Share, Tweak, Register: Your One Year Safety Net For EU Design Rights

What is the grace period?

In simple terms, the grace period in EU design law gives creators a margin of safety:if you publicly share your design(e.g. prototype, ad or pitch)up to 12 months before filing an EU design application, you will not lose your right to registration.This allows designers to test the waters before committing to formal registration, without conflicting with the protection requirements of novelty and individual character.

The big question: do the disclosed and registered designs have to be identical?

Previously, there was debate over whether, to benefit from the grace period, the version of the design shown during testing had to be identical to, or create the same overall impression on an informed user as, the version filed for registration.