The EU Design Regulation also establishes the availability of unregistered EU Designs.
The right is automatic from when the design is first made available to the public within the EU and the term of protection is three years from the publication date.
These have the same broad definition of a “design” and are also subject to the novelty and individual character requirements. However, the rights conferred by an unregistered EU design are restricted to the prevention of acts resulting from copying of the protected design. Therefore an independently created design which would infringe a registered EU Design would not infringe a corresponding unregistered EU Design.
This automatic protection is useful for designs of short commercial life.
For long term protection a registered EU Design will be more appropriate in view of the potential 25 year term.
Another advantage of registering an EU Design is that this will provide an official record of the rights of the design owner and a number which can be applied to products bearing the design and help to deter infringement. Typically, enforcement of a registered EU Design will be more straightforward than for an unregistered EU Design.