European Design Legislation: Fit For Purpose?

The European Commission has recently published its report assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of current European design legislation. The assessment has been conducted over a number of years and follows the publication of the commission study on whether current IP systems are fit for purpose in light of developments in 3D printing. While the 3D printing study considered all IP rights and their ability to serve as a tool for protecting innovation in a 3D printing world the design study more generally looks at fitness for purpose of current design legislation. The report concludes that EU design legislation achieves its intended aim and is popular, if somewhat underused.
 
The study concludes that current legislation should be updated to account for changes brought about by the digital and green transformations. In reaching this conclusion the design study unsurprisingly leans on the earlier 3D printing study.  The 3D printing study found that a particular concern