Industrial Designs in the EU 2026: Protection up to 25 Years with a Single Registration

Key data

If your company designs products — from clothing to furniture, technological devices or industrial components — and you have not registered the appearance of those products in the EU, you are leaving the door open for a competitor to copy your design without consequences. Regulation (EU) 2026/715, in force since 11 March 2026, consolidates all European legislation on industrial designs into a single text and makes the protection system more accessible and predictable.

This is not a regulation that imposes new burdens. On the contrary: it simplifies the existing legal framework, reduces regulatory fragmentation and lowers legal compliance costs for any company wishing to protect the visual appearance of its products across all 27 EU Member States with a single registration.

What does this regulation establish?

Regulation (EU) 2026/715 is a codified version: it does not create a new system, but rather gathers and organises all previous legislation on European Union designs into a single, coherent text. The objective is to eliminate the regulatory fragmentation that existed until now, which required companies and advisors to consult multiple legal texts to understand the applicable regime.

The key elements it establishes are:

• Unified legal framework for the registration of designs before the EUIPO, valid in all Member States.
• Subject matter of protection: the aesthetic appearance of a product, including shape, colours, lines and textures. It does not protect the functionality of the product, only its original visual appearance.
• Duration of protection: renewable, with a maximum of 25 years from the date of registration.
• Single procedure: a single registration before the EUIPO is sufficient to obtain coverage across the entire EU, without the need for separate national registrations in each Member State.
• Reduction of legal compliance costs thanks to regulatory consolidation, particularly relevant for SMEs with limited legal resources.

This codification is especially relevant for sectors with high design innovation: fashion, technology, furniture and industrial products.

Economic and operational impact

The direct impact of this regulation is not a new cost, but rather an opportunity to reduce costs and risks. Regulatory consolidation has three concrete practical effects:

For companies that already have designs registered before the EUIPO, the operational impact is minimal: the protection system does not change in its essence. For those that have not yet registered their designs, this regulation removes the excuse of regulatory complexity and lowers the barrier to entry into the European protection system.

Who is affected?

Regulation (EU) 2026/715 directly affects any company or professional that creates or markets products with original design in the EU:

• Fashion and textile companies: collections, garments, accessories and complementary items with proprietary design.
• Technology and electronics manufacturers: devices, physical interfaces, casings and components with a differentiated appearance.
• Furniture and decoration sector: furniture, lighting fixtures, decorative objects with original design.
• Manufacturing industry: industrial products whose appearance is a differentiating element in the market.
• SMEs and freelance designers: independent professionals who create products or designs for third parties and wish to protect their work in the European single market.
• Legal and intellectual property advisors: who manage portfolios of design registrations for their clients before the EUIPO.
• CFOs and executives: who must value the company's intangible assets, including registered designs, and manage the risk of copying or imitation by competitors.

Practical example

A Spanish furniture SME designs a chair with an original shape and colour combination. Until now, to protect that design across the entire EU, the legal team had to navigate several scattered regulatory texts to understand the exact procedure and requirements, which increased advisory costs.

With Regulation (EU) 2026/715 in force, the framework is a single codified text. The company registers the design before the EUIPO through a single procedure and obtains protection across all 27 Member States of the EU. If no one challenges the registration, that protection can be maintained for up to 25 years through successive renewals.

If a manufacturer from another EU country copies the shape or colours of that chair, the Spanish company can take legal action in any Member State on the basis of that single European registration, without having had to register the design country by country.

What should companies do now?

1. Audit the catalogue of products with original design: identify which products or visual elements of the company have a differentiating appearance and could be registered before the EUIPO.
2. Verify whether designs are already registered: check in the EUIPO database whether the company's key designs have current protection and when it expires.
3. Assess the risk of not registering: an unregistered design can be copied without legal consequences in the EU. Quantify the potential economic impact of a competitor replicating the most differentiating products.
4. Take advantage of the regulatory simplification: with the new codified text, the legal advisory cost for registering designs is lower. This is a good time to initiate or complete the portfolio of pending registrations.
5. Inform the design and product team: ensure that creative teams are aware of the available protection system and adequately document the process of creating new designs, which facilitates registration and subsequent enforcement.
6. Review contracts with external designers: verify that contracts with freelancers or design agencies include assignment of rights clauses that allow the company to register the designs before the EUIPO.

Official source

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, please consult a qualified professional. Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/./legal-content/AUTO/?uri=CELEX:32026R0715