apply where the appellant is opposed byanother party to the proceedings.
2. If the decision is not rectified within one month after receipt of the statement of grounds, theappeal shall be remitted to the Board of Appeal without delay and without comment as to its
merits.
Article 59
Examination of appeals
1. If the appeal is admissible, the Board of Appeal shall examine whether the appeal is to beallowed.
2. In the examination of the appeal, the Board of Appeal shall invite the parties, as often asnecessary, to file observations, within a period to be fixed by the Board of Appeal, on
communications from the other parties or issued by itself.

Article 60
Decisions in respect of appeals
1. Following the examination as to the merits of the appeal, the Board of Appeal shall decide on
the appeal. The Board of Appeal may either exercise any power within the competence of thedepartment which was responsible for the decision appealed against or remit the case to thatdepartment for further prosecution.
2. If the Board of Appeal remits the case for further prosecution to the department whose
decision was appealed, that department shall be bound by the ratio decidendi of the Board of
Appeal, in so far as the facts are the same.
3. The decisions of the Boards of Appeal shall take effect only from the date of expiry of theperiod referred to in Article 61(5) or, if an action has been brought before the Court of Justice
within that period, from the date of rejection of such action.
Article 61
Actions before the Court of Justice
1. Actions may be brought before the Court of Justice against decisions of the Boards of Appeal
on appeals.
2. The action may be brought on grounds of lack of competence, infringement of an essential
procedural requirement, infringement of the Treaty, of this Regulation or of any rule of law
relating to their application or misuse of power.
3. The Court of Justice has jurisdiction to annul or to alter the contested decision.
4. The action shall be open to any party to proceedings before the Board of Appeal adversely
affected by its decision.
5. The action shall be brought before the Court of Justice within two months of the date of
notification of the decision of the Board of Appeal.
6. The Office shall be required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of
the Court of Justice.
TITLE VIII
PROCEDURE BEFORE THE OFFICE
Section 1
General provisions
Article 62
Statement of reasons on which decisions are based
Decisions of the Office shall state the reasons on which they are based. They shall be based only
on reasons or evidence on which the parties concerned have had an opportunity to present theircomments.

Article 63
Examination of the facts by the Office of its own motion
1. In proceedings before it the Office shall examine the facts of its own motion. However, inproceedings relating to a declaration of invalidity, the Office shall be restricted in thisexamination to the facts, evidence and arguments provided by the parties and the relief sought.
2. The Office may disregard facts or evidence which are not submitted in due time by the parties
concerned.
Article 64
Oral proceedings
1. If the Office considers that oral proceedings would be expedient, they shall be held either at
the instance of the Office or at the request of any party to the proceedings.
2. Oral proceedings, including delivery of the decision, shall be public, unless the department
before which the proceedings are taking place decides otherwise in cases where admission of the
public could have serious and unjustified disadvantages, in particular for a party to theproceedings.
Article 65
Taking of evidence
1. In any proceedings before the Office the means of giving or obtaining evidence shall include
the following:(a) hearing the parties;(b) requests for information;(c) the production of documents and items of evidence;(d) hearing witnesses;(e) opinions by experts;(f) statements in writing, sworn or affirmed or having a similar effect under the law of the Statein which the statement is drawn up.
2. The relevant department of the Office may commission one of its members to examine theevidence adduced.
3. If the Office considers it necessary for a party, witness or expert to give evidence orally, it
shall issue a summons to the person concerned to appear before it.
4. The parties shall be informed of the hearing of a witness or expert before the Office. They
shall have the right to be present and to put questions to the witness or expert.
Article 66
Notification
The Office shall, as a matter of course, notify those concerned of decisions and summonses andof any notice or other communication from which a time limit is reckoned, or of which thoseconcerned must be notified under other provisions of this Regulation or of the implementing
regulation, or of which notification has been ordered by the President of the Office.

