EUIPO’s Design Reform framework now brings several practical changes into sharper focus under the renamed “EU Design” system, replacing the former Registered Community Design terminology. Multiple applications are no longer confined by the former Locarno-class unity requirement, although a single filing may contain no more than 50 designs. The representation rules have also become more digital: dynamic 3D models may be filed in formats such as OBJ and STL, while animations can be represented through video files, giving applicants a clearer route for protecting moving graphical user interfaces and other non-static visual features. The reform also extends design-right relevance to digital files used for 3D printing and embeds a permanent repair-clause framework for component parts used to restore a complex product’s original appearance.
The practical effect is broader than a change of terminology. Applicants gain more flexibility in grouping designs, but digital representations also demand much tighter drafting discipline: a 3D model, animated transition or moving GUI must make the claimed visual subject matter intelligible from the outset. For businesses active in automotive parts, consumer interfaces or 3D-print file distribution, design filing strategy now needs to be considered alongside aftermarket repair, digital-file circulation and cross-border sales rather than treated as a purely static-product exercise.
