The registered Community design (RCD) is now the registered EU design: since 1 May 2025, Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 has replaced “Community design” with “EU design” throughout the EU design rules, and existing Community designs simply continued as EU designs, with no new filing. What has changed is around them: renewal fees and dates, licence recordings, a new Ⓓ design notice and, from 1 July 2026, a codified regulation with new article numbers. This guide is for companies with RCD portfolios, licences or distribution agreements that still refer to the old terms.
Update (October 2026): On 1 July 2026 the EUIPO confirmed that the new EU design legal framework is fully applicable, including the codified European Union Design Regulation and its delegated and implementing regulations. EUIPO, 1 July 2026.
Key takeaways
- Your registered Community designs are now registered EU designs (REUDs). No action is needed to keep them alive beyond normal renewals.
- Unregistered Community designs are now unregistered EU designs, still protected for three years from first disclosure in the EU.
- Renewal fees rose on 1 May 2025 to EUR 150, 250, 400 and 700 for the first to fourth renewals.
- From 1 July 2026, Regulation (EU) 2026/715 codifies the rules and repeals Regulation (EC) No 6/2002; references to the old regulation are read through a correlation table.
- Licences, assignments and product marking are the documents most worth reviewing.
Why the registered Community design became the “EU design”
The Community design system was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002. The reform package published in the Official Journal on 18 November 2024 includes Regulation (EU) 2024/2822, which amended that regulation, and a recast Design Directive for national laws. Article 1 of the amending regulation replaces the term “Community design” with “EU design” and “Community design court” with “EU design court” throughout. It entered into force on 8 December 2024 and applies from 1 May 2025, with some provisions applying from 1 July 2026.
The reform then closed with Regulation (EU) 2026/715 of 11 March 2026, published on 30 March 2026, which codifies the rules as the European Union Design Regulation (EUDR). It enters into force on 1 July 2026 and repeals Regulation (EC) No 6/2002. As an EUIPO article of 15 June 2026 puts it, the reform did not bring drastic changes; it modernised a system that had worked well.
Registered Community design and EU design: what changes and what does not
| Topic | What stays the same | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Existing rights | RCDs remain valid and keep their filing dates | They are now called registered EU designs (REUDs) |
| Term of protection | Five-year periods, renewable up to 25 years | Renewal window: the six months ending on the expiry date, not at the end of the month |
| Renewal fees | Paid per design | EUR 150, 250, 400 and 700 for the first to fourth renewals |
| Unregistered designs | Three years from first disclosure in the EU | Now “unregistered EU designs” |
| Licences | Exclusive or non-exclusive, for all or part of the EU | Licences limited to a range of products can be recorded as such |
| Transfers | Must be recorded to have effect against third parties | No EUIPO fee for recording a transfer |
| Marking | Marking remains optional | New design notice: the letter D in a circle (Ⓓ) |
| Legal references | Substance of most rules | New article numbers in the codified EUDR from 1 July 2026 |
The renewal and transfer changes are set out in the EUIPO’s summary of the 2025 Guidelines (28 May 2025). The licence categories are in Article 37(3) of the codified EUDR, and the design notice in Article 29.
Do contracts that mention “Community designs” still work?
In most cases, yes. The rights themselves have not changed identity, and Regulation 2026/715 provides that references to the repealed Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 are construed as references to the new one, read with its correlation table. A licence that grants rights under “registered Community design No. X” still refers to the same right.
The risk is in the details. Contracts drafted around specific article numbers, fee assumptions or definitions such as “Community” may become harder to read and enforce, especially across languages. In practice, we recommend updating the terminology at the next amendment or renewal of each agreement, rather than leaving it until a dispute.
Which clauses to review first
- Definitions of “Licensed Designs” or “Registered Rights” and the schedule of registration numbers.
- Territory clauses: a licence for “the Community” should be read as the EU, but say so expressly.
- Field-of-use clauses, now that a licence limited to a range of products can be recorded as such.
- Renewal cost clauses based on the old fee levels.
- Cross-references to articles of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.
Licences, transfers and the Ⓓ notice
Under Article 38 of the codified EUDR, a transfer or licence generally has effect against third parties in the Member States only once entered in the Register, unless they knew of it. Recording therefore matters for licensees and for buyers in a portfolio transaction. With the transfer recording fee abolished and new licence categories available, there is little reason to leave assignments or key licences unrecorded.
The Ⓓ symbol is new and optional. A holder, or a third party with its consent, may display it on the product, with the registration number or a link to the Register entry. Use it only on products that actually incorporate a registered EU design, and check packaging and websites when a registration lapses.
What this means for your business
- List your RCDs and their expiry dates, and budget renewals at the new fee levels.
- Check that the holder, address and designer details in the Register match your records; from now on only the holder’s city and country appear in new Register entries.
- Review licences, distribution and supply agreements that mention Community designs and update them at the next opportunity.
- Record unrecorded assignments and important licences.
- Decide on a Ⓓ marking policy, including what happens when a design lapses.
Our team for registered EU design and international design portfolios can carry out this audit and prepare the recordings, and our IP licensing and transactions team can update the agreements.
Where companies get the transition wrong
- Assuming nothing has changed. The name change is cosmetic, but renewal dates and fees are not.
- Re-filing designs that are already protected, which wastes fees and can raise novelty questions.
- Leaving licences unrecorded, which may weaken them against third parties.
- Using the Ⓓ symbol on products not covered by a registration, which can mislead customers.
- Updating EU contracts but not national or Hague registrations that cover the same products.
These gaps usually appear when portfolio management, contracts and enforcement sit with different advisers. A single coordinated review keeps registrations, contracts and marking consistent.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to re-register my registered Community designs as EU designs?
No. Existing Community designs became EU designs automatically when the amending regulation started to apply on 1 May 2025. You keep the same rights and filing dates; you only need to renew them on time, every five years, at the current renewal fees and within the new renewal window.
Are licences that refer to Community designs still valid?
Generally yes, because the underlying rights are the same and the codified regulation states that references to the repealed Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 are read as references to the new one. It is still sensible to update definitions, territory wording and article references at the next amendment of the agreement.
What is the Ⓓ symbol and do I have to use it?
It is an optional design notice, the letter D in a circle, that the holder of a registered EU design may display on products to show the design is registered, with the registration number or a link to the Register. It is not mandatory and should only be used on products covered by a valid registration.
Can IP Global Guard audit my design portfolio and contracts?
Yes. We review your EU, national and international design registrations, renewal dates, recorded licences and the contracts that refer to them, and prepare and coordinate the recordings before the EUIPO, directly where our professionals are entitled and through qualified representatives otherwise.
How IP Global Guard can help with your EU design portfolio
The move from Community to EU design is a good moment to put registrations, contracts and marking in order. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, manages design portfolios together with the agreements that exploit them, with one point of contact across more than 25 jurisdictions; see our coverage in Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Send us your list of registered Community designs and the main licences or distribution agreements that cover them. We will flag renewals, recordings and clauses to update. Ask for a portfolio review.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not replace an assessment of your specific portfolio.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 amending Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, OJ L of 18 November 2024
- Regulation (EU) 2026/715 on European Union designs (codification), OJ L of 30 March 2026
- EUIPO, EU Design Legislative Reform Package published (November 2024)
- EUIPO, 2025 Designs reform edition of the Examination Guidelines (28 May 2025)
- EUIPO, Design (law) aficionados beware: a new era is about to begin (15 June 2026)
- EUIPO, The modernised EU design legal framework is now fully applicable (1 July 2026)
