Modernisation of the design protection has of the European Commission been pointed out as an important part of the Intellectual Property Action Plan, which is a part of the Industrial Strategy as presented in 2020.
The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svenskt Näringsliv) welcomes the revision of the EU legislation on design protection. It is an important initiative, as a strong IP framework is key to sustainable innovation.
Good industrial design is a key selling point for many products. For customers, it can be as much a deciding factor when buying as price and quality. It can also act as a key differentiator for companies operating in competitive marketplaces.
However, design – like any other innovation – should be able to benefit from intellectual property protection. Yet although it is possible to secure such protection, it is one of the least-used areas of IPR. In part, this is because it’s less widely known, but mainly because the existing legislation is in urgent need of modernisation.
The standpoints by the Confederation of the Swedish Enterprise are presented in a paper and in an Executive Summary. They were also presented at a webinar.