An unregistered EU design protects a new design with individual character for three years from the day it is first made available to the public in a way that specialised circles in the EU could reasonably know about, without any filing or fee. It is useful against copies, but it gives no monopoly: it only stops copying, it cannot be renewed and you have to prove when and how the design was disclosed. It matters most to fashion, accessories and other sectors with short product cycles, including Latin American brands launching in Europe.
Key takeaways
- Protection lasts three years from first disclosure within the Union and cannot be extended (Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2026/715).
- It only protects against copying: a designer who created a similar design independently does not infringe (Article 20(4)).
- The EUIPO keeps no register of unregistered designs; you prove the right in court with evidence of the disclosure and of what gives the design individual character (Article 124(2)).
- Where the first launch happens outside the EU, protection depends on whether EU specialised circles could reasonably have learned of it.
- A registered EU design can still be filed within 12 months of your own disclosure (Article 8(2)).
What is an unregistered EU design?
EU law offers two forms of design protection: a short-term unregistered design and a longer-term registered design (recital 17 of Regulation (EU) 2026/715, the codified EU Design Regulation in force since 1 July 2026). The legislator had in mind sectors that produce large numbers of possibly short-lived designs, of which only some reach the market (recital 35).
The substantive requirements are the same as for a registered design: the design must be new and have individual character, meaning that it produces a different overall impression on the informed user from earlier designs (Articles 5 to 7). The difference lies in how the right arises and what it allows you to do. There is no application and no examination; the EUIPO Guidelines state plainly that the Office has no competence over unregistered EU designs. Disputes go to the national EU design courts (Article 120).
When does the three-year term start and what counts as disclosure?
Under Article 12, protection runs for three years from the date on which the design was first made available to the public within the Union. A design is treated as made available within the Union if it was published, exhibited, used in trade or otherwise disclosed so that, in the normal course of business, those events could reasonably have become known to the circles specialised in the sector concerned operating within the Union. Disclosure to a third person under explicit or implicit confidentiality does not count.
In practice, typical disclosure events are:
- presenting a collection at a trade fair or fashion week followed by EU buyers and press;
- publishing the design on a website, social media account or online shop that targets EU customers;
- delivering samples or catalogues to EU retailers without a confidentiality agreement;
- starting sales in any EU Member State.
Showing prototypes to a manufacturer or a buyer under a non-disclosure agreement does not start the term. Keep dated evidence of the first public disclosure: catalogues, invoices, archived web pages, press coverage and trade fair records. If you sue, Article 124(2) requires you to prove that the conditions of Article 12 are met and to indicate what constitutes the individual character of your design.
What happens if you launch outside the EU first?
This is where Latin American and other non-EU brands are most exposed. Everything turns on whether specialised circles in the EU could reasonably have learned of the foreign launch:
- If they could not (for example, a local presentation with no international trade or press reach), that launch does not give rise to an unregistered EU design. You have no EU protection until the design is disclosed in a way that reaches the EU market.
- If they could (for example, an international fair or an online campaign followed by European buyers), the design has been made available to the public, and the start date and scope of any unregistered right become questions of evidence in court.
Either way, a foreign launch can leave a gap in which copies circulate in the EU and you have no clear right to act on. The way to close it is a registered EU design. Your own disclosure does not destroy novelty if you file within 12 months (Article 8(2)); the EUIPO’s summary of the reform notes that this grace period covers earlier disclosures that are identical or do not produce a different overall impression. In addition, a first national filing in Argentina, Mexico or another Paris Convention country gives you six months of priority for the EU filing (Article 49).
Unregistered or registered EU design: what is the difference?
| Feature | Unregistered EU design | Registered EU design |
|---|---|---|
| How it arises | Automatically, on first disclosure within the Union | Application to the EUIPO and registration |
| Term | 3 years, not renewable (Article 12) | 5 years from filing, renewable up to 25 years (Article 13) |
| Scope of the right | Only against copying; independent creation is a defence (Article 20(4)) | Exclusive right, including against independent creations (Article 20(1)) |
| Proof in court | Holder proves disclosure and indicates individual character (Article 124(2)) | Presumed valid; validity challenged by counterclaim (Article 124(1)) |
| Official cost | None | EUR 350 for one design; EUR 125 per additional design (Annex I) |
| Licensing and transactions | Possible, but the asset is harder to document | Recordable in the Register; easier to value and license |
| Basis for priority abroad | No | Yes, six months under the Paris Convention |
Both rights are subject to the same limitations, such as private and experimental use, and to the repair clause for spare parts (Articles 21 and 22). A design may also be protected by copyright if the requirements of copyright law are met (Article 135(2)), and national unfair competition rules continue to apply (Article 135(1)).
