European design application

An application for a European design (RCD) is filed with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (the OHIM), located in Alicante, Spain. Any individual or entity can apply for a European design, but the application must be filed by a European design representative who is authorized to act before the OHIM in design matters.

Registration of a European design is not a lengthy procedure. If the design application is formally correct, the design will be approved within a couple of weeks. Unlike a European trademark application, the OHIM will examine the European design application only to its form. The OHIM will not examine whether the design is original enough to be eligible for protection, only if it is a design. Neither will the Office check if there are earlier design rights within the EU which should prevent the design from being registered.

If the result of the examination made by the OHIM is positive, the design will be registered in the European Community Design Register. The entire procedure for registration of a European design takes about eight weeks. When registered, the European design will be in effect for five years from the date of filing of the application. The design can then be renewed up to four times to give a total maximum protection period of 25 years.