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DRAFT REPORT (COM(2022)0666 – C90394/2022 – 2022/0391(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2246/2002

JURI-PR-749960

Committee on Legal Affairs · Rapporteur: Gilles Lebreton

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This is the Committee on Legal Affairs' draft report on the Commission proposal to amend Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs and repeal Commission Regulation (EC) No 2246/2002. The rapporteur broadly agrees with the proposal but tables around 20 amendments to strengthen legal certainty. The amendments clarify the repair clause, remove powers from the Executive Director, and lower renewal fees for the third and fourth periods. The draft resolution adopts the position at first reading and calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it substantially amends its proposal.

Committee position. The rapporteur broadly agrees with the Commission proposal but proposes around 20 amendments to bolster legal certainty, clarify the repair clause, remove powers from the Executive Director, and reduce renewal fees for the third and fourth periods.

Key points

  1. The draft resolution adopts Parliament's position at first reading on the Commission proposal.
  2. It calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal.
  3. Amendment 1 adds to Recital 3 that the European Parliament echoed the Council's call for revision in its resolution of 11 November 2021 on an intellectual property action plan.
  4. Amendment 2 clarifies in Recital 10 that design features must be visible to benefit from protection, but not visible at all times or in a particular situation, with an exception for component parts of a complex product that must remain visible during normal use.
  5. Amendment 3 makes the repair clause permanent and places it among the defences to EU design right infringement, limiting it to component parts of a complex product upon whose appearance the protected design is dependent.
  6. Amendment 4 specifies that delegated acts on appeal proceedings should cover certain details where derogations from Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 are needed.
  7. Amendment 5 removes the detailed arrangements for notification from the delegated acts on oral proceedings, evidence, communication, time limits, revocation, resumption of proceedings and representation.
  8. Amendment 6 replaces 'Community' with 'Union' in Article 11(2) and clarifies that a design is not made available to the public if disclosed only under conditions of confidentiality.
  9. Amendment 7 removes the condition that the component part's design be dependent on the complex product's appearance from Article 20a(1) on the repair clause.
  10. Amendment 8 requires manufacturers or sellers of component parts to inform consumers about the identity of the manufacturer, not the origin of the product, to benefit from the repair clause.
  11. Amendments 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18 and 19 delete provisions allowing the Executive Director to set documentation requirements, expenses, notification arrangements, database access charges, exemptions from professional experience, and other vague powers.
  12. Amendments 23 and 24 reduce the third and fourth renewal fees to EUR 210 and EUR 280 per design respectively, and shorten the evaluation period to 60 months.

Who is affected

  • Design right holders, who face a permanent repair clause limiting enforcement against component parts used for repair.
  • Manufacturers and sellers of component parts, who must inform consumers about the manufacturer's identity to use the repair clause.
  • The Executive Director of the EU Intellectual Property Office, who loses powers to set expenses, notification arrangements and database access charges.
  • Companies, especially SMEs, which benefit from lower renewal fees for the third and fourth periods.
  • Persons applying to be entered on the list of representatives, who must have worked in the area of designs for at least five years.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 210 per design for the third period of renewal.
  • EUR 280 per design for the fourth period of renewal.
  • 60 months after entry into force for the first evaluation of the Regulation.
  • 2 months for Parliament or the Council to object to a delegated act, extendable by two months.
  • at least five years of habitual work in the area of designs for certain representatives.

Legal basis: Article 294(2) and Article 118(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.