Article 67
Restitutio in integrum
1. The applicant for or holder of a registered Community design or any other party toproceedings before the Office who, in spite of all due care required by the circumstances having
been taken, was unable to observe a time limit vis-à-vis the Office shall, upon application, havehis rights re-established if the non-observance in question has the direct consequence, by virtueof the provisions of this Regulation, of causing the loss of any rights or means of redress.
2. The application must be filed in writing within two months of the removal of the cause of noncompliance with the time limit. The omitted act must be completed within this period. The
application shall only be admissible within the year immediately following the expiry of theunobserved time limit. In the case of non-submission of the request for renewal of registration orof non-payment of a renewal fee, the further period of six months provided for in the second
sentence of Article 13(3) shall be deducted from the period of one year.
3. The application must state the grounds on which it is based and must set out the facts on which
it relies. It shall not be deemed to be filed until the fee for the re-establishment of rights has beenpaid.
4. The department competent to decide on the omitted act shall decide upon the application.
5. The provisions of this Article shall not be applicable to the time limits referred to in paragraph
2 and Article 41(1).
6. Where the applicant for or holder of a registered Community design has his rights reestablished, he may not invoke his rights vis-à-vis a third party who, in good faith, in the courseof the period between the loss of rights in the application for or registration of the registered
Community design and publication of the mention of re-establishment of those rights, has put on
the market products in which a design included within the scope of protection of the registered
Community design is incorporated or to which it is applied.
7. A third party who may avail himself of the provisions of paragraph 6 may bring third party
proceedings against the decision re-establishing the rights of the applicant for or holder of theregistered Community design within a period of two months as from the date of publication of
the mention of re-establishment of those rights.
8. Nothing in this Article shall limit the right of a Member State to grant restitutio in integrum inrespect of time limits provided for in this Regulation and to be complied with vis-à-vis theauthorities of such State.
Article 68
Reference to general principles
In the absence of procedural provisions in this Regulation, the implementing regulation, the fees
regulation or the rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal, the Office shall take into accountthe principles of procedural law generally recognised in the Member States.
Article 69
Termination of financial obligations
1. Rights of the Office to the payment of fees shall be barred four years from the end of thecalendar year in which the fee fell due.

2. Rights against the Office for the refunding of fees or sums of money paid in excess of a fee
shall be barred after four years from the end of the calendar year in which the right arose.
3. The periods laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be interrupted, in the case covered byparagraph 1, by a request for payment of the fee and, in the case covered by paragraph 2, by areasoned claim in writing. On interruption it shall begin again immediately and shall end at thelatest six years after the end of the year in which it originally began, unless in the meantime
judicial proceedings to enforce the right have begun. In this case the period shall end at theearliest one year after the judgment has acquired the authority of a final decision.
Section 2
Costs
Article 70
Apportionment of costs
1. The losing party in proceedings for a declaration of invalidity of a registered Community
design or appeal proceedings shall bear the fees incurred by the other party as well as all costs
incurred by him essential to the proceedings, including travel and subsistence and the
remuneration of an agent, adviser or advocate, within the limits of scales set for each category of
costs under the conditions laid down in the implementing regulation.
2. However, where each party succeeds on some and fails on other heads, or if reasons of equity
so dictate, the Invalidity Division or Board of Appeal shall decide a different apportionment ofcosts.
3. A party who terminates the proceedings by surrendering the registered Community design orby not renewing its registration or by withdrawing the application for a declaration of invalidity
or the appeal, shall bear the fees and the costs incurred by the other party as stipulated inparagraphs 1 and 2.
4. Where a case does not proceed to judgment, the costs shall be at the discretion of theInvalidity Division or Board of Appeal.
5. Where the parties conclude before the Invalidity Division or Board of Appeal a settlement ofcosts differing from that provided for in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4, the body concerned shall takenote of that agreement.
6. On request, the registry of the Invalidity Division or Board of Appeal shall fix the amount of
the costs to be paid pursuant to the preceding paragraphs. The amount so determined may bereviewed by a decision of the Invalidity Division or Board of Appeal on a request filed within
the period prescribed by the implementing regulation.
Article 71
Enforcement of decisions fixing the amount of costs
1. Any final decision of the Office fixing the amount of costs shall be enforceable.
2. Enforcement shall be governed by the rules of civil procedure in force in the State in the
territory of which it is carried out. The order for its enforcement shall be appended to thedecision, without any other formality than verification of the authenticity of the decision, by thenational authority which the government of each Member State shall designate for this purpose
and shall make known to the Office and to the Court of Justice.

3. When these formalities have been completed on application by the party concerned, the latter
may proceed to enforcement in accordance with the national law, by bringing the matter directly
before the competent authority.
4. Enforcement may be suspended only by a decision of the Court of Justice. However, thecourts of the Member State concerned shall have jurisdiction over complaints that enforcement isbeing carried out in an irregular manner
Section 3
Informing the public and the official authorities of the Member States
Article 72
Register of Community designs
The Office shall keep a register to be known as the register of Community designs, which shallcontain those particulars of which the registration is provided for by this Regulation or by the
implementing regulation. The register shall be open to public inspection, except to the extent that
Article 50(2) provides otherwise.
Article 73
Periodical publications
1. This Office shall periodically publish a Community Designs Bulletin containing entries open
to public inspection in the register as well as other particulars the publication of which isprescribed by this Regulation or by the implementing regulation.
2. Notices and information of a general character issued by the President of the Office, as well as
any other information relevant to this Regulation or its implementation, shall be published in the
Official Journal of the Office.
Article 74
Inspection of files
1. The files relating to applications for registered Community designs which have not yet been
published or the files relating to registered Community designs which are subject to deferment ofpublication in accordance with Article 50 or which, being subject to such deferment, have beensurrendered before or on the expiry of that period, shall not be made available for inspection
without the consent of the applicant for or the right holder in the registered Community design.
2. Any person who can establish a legitimate interest may inspect a file without the consent of
the applicant for or holder of the registered Community design prior to the publication or after
the surrender of the latter in the case provided for in paragraph 1.
This shall in particular apply if the interested person proves that the applicant for or the holder ofthe registered Community design has taken steps with a view to invoking against him the rightunder the registered Community design.
3. Subsequent to the publication of the registered Community design, the file may be inspected
on request.
4. However, where a file is inspected pursuant to paragraph 2 or 3, certain documents in the file
may be withheld from inspection in accordance with the provisions of the implementing
regulation.

