Barbie Keeps Its Head: Mattel Successfully Protects Doll Head Design In EU

EU General Court decision of 1 December 2021 reaffirms that neither market preferences nor commercial or aesthetic considerations are considered limits to design freedom, as Julia Schefman explains.

To qualify for registered design protection in the EU, a design must meet requirements of novelty and individual design character. A design is considered to have individual character if the "overall impression it produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any design which has been made available to the public before the date of filing the application for registration". When assessing individual character, the court looks at four determining factors: 1) the sector; 2) the informed user; 3) their degree of awareness of the prior art and the level of attention upon comparing the designs; and, 4) the designer's freedom in developing the design. Ultimately, the court assesses whether the overall impression produced by the