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Industrial designs


An industrial design can be defined as the outward appearance of a product or part of it, resulting from the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, materials and/or its ornamentation.

Designs may be protected if they are unique, meaning no identical design has been previously made available to the public. They must have individual character, that is to say the relevant consumer would find it different from other existing designs. A design cannot protect the function of a product. The design or shape of a product can be synonymous with the branding and image of a company and can become an asset with increasing monetary value.

An effective system of industrial design protection benefits consumers and the public at large, by promoting fair competition and honest trade practices. This encourages creativity, and promotes more aesthetically attractive products. Protecting industrial designs helps economic development, by encouraging creativity in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, as well as in traditional arts and crafts. It can also contribute to the expansion of commercial activities and the export of national products.

Industrial designs are applied to a wide variety of products, from technical and medical instruments to household products, electrical goods, clothing, motor vehicles and jewellery.

In order to apply for design registration, the applicant must be the proprietor, that is, the owner of the design. The proprietor can be the author of the design or the employer of the person who created the design if this was done in the course of the employment.

Examples of registered designs showing packaging, sets of products, composite products and web design:

In Ireland, the Industrial Designs Act 2001 is the primary legislation dealing with industrial designs in Ireland. An application to register an industrial design is made to the Controller of Intellectual Property in the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland.

In the European Union, under Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 as implemented by Commission Regulation(EC) No 2245/2002, two methods of design protection applicable throughout the EU are available: namely, the Registered Community Design which confers protection through a registration process and, the unregistered Community design right which, as the name suggests, is not subject to a registration system. In Ireland, SI No 27/2003 European Communities (Community Design) Regulations 2003, gives effect to Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.

The Community design is a unitary right that has equal effect across the European Union. The Community design registration process is administered by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) based in Alicante in Spain. The unregistered design right has existed since 6 March 2002 while the registered design form came into effect on 1 April 2003. In relation to terms of protection, an unregistered Community design lasts for a period of 3 years from the date on which the design was first made available to the public within the Community. A registered Community design lasts for up to 25 years from the date on which an application for registration was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. In terms of effect, the unregistered Community design provides useful, short-term protection for items of short market duration. The registered Community design provides substantial cost savings compared to obtaining national registrations in individual European countries.

Design protection is obtainable also on an international basis through the Hague Agreement administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) which offers a simple and cost-effective system for obtaining registered design protection in multiple participating countries. The Hague Agreement provides a mechanism for registering an industrial design in several countries by means of a single application, filed in one language, with one set of fees. The EU acceded to the Hague Agreement in September 2007. This accession allows EU companies and designers, including those from Ireland, to obtain protection for a design not only throughout the EU with the Community Design, but also in the countries which are members of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement.

Related websites

Intellectual Property Office of Ireland

European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

EU design reform package

Design rights are increasingly recognised as key to bringing ideas to the market and transforming them into user-friendly and appealing products or services. Well-designed products create an important competitive advantage for producers and companies that invest in design tend to be more profitable and grow faster. To encourage producers to invest in designs, there needs to be accessible, modern, and effective legal framework for the protection for design rights.

The current industrial design protection system in the EU is more than twenty years old. The laws of the member states relating to industrial designs were partially aligned by Directive 98/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998. Alongside the national design protection systems, Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12 December 2001 established a stand-alone system for protecting unitary rights that have equal effect throughout the EU in the form of the Registered Community Design (RCD) and the unregistered Community design.

European Commission’s evaluation report in relation to EU legislation on design protection

The European Commission carried out an evaluation of the directive and regulation, which was published in November 2020.The evaluation concluded that the design protection in the EU was still largely fit for purpose, however, the evaluation revealed some shortcomings that needed to be addressed to make the legal framework fit to support the digital and green transition of EU industry, and to become substantially more accessible and efficient for industries, SMEs and individual designers. These shortcomings included a lack of clarity and robustness of certain key elements of design protection, outdated or overly complicated procedures, inappropriate fee levels and fee structure, lack of coherence of the procedural rules and an incomplete single market for spare parts.

Further information on the Commission's evaluation of EU legislation on design protection

Based on the findings of the evaluation, the Commission conducted an impact assessment which identified possible policy options to address the problems identified with the legislation.

Reform package

On 28 November 2022, the Commission published a reform package on industrial design protection to address the shortcomings identified with the legislation, consisting of a:

Directive (recast) of the European Parliament and of the Council to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to industrial designs

Regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No. 6/2002 on Community Designs and repealing Commission Regulation (EC) No 2246/2002

Following negotiations with EU member states on the Commission’s reform package, the Council adopted a ‘general approach’ on both the Directive and the Regulation on 25 September 2023. The general approach provided a mandate for the EU Trilogue process.

On 10 October 2024, the Council approved the two legislative texts under the EU design reform package:

The two legal instruments form the main elements of the legal protection of designs in the EU and modernise the 20-year-old legal framework. The reform package provides for an accessible, modern, and harmonised legal framework for the protection of design rights, with increased legal certainty and predictability for its users.