Article 75
Administrative cooperation
Unless otherwise provided in this Regulation or in national laws, the Office and the courts orauthorities of the Member States shall on request give assistance to each other by communicating
information or opening files for inspection.
Where the Office opens files to inspection by courts, public prosecutors' offices or central
industrial property offices, the inspection shall not be subject to the restrictions laid down in
Article 74.
Article 76
Exchange of publications
1. The Office and the central industrial property offices of the Member States shall despatch toeach other on request and for their own use one or more copies of their respective publications
free of charge.
2. The Office may conclude agreements relating to the exchange or supply of publications.
Section 4
Representation
Article 77
General principles of representation
1. Subject to paragraph 2, no person shall be compelled to be represented before the Office.
2. Without prejudice to the second subparagraph of paragraph 3, natural or legal persons nothaving either their domicile or their principal place of business or a real and effective industrial
or commercial establishment in the Community must be represented before the Office inaccordance with Article 78(1) in all proceedings before the Office established by this Regulation,other than in filing an application for a registered Community design; the implementing
regulation may permit other exceptions.
3. Natural or legal persons having their domicile or principal place of business or a real andeffective industrial or commercial establishment in the Community may be represented before
the Office by one of their employees, who must file with it a signed authorisation for inclusion in
the files, the details of which are set out in the implementing regulation.
An employee of a legal person to which this paragraph applies may also represent other legal
persons which have economic connections with the first legal person, even if those other legal
persons have neither their domicile nor their principal place of business nor a real and effective
industrial or commercial establishment within the Community.
Article 78
Professional representation
1. Representation of natural or legal persons in proceedings before the Office under thisRegulation may only be undertaken by:(a) any legal practitioner qualified in one of the Member States and having his place of businesswithin the Community, to the extent that he is entitled, within the said State, to act as arepresentative in industrial property matters; or(b) any professional representatives whose name has been entered on the list of professional
representatives referred to in Article 89(1)(b) of the Regulation on the Community trade mark; or(c) persons whose names are entered on the special list of professional representatives for design
matters referred to in paragraph 4.
2. The persons referred to in paragraph 1(c) shall only be entitled to represent third persons inproceedings on design matters before the Office.
3. The implementing regulation shall provide whether and under what conditions representatives
must file with the Office a signed authorisation for insertion on the files.
4. Any natural person may be entered on the special list of professional representatives in design
matters, if he fulfils the following conditions:(a) he must be a national of one of the Member States;(b) he must have his place of business or employment in the Community;(c) he must be entitled to represent natural or legal persons in design matters before the central
industrial property office of a Member State or before the Benelux Design Office. Where, in that
State, the entitlement to represent in design matters is not conditional upon the requirement ofspecial professional qualifications, persons applying to be entered on the list must have
habitually acted in design matters before the central industrial property office of the said Statefor at least five years. However, persons whose professional qualification to represent natural or
legal persons in design matters before the central industrial property office of one of the Member
States is officially recognised in accordance with the regulations laid by such State shall not be
subject to the condition of having exercised the profession.
5. Entry on the list referred to in paragraph 4 shall be effected upon request, accompanied by acertificate furnished by the central industrial property office of the Member State concerned,
which must indicate that the conditions laid down in the said paragraph are fulfilled.
6. The President of the Office may grant exemption from:(a) the requirement of paragraph 4(a) in special circumstances;(b) the requirement of paragraph 4(c), second sentence, if the applicant furnishes proof that hehas acquired the requisite qualification in another way.
7. The conditions under which a person may be removed from the list shall be laid down in theimplementing regulation.
TITLE IXJURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE IN LEGAL ACTIONS RELATING TO COMMUNITYDESIGNS
Section 1
Jurisdiction and enforcement
Article 79
Application of the Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement
1. Unless otherwise specified in this Regulation, the Convention on Jurisdiction and the
Enforcement of Judgements in Civil and Commercial Matters, signed in Brussels on 27