When is the unregistered EU design not enough?
- The product will sell for more than three years: classics, core lines, furniture, packaging or industrial products.
- You expect lookalikes from competitors who can argue independent creation, for example when the design follows a trend.
- You want to license, sell or use the design as collateral, or attract investors who will ask for registered assets.
- You plan to protect the design outside the EU: only a filing creates a priority date for Latin American or African offices.
- Your evidence of first disclosure is weak, or the first launch took place outside the EU.
A common strategy in fashion is to rely on the unregistered right for the whole collection and, within the 12-month grace period, register the pieces that sell well. Multiple applications allow up to 50 designs and, as the EUIPO noted on 1 July 2026, they no longer need to belong to the same class (Article 44).
What this means for your business
- Decide, collection by collection, which designs need a registration and which can rely on the unregistered right.
- Plan where the first disclosure happens. If you can, make it an event that clearly reaches the EU market, and document it.
- Diary the 12-month grace period from the first disclosure; after it, your own launch counts against you.
- Use confidentiality agreements with manufacturers, photographers and buyers before launch.
- For designs that will travel to Latin America or Africa, file early enough to use the six-month priority period.
Our team for registered and unregistered EU design protection can map your collections against these deadlines and file the designs that justify it.
Where companies get this wrong
- Treating the unregistered design as a monopoly. Against a competitor who did not copy, it gives no right at all.
- Keeping no evidence. Without dated proof of the first disclosure, a court cannot even fix when the three years started.
- Letting the grace period lapse. Registering 13 months after launch means your own products may be cited against your application.
- Launching abroad first and assuming EU protection follows automatically.
- Forgetting copies already on the market. Enforcement before EU design courts requires preparation, which our IP enforcement team can coordinate.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an unregistered EU design last?
Three years from the date on which the design was first made available to the public within the Union, under Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2026/715. The term cannot be renewed or extended. If you need longer protection, file a registered EU design, which lasts five years from filing and can be renewed up to 25 years.
Does an unregistered EU design protect me if a competitor creates a similar design independently?
No. Under Article 20(4), the holder of an unregistered EU design can only act against uses that result from copying. Use resulting from an independent work of creation by a designer who could reasonably be thought not to know your design does not infringe. A registered EU design gives an exclusive right that also covers independent creations.
Can I still register my design after launching it?
Yes, within 12 months. Article 8(2) provides that a disclosure by the designer or the designer’s successor in title is not taken into account if the application is filed within the 12 months that follow. After that period, your own launch becomes prior art against your application.
Can IP Global Guard decide which of our designs to register?
Yes. We review your launch calendar and collections, identify the designs worth registering, and prepare and coordinate filings before the EUIPO, directly where our professionals are entitled to act and otherwise through qualified representatives, plus Hague or national filings in Latin America and Africa through local correspondents, with one point of contact.
How IP Global Guard can help you protect short-cycle designs
The unregistered EU design is a safety net, not a strategy. IP Global Guard, the intellectual property services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, helps design-driven companies decide what to register, when and where, across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Send us your next launch date, the markets where you will present the collection and the designs you expect to sell for longest. We will tell you which ones need a registration and by when. Contact our design team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its publication date.
Sources
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2026/715 on European Union designs (codification), OJ L of 30 March 2026
- EUIPO, The modernised EU design legal framework is now fully applicable (1 July 2026)
- EUIPO, Decision No EX-26-09 adopting the 2026 Guidelines, designs part (in force 1 July 2026)
- EUIPO, EU designs legislative reform: summary of changes applying from 1 July 2026 (July 2026)