Key elements of the reform package

  • Broader definitions of 'product' and 'design': the definition of a design now includes the movement, transition or any other sort of animation of the design’s features; the definition of product has been updated to include industrial and handcraft products, regardless of whether it is embodied in a physical object or materialises in a non-physical form.
  • Changes to harmonise the rules of representation for national designs so that they are in line with the current rules for EU registered designs.
  • Extension of the scope of protection of design rights to help combat illegal 3D printing: it is now an infringement of design rights to download, copy and share or distribute to others any medium or software that records the design for the purpose of making a product protected by the design.
  • Design protection against counterfeit goods in transit in the EU: the holder of a registered EU design shall be entitled to prevent all third parties from bringing products from third countries into the EU even if they are not intended to be placed on the EU market.
  • Introduction of a harmonised exception to design protection for spare parts of complex products – a 'repair clause' in the directive: design protection shall not be conferred to component parts of a complex product upon whose appearance the design of the component part is dependent, and which is used for the sole purpose of the repair of that complex product so as to restore its original appearance. EU member states who currently provide design protection for spare parts, for which registration was applied for before 8 December 2024, can continue to provide this protection until 9 December 2032.
  • No visibility requirement: design features of a product do not need to be visible at any particular time or in any particular situation of use in order to benefit from design protection (with the exception of component parts of a complex product).
  • Multiple design applications are also allowed for different products even if the products do not belong to the same class in the Locarno Classification.
  • Option for EU member states to introduce administrative invalidity proceedings before national IP offices.
  • Cultural heritage: EU member states may also provide that a design can be refused registration if it contains a total or partial reproduction of elements belonging to cultural heritage that are of national interest (for example, the traditional costume of a region).
  • Change of name of a 'Community design' to a 'European Union design'.
  • Registration symbol: a rightsholder may include the letter D in a circle on their registered design right. Such design notices may be accompanied by the registration number of the design or hyperlinked to the entry of the design in the Design Register.
  • Simplification of the schedule of registration fees to increase transparency and changes to the application and renewal fees for an EU design right while ensuring that national only protection continues to be lower than the fees for an EU wide design right.

Entry into force and transposition

Both texts were published in the EU Official Journal on 18 November 2024 and entered into force on 8 December 2024. The regulation will be applicable from 1 May 2025, with the exception of certain provisions which will not apply until 1 July 2026. All EU member states will have until 9 December 2027 to transpose the directive into their national legislation.

Industrial designs consultations

Closed consultations

Public consultation on EU reform package on industrial designs

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment sought the views of stakeholders and interested parties on a proposal for a reform package on industrial designs, consisting of a Directive (recast) of the European Parliament and of the Council to approximate the laws of the Member States relating to industrial designs, and a Regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community Designs.

The closing date was 24 February 2023.

Public consultation on EU reform package on industrial designs

European Commission public consultation on the revision of the EU legislation on design protection

Delivering on the actions contained in the European Commission’s Intellectual Property Action Plan, the Commission launched a public consultation on the revision of EU legislation on industrial design protection.

The public consultation relates to industrial designs protection, that is, the rights which protect the appearance of a product resulting from its attributes such as shape, colours or materials. The public consultation sought to obtain views of all those affected by design protection in Europe on selected issues, such as whether rules on spare parts protection should be changed, as well as potential policy options in view of the review of the Community Design Regulation (6/2002) and the Directive on the legal protection of designs (98/71/EC). The review of the rules follows an exhaustive evaluation of the EU legislation on design protection, which was supported by a comprehensive public consultation and two major economic and legal studies. The evaluation indicated that the rules are working well, however, there were certain shortcomings that need to be addressed to modernise the legal framework and make it fit for the digital age.

The Commission invited the views of all interested stakeholders affected by design protection in Europe on potential options for reform of industrial designs protection. While the consultation is directed at a broader public, the reply to certain questions will require legal expertise and experience in the relevant field.

The closing date was 22 July 2021.

Further information about this initiative

Industrial design legislation

Unofficial consolidated industrial design legislation

An unofficial consolidated copy of the principal industrial designs legislation Industrial Designs Act 2001 and supporting Industrial Designs Regulations 2002 which identifies each amendment by separate colour. For reference purposes only.

Industrial design primary legislation effective in Ireland

Primary legislation:

Industrial design secondary legislation

Statutory Instruments on industrial designs legislation consists of statutory instruments (SI) that fall into one of the following categories:

  • Industrial Design Regulations (Rules) and subsequent amendments
  • Regulations implementing EU Industrial Design legislation into Irish law
  • Commencement orders, fee changes, and so on

SIs relating to Rules, Fees and Commencement Orders made under the primary legislation are available to view under the Principal Act on the Irish Statute Book: Industrial Designs Act 2001

Regulations implementing EU industrial design legislation into Irish law

EU industrial design legislation

International Agreements or Treaties effective in Ireland

Locarno Agreement establishing an International classification for industrial designs

The Locarno Agreement establishes a classification for industrial designs (the Locarno Classification). The competent offices of the Contracting States must indicate in official documents reflecting the deposit or registration of industrial designs the numbers of the classes and subclasses of the classification to which the goods incorporating the designs belong. This must also be done in any publication the offices issue in respect of the deposit or registration of industrial designs.

Notification of Ireland’s Accession to the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs

More on the Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs

Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

The Paris Convention, adopted in 1883, applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade names, geographical indications and the repression of unfair competition. This international agreement was the first major step taken to help creators ensure that their intellectual works were protected in other countries.

Notification of Ireland’s Accession to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

More on the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

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