EU-Level Protection of Designs? The Registered Community Design [IP Corner]

The design of most consumer products can play a key role in their commercial success, and, therefore, the ability to protect new and innovative designs is an important part of a modern competitive marketplace. Since 1 April 2003, it has been possible to obtain European Union (EU)-wide design protection by means of a single registration made under the Community Design regulation (Council Regulation 6/2002 of 12 December 2001), usually referred to as a Registered Community Design (RCD). Before the advent of the RCD, a designer seeking protection across the EU was restricted to seeking registration at a national level. Now, with 28 member states in the EU, the ability to register a design with just a single filing is a major step forward in terms of protection of intellectual property rights in the EU.