September 19688, hereinafter referred to as the "Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement",shall apply to proceedings relating to Community designs and applications for registered
Community designs, as well as to proceedings relating to actions on the basis of Community
designs and national designs enjoying simultaneous protection.
2. The provisions of the Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement which are renderedapplicable by the paragraph 1 shall have effect in respect of any Member State solely in the text
which is in force in respect of that State at any given time.
3. In the event of proceedings in respect of the actions and claims referred to in Article 85:(a) Articles 2, 4, 5(1), (3), (4) and (5), 16(4) and 24 of the Convention on Jurisdiction and
Enforcement shall not apply;(b) Articles 17 and 18 of that Convention shall apply subject to the limitations in Article 82(4) of
this Regulation;(c) the provisions of Title II of that Convention which are applicable to persons domiciled in a
Member State shall also be applicable to persons who do not have a domicile in any Member
State but have an establishment therein.
4. The provisions of the Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement shall not have effect inrespect of any Member State for which that Convention has not yet entered into force. Until suchentry into force, proceedings referred to in paragraph 1 shall be governed in such a Member Stateby any bilateral or multilateral convention governing its relationship with another Member State
concerned, or, if no such convention exists, by its domestic law on jurisdiction, recognition andenforcement of decisions.
Section 2
Disputes concerning the infringement and validity of Community designs
Article 80
Community design courts
1. The Member States shall designate in their territories as limited a number as possible ofnational courts and tribunals of first and second instance (Community design courts) which shallperform the functions assigned to them by this Regulation.
2. Each Member State shall communicate to the Commission not later than 6 March 2005 a listof Community design courts, indicating their names and their territorial jurisdiction.
3. Any change made after communication of the list referred to in paragraph 2 in the number,names or territorial jurisdiction of the Community design courts shall be notified without delayby the Member State concerned to the Commission.
4. The information referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall be notified by the Commission to theMember States and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
5. As long as a Member State has not communicated the list as stipulated in paragraph 2,
jurisdiction for any proceedings resulting from an action covered by Article 81 for which the8

OJ L 299, 31.12.1972, p. 32. Convention as amended by the Conventions on the Accession to that Convention of
the States acceding to the European Communities

courts of that State have jurisdiction pursuant to Article 82 shall lie with that court of the State inquestion which would have jurisdiction ratione loci and ratione materiae in the case ofproceedings relating to a national design right of that State.
Article 81
Jurisdiction over infringement and validity
The Community design courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction:(a) for infringement actions and - if they are permitted under national law - actions in respect of
threatened infringement of Community designs;(b) for actions for declaration of non-infringement of Community designs, if they are permitted
under national law;(c) for actions for a declaration of invalidity of an unregistered Community design;(d) for counterclaims for a declaration of invalidity of a Community design raised in connection
with actions under (a).
Article 82
International jurisdiction
1. Subject to the provisions of this Regulation and to any provisions of the Convention on
Jurisdiction and Enforcement applicable by virtue of Article 79, proceedings in respect of theactions and claims referred to in Article 81 shall be brought in the courts of the Member State inwhich the defendant is domiciled or, if he is not domiciled in any of the Member States, in any
Member State in which he has an establishment.
2. If the defendant is neither domiciled nor has an establishment in any of the Member States,
such proceedings shall be brought in the courts of the Member State in which the plaintiff isdomiciled or, if he is not domiciled in any of the Member States, in any Member State in which
he has an establishment.
3. If neither the defendant nor the plaintiff is so domiciled or has such an establishment, suchproceedings shall be brought in the courts of the Member State where the Office has its seat.
4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1, 2 and 3:(a) Article 17 of the Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement shall apply if the parties agree
that a different Community design court shall have jurisdiction;(b) Article 18 of that Convention shall apply if the defendant enters an appearance before adifferent Community design court.
5. Proceedings in respect of the actions and claims referred to in Article 81(a) and (d) may also
be brought in the courts of the Member State in which the act of infringement has beencommitted or threatened.
Article 83
Extent of jurisdiction on infringement
1. A Community design court whose jurisdiction is based on Article 82(1), (2) (3) or (4) shallhave jurisdiction in respect of acts of infringement committed or threatened within the territoryof any of the Member States.

2. A Community design court whose jurisdiction is based on Article 82(5) shall have jurisdiction
only in respect of acts of infringement committed or threatened within the territory of theMember State in which that court is situated.
Article 84
Action or counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity of a Community design
1. An action or a counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity of a Community design may only bebased on the grounds for invalidity mentioned in Article 25.
2. In the cases referred to in Article 25(2), (3), (4) and (5) the action or the counterclaim may bebrought solely by the person entitled under those provisions.
3. If the counterclaim is brought in a legal action to which the right holder of the Community
design is not already a party, he shall be informed thereof and may be joined as a party to theaction in accordance with the conditions set out in the law of the Member State where the court
is situated.
4. The validity of a Community design may not be put in issue in an action for a declaration of
non-infringement.
Article 85
Presumption of validity - defence as to the merits
1. In proceedings in respect of an infringement action or an action for threatened infringement ofa registered Community design, the Community design court shall treat the Community design
as valid. Validity may be challenged only with a counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity.
However, a plea relating to the invalidity of a Community design, submitted otherwise than by
way of counterclaim, shall be admissible in so far as the defendant claims that the Community
design could be declared invalid on account of an earlier national design right, within themeaning of Article 25(1)(d), belonging to him.
2. In proceedings in respect of an infringement action or an action for threatened infringement ofan unregistered Community design, the Community design court shall treat the Community
design as valid if the right holder produces proof that the conditions laid down in Article 11 havebeen met and indicates what constitutes the individual character of his Community design.
However, the defendant may contest its validity by way of a plea or with a counterclaim for adeclaration of invalidity.
Article 86
Judgements of invalidity
1. Where in a proceeding before a Community design court the Community design has been put
in issue by way of a counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity:(a) if any of the grounds mentioned in Article 25 are found to prejudice the maintenance of theCommunity design, the court shall declare the Community design invalid;(b) if none of the grounds mentioned in Article 25 is found to prejudice the maintenance of theCommunity design, the court shall reject the counterclaim.
2. The Community design court with which a counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity of aregistered Community design has been filed shall inform the Office of the date on which thecounterclaim was filed. The latter shall record this fact in the register.

3. The Community design court hearing a counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity of aregistered Community design may, on application by the right holder of the registered
Community design and after hearing the other parties, stay the proceedings and request thedefendant to submit an application for a declaration of invalidity to the Office within a time limit
which the court shall determine. If the application is not made within the time limit, theproceedings shall continue; the counterclaim shall be deemed withdrawn. Article 91(3) shallapply.
4. Where a Community design court has given a judgment which has become final on acounterclaim for a declaration of invalidity of a registered Community design, a copy of thejudgment shall be sent to the Office. Any party may request information about such transmission.
The Office shall mention the judgment in the register in accordance with the provisions of theimplementing regulation.
5. No counterclaim for a declaration of invalidity of a registered Community design may bemade if an application relating to the same subject matter and cause of action, and involving thesame parties, has already been determined by the Office in a decision which has become final.
Article 87
Effects of the judgement on invalidity
When it has become final, a judgment of a Community design court declaring a Community
design invalid shall have in all the Member States the effects specified in Article 26.
Article 88
Applicable law
1. The Community design courts shall apply the provisions of this Regulation.
2. On all matters not covered by this Regulation, a Community design court shall apply its
national law, including its private international law.
3. Unless otherwise provided in this Regulation, a Community design court shall apply the rulesof procedure governing the same type of action relating to a national design right in the Member
State where it is situated.
Article 89
Sanctions in actions for infringement
1. Where in an action for infringement or for threatened infringement a Community design court
finds that the defendant has infringed or threatened to infringe a Community design, it shall,unless there are special reasons for not doing so, order the following measures:(a) an order prohibiting the defendant from proceeding with the acts which have infringed orwould infringe the Community design;(b) an order to seize the infringing products;(c) an order to seize materials and implements predominantly used in order to manufacture theinfringing goods, if their owner knew the effect for which such use was intended or if such effectwould have been obvious in the circumstances;

(d) any order imposing other sanctions appropriate under the circumstances which are provided
by the law of the Member State in which the acts of infringement or threatened infringement arecommitted, including its private international law.
2. The Community design court shall take such measures in accordance with its national law as
are aimed at ensuring that the orders referred to in paragraph 1 are complied with.
Article 90
Provisional measures, including protective measures
1. Application may be made to the courts of a Member State, including Community design
courts, for such provisional measures, including protective measures, in respect of a Community
design as may be available under the law of that State in respect of national design rights even if,
under this Regulation, a Community design court of another Member State has jurisdiction as tothe substance of the matter.
2. In proceedings relating to provisional measures, including protective measures, a pleaotherwise than by way of counterclaim relating to the invalidity of a Community designsubmitted by the defendant shall be admissible. Article 85(2) shall, however, apply mutatis
mutandis.
3. A Community design court whose jurisdiction is based on Article 82(1), (2), (3) or (4) shallhave jurisdiction to grant provisional measures, including protective measures, which, subject to
any necessary procedure for recognition and enforcement pursuant to Title III of the Convention
on Jurisdiction and Enforcement, are applicable in the territory of any Member State. No othercourt shall have such jurisdiction.
Article 91
Specific rules on related actions
1. A Community design court hearing an action referred to in Article 81, other than an action fora declaration of non-infringement, shall, unless there are special grounds for continuing thehearing, of its own motion after hearing the parties, or at the request of one of the parties andafter hearing the other parties, stay the proceedings where the validity of the Community designis already in issue before another Community design court on account of a counterclaim or, inthe case of a registered Community design, where an application for a declaration of invalidity
has already been filed at the Office.
2. The Office, when hearing an application for a declaration of invalidity of a registered
Community design, shall, unless there are special grounds for continuing the hearing, of its own
motion after hearing the parties, or at the request of one of the parties and after hearing the otherparties, stay the proceedings where the validity of the registered Community design is already inissue on account of a counterclaim before a Community design court. However, if one of theparties to the proceedings before the Community design court so requests, the court may, after
hearing the other parties to these proceedings, stay the proceedings. The Office shall in thisinstance continue the proceedings pending before it.
3. Where the Community design court stays the proceedings it may order provisional measures,
including protective measures, for the duration of the stay.

Article 92
Jurisdiction of Community design courts of second instance - further appeal
1. An appeal to the Community design courts of second instance shall lie from judgments of theCommunity design courts of first instance in respect of proceedings arising from the actions andclaims referred to in Article 81.
2. The conditions under which an appeal may be lodged with a Community design court ofsecond instance shall be determined by the national law of the Member State in which that court
is located.
3. The national rules concerning further appeal shall be applicable in respect of judgments ofCommunity design courts of second instance.
Section 3
Other disputes concerning Community designs
Article 93
Supplementary provisions on the jurisdiction of national courts other than Community
design courts
1. Within the Member State whose courts have jurisdiction under Article 79(1) or (4), thosecourts shall have jurisdiction for actions relating to Community designs other than those referred
to in Article 81 which would have jurisdiction ratione loci and ratione materiae in the case ofactions relating to a national design right in that State.
2. Actions relating to a Community design, other than those referred to in Article 81, for whichno court has jurisdiction pursuant to Article 79(1) and (4) and paragraph 1 of this Article may beheard before the courts of the Member State in which the Office has its seat.
Article 94
Obligation of the national court
A national court which is dealing with an action relating to a Community design other than theactions referred to in Article 81 shall treat the design as valid. Articles 85(2) and 90(2) shall,
however, apply mutatis mutandis.
TITLE X
EFFECTS ON THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATESArticle 95
Parallel actions on the basis of Community designs and national design rights
1. Where actions for infringement or for threatened infringement involving the same cause ofaction and between the same parties are brought before the courts of different Member States,
one seized on the basis of a Community design and the other seized on the basis of a national
design right providing simultaneous protection, the court other than the court first seized shall of
its own motion decline jurisdiction in favour of that court. The court which would be required to
decline jurisdiction may stay its proceedings if the jurisdiction of the other court is contested.
2. The Community design court hearing an action for infringement or threatened infringement on
the basis of a Community design shall reject the action if a final judgment on the merits has been

given on the same cause of action and between the same parties on the basis of a design rightproviding simultaneous protection.
3. The court hearing an action for infringement or for threatened infringement on the basis of anational design right shall reject the action if a final judgment on the merits has been given on
the same cause of action and between the same parties on the basis of a Community design
providing simultaneous protection.
4. Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply in respect of provisional measures, including protective
measures.
Article 96
Relationship to other forms of protection under national law
1. The provisions of this Regulation shall be without prejudice to any provisions of Community
law or of the law of the Member States concerned relating to unregistered designs, trade marks
or other distinctive signs, patents and utility models, typefaces, civil liability and unfair
competition.
2. A design protected by a Community design shall also be eligible for protection under the lawof copyright of Member States as from the date on which the design was created or fixed in any
form. The extent to which, and the conditions under which, such a protection is conferred,
including the level of originality required, shall be determined by each Member State.
TITLE XISUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS CONCERNING THE OFFICE
Section 1
General provisions
Article 97
General provision
Unless otherwise provided in this Title, Title XII of the Regulation on the Community trade
mark shall apply to the Office with regard to its tasks under this Regulation.
Article 98
Language of proceedings
1. The application for a registered Community design shall be filed in one of the official
languages of the Community.
2. The applicant must indicate a second language which shall be a language of the Office the useof which he accepts as a possible language of proceedings before the Office.
If the application was filed in a language which is not one of the languages of the Office, theOffice shall arrange to have the application translated into the language indicated by theapplicant.
3. Where the applicant for a registered Community design is the sole party to proceedings before
the Office, the language of proceedings shall be the language used for filing the application. If
the application was made in a language other then the languages of the Office, the Office may
send written communications to the applicant in the second language indicated by the applicant
in his application.

4. In the case of invalidity proceedings, the language of proceedings shall be the language used
for filing the application for a registered Community design if this is one of the languages of the
Office. If the application was made in a language other than the languages of the Office, thelanguage of proceedings shall be the second language indicated in the application.
The application for a declaration of invalidity shall be filed in the language of proceedings.
Where the language of proceedings is not the language used for filing the application for aregistered Community design, the right holder of the Community design may file observations in
the language of filing. The Office shall arrange to have those observations translated into thelanguage of proceedings.
The implementing regulation may provide that the translation expenses to be borne by the Office
may not, subject to a derogation granted by the Office where justified by the complexity of thecase, exceed an amount to be fixed for each category of proceedings on the basis of the average
size of statements of case received by the Office. Expenditure in excess of this amount may beallocated to the losing party in accordance with Article 70.
5. Parties to invalidity proceedings may agree that a different official language of theCommunity is to be the language of the proceedings.
Article 99
Publication and register
1. All information the publication of which is prescribed by this Regulation or the implementing
regulation shall be published in all the official languages of the Community.
2. All entries in the Register of Community designs shall be made in all the official languages of
the Community.
3. In cases of doubt, the text in the language of the Office in which the application for aregistered Community design was filed shall be authentic. If the application was filed in an
official language of the Community other than one of the languages of the Office, the text in thesecond language indicated by the applicant shall be authentic.
Article 100
Supplementary powers of the President
In addition to the functions and powers conferred on the President of the Office by Article 119 of
the Regulation on the Community trade mark, the President may place before the Commission
any proposal to amend this Regulation, the implementing regulation, the fees regulation and anyother rule to the extent that they apply to registered Community designs, after consulting theAdministrative Board and, in the case of the fees regulation, the Budget Committee.
Article 101
Supplementary powers of the Administrative Board
In addition to the powers conferred on it by Article 121 et seq of the Regulation on theCommunity trade mark or by other provisions of this Regulation, the Administrative Board;(a) shall set the date for the first filing of applications for registered Community designs pursuant
to Article 111(2);(b) shall be consulted before adoption of the guidelines for examination as to formal
requirements, examination as to grounds for refusal of registration and invalidity proceedings in
the Office and in the other cases provided for in this Regulation.
Section 2
Procedures
Article 102
Competence
For taking decisions in connection with the procedures laid down in this Regulation thefollowing shall be competent:(a) examiners;(b) the Administration of Trade Marks and Designs and Legal Division;(c) Invalidity Divisions;(d) Boards of Appeal.
Article 103
Examiners
An examiner shall be responsible for taking decisions on behalf of the Office in relation to an
application for a registered Community design.
Article 104
The Administration of Trade Marks and Designs and Legal Division
1. The Administration of Trade Marks and Legal Division provided for by Article 128 of theRegulation on the Community trade mark shall become the Administration of Trade Marks andDesigns and Legal Division.
2. In addition to the powers conferred upon it by the Regulation on the Community trade mark, it
shall be responsible for taking those decisions required by this Regulation which do not fallwithin the competence of an examiner or an Invalidity Division. It shall in particular beresponsible for decisions in respect of entries in the register.
Article 105
Invalidity Divisions
1. An Invalidity Division shall be responsible for taking decisions in relation to applications fordeclarations of invalidity of registered Community designs.
2. An Invalidity Division shall consist of three members. At least one of the members must be
legally qualified.
Article 106
Boards of Appeal
In addition to the powers conferred upon it by Article 131 of the Regulation on the Community
trade mark, the Boards of Appeal instituted by that Regulation shall be responsible for deciding
on appeals from decisions of the examiners, the Invalidity Divisions and from the decisions of
the Administration of Trade Marks and Designs and Legal Division as regards their decisions
concerning Community designs.

TITLE XIa9INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION OF DESIGNS
Section 1
General provisions
Article 106a
Application of provisions
1. Unless otherwise specified in this title, this Regulation and any Regulations implementing thisRegulation adopted pursuant to Article 109 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to registrations ofindustrial designs in the international register maintained by the International Bureau of theWorld Intellectual Property Organisation (hereinafter referred to as “international registration”
and “the International Bureau”) designating the Community, under the Geneva Act.
2. Any recording of an international registration designating the Community in the International
Register shall have the same effect as if it had been made in the register of Community designsof the Office, and any publication of an international registration designating the Community inthe Bulletin of the International Bureau shall have the same effect as if it had been published in
the Community Designs Bulletin.
Section 2
International registrations designating the community
Article 106b
Procedure for filing the international application
International applications pursuant to Article 4(1) of the Geneva Act shall be filed directly at theInternational Bureau.
Article 106c
Designation fees
The prescribed designation fees referred to in Article 7(1) of the Geneva Act are replaced by anindividual designation fee.
Article 106d
Effects of international registration designating the European Community
1. An international registration designating the Community shall, from the date of its registrationreferred to in Article 10(2) of the Geneva Act, have the same effect as an application for aregistered Community design.
2. If no refusal has been notified or if any such refusal has been withdrawn, the international
registration of a design designating the Community shall, from the date referred to in paragraph
1, have the same effect as the registration of a design as a registered Community design.
3. The Office shall provide information on international registrations referred to in paragraph 2,
in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Implementing Regulation.

