Dealing with Community designs as national design rights
1. Unless Articles 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32 provide otherwise, a Community design as an object of property shall be dealt with in its entirety, and for the whole area of the Community, as a national design right of the Member State in which:
(a) the holder has his seat or his domicile on the relevant date; or
(b) where point (a) does not apply, the holder has an establishment on the relevant date.
2. In the case of a registered Community design, paragraph 1 shall apply according to the entries in the register.
3. In the case of joint holders, if two or more of them fulfil the condition under paragraph 1, the Member State referred to in that paragraph shall be determined:
(a) in the case of an unregistered Community design, by reference to the relevant joint holder designated by them by common agreement;
(b) in the case of a registered Community design, by reference to the first of the relevant joint holders in the order in which they are mentioned in the register.
4. Where paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 do not apply, the Member State referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the Member State in which the seat of the Office is situated.
Transfer of the registered Community design
The transfer of a registered Community design shall be subject to the following provisions:
(a) at the request of one of the parties, a transfer shall be entered in the register and published;
(b) until such time as the transfer has been entered in the register, the successor in title may not invoke the rights arising from the registration of the Community design;
(c) where there are time limits to be observed in dealings with the Office, the successor in title may make the corresponding statements to the Office once the request for registration of the transfer has been received by the Office;
(d) all documents which by virtue of Article 66 require notification to the holder of the registered Community design shall be addressed by the Office to the person registered as holder or his representative, if one has been appointed.
Rights in rem on a registered Community design
1. A registered Community design may be given as security or be the subject of rights in rem.
2. On request of one of the parties, the rights mentioned in paragraph 1 shall be entered in the register and published.
Levy of execution
1. A registered Community design may be levied in execution.
2. As regards the procedure for levy of execution in respect of a registered Community design, the courts and authorities of the Member State determined in accordance with Article 27 shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
3. On request of one of the parties, levy of execution shall be entered in the register and published.
Insolvency proceedings
1. The only insolvency proceedings in which a Community design may be involved shall be those opened in the Member State within the territory of which the centre of a debtor's main interests is situated.
2. In the case of joint proprietorship of a Community design, paragraph 1 shall apply to the share of the joint proprietor.
3. Where a Community design is involved in insolvency proceedings, on request of the competent national authority an entry to this effect shall be made in the register and published in the Community Designs Bulletin referred to in Article 73(1).
Licensing
1. A Community design may be licensed for the whole or part of the Community. A licence may be exclusive or non-exclusive.
2. Without prejudice to any legal proceedings based on the law of contract, the holder may invoke the rights conferred by the Community design against a licensee who contravenes any provision in his licensing contract with regard to its duration, the form in which the design may be used, the range of products for which the licence is granted and the quality of products manufactured by the licