That's A Wrap! CJEU Confirms Position On Protection For Designs Dictated By Technical Function

"Think about the common sense answer and then it's probably something else!" - that's what I always say to anyone I'm training when they ask me a question about a specific piece of IP law.

As such, it's always a pleasure when a court issues a decision that makes perfect sense. That was the case in a recent CJEU decision regarding the extent to which Community designs protect designs dictated solely by technical function - C-684/21 (Papierfabriek Doetinchem B.V. v Sprick GmbH Bielefelder Papier- und Wellpappenwerk & Co)

Before going further it is worth noting that the Regulation on Community Designs states that a Community design shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product which are solely dictated by its technical function. It follows that if all of the features of the appearance of a product are solely dictated by its technical function, a registration for the appearance of such a product will be invalid.