9

Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 1891/2006 of 18.12.2006. Date of entry into force: 1 January 2008

Article 106e
Refusal1. The Office shall communicate to the International Bureau a notification of refusal not later
than six months from the date of publication of the international registration, if in carrying out an
examination of an international registration, the Office notices that the design for which
protection is sought does not correspond to the definition under Article 3(a), or is contrary to
public policy or to accepted principles of morality.
The notification shall state the grounds on which the refusal is based.
2. The effects of an international registration in the Community shall not be refused before theholder has been allowed the opportunity of renouncing the international registration in respect of
the Community or of submitting observations.
3. The conditions for the examination as to the grounds for refusal shall be laid down in the
Implementing Regulation.
Article 106f
Invalidation of the effects of an international registration
1. The effects of an international registration in the Community may be declared invalid partly orin whole in accordance with the procedure in Titles VI and VII or by a Community design courton the basis of a counterclaim in infringement proceedings.
2. Where the Office is aware of the invalidation, it shall notify it to the International Bureau.
TITLE XIIFINAL PROVISIONS
Article 107
Implementing regulation
1. The rules implementing this Regulation shall be adopted in an implementing regulation.
2. In addition to the fees already provided for in this Regulation, fees shall be charged, in
accordance with the detailed rules of application laid down in the implementing regulation and ina fees regulation, in the cases listed below:(a) late payment of the registration fee;(b) late payment of the publication fee;(c) late payment of the fee for deferment of publication;(d) late payment of additional fees for multiple applications;(e) issue of a copy of the certificate of registration;(f) registration of the transfer of a registered Community design;(g) registration of a licence or another right in respect of a registered Community design;(h) cancellation of the registration of a licence or another right;(i) issue of an extract from the register;(j) inspection of the files;

(k) issue of copies of file documents;(l) communication of information in a file;(m) review of the determination of the procedural costs to be refunded;(n) issue of certified copies of the application.
3. The implementing regulation and the fees regulation shall be adopted and amended inaccordance with the procedure laid down in Article 109(2).
Article 108
Rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal
The rules of procedure of the Boards of Appeal shall apply to appeals heard by those Boards
under this Regulation, without prejudice to any necessary adjustment or additional provision,
adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 109(2).
Article 109
Committee
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shallapply.The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure
Article 110
Transitional provision
1. Until such time as amendments to this Regulation enter into force on a proposal from theCommission on this subject, protection as a Community design shall not exist for a design whichconstitutes a component part of a complex product used within the meaning of Article 19(1) forthe purpose of the repair of that complex product so as to restore its original appearance.
2. The proposal from the Commission referred to in paragraph 1 shall be submitted together
with, and take into consideration, any changes which the Commission shall propose on the same
subject pursuant to Article 18 of Directive 98/71/EC.
Article 110a10
Provisions relating to the enlargement of the Community
1. As from the date of accession of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia,
Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia (hereinafter referred to as“new Member State(s)”), a Community design protected or applied for pursuant to thisRegulation before the date of accession shall be extended to the territory of those Member Statesin order to have equal effect throughout the Community.

10

The date of accession for the following countries is 1 May 2004: Czech Republic, Republic of Estonia, Republicof Cyprus, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Lithuania, Republic of Hungary, Republic of Malta, Republic of Poland,
Republic of Slovenia and Slovak Republic (see Annex II - 4. Company Law- C. Industrial Property Rights – III.
Community Design of the Act of Accession)
The date of accession of Bulgaria and Rumania is 1 January 2007 (see Annex III - 1. Company Law - Industrial
Property Rights - III. Community Design of the Act of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania)

2. The application for a registered Community design may not be refused on the basis of any of
the grounds for non-registrability listed in Article 47(1), if these grounds became applicablemerely because of the accession of a new Member State.
3. A Community design as referred to in paragraph 1 may not be declared invalid pursuant to
Article 25(1) if the grounds for invalidity became applicable merely because of the accession ofa new Member State.
4. The applicant or the holder of an earlier right in a new Member State may oppose the use of a
Community design falling under Article 25(1) (d), (e) or (f) within the territory where the earlier
right is protected. For the purpose of this provision, “earlier right” means a right acquired orapplied for in good faith before accession.
5. Paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 above shall also apply to unregistered Community designs. Pursuant to
Article 11, a design which has not been made public within the territory of the Community shallnot enjoy protection as an unregistered Community design.
Article 111
Entry into force
1. This Regulation shall enter into force on the 60th day following its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.11
2. Applications for registered Community designs may be filed at the Office from the date fixedby the Administrative Board on the recommendation of the President of the Office.
3. Applications for registered Community designs filed within three months before the datereferred to in paragraph 2 shall be deemed to have been filed on that date.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 12 December 2001.
For the Council
The President
M. Aelvoet

11

Date of entry into force: 6.3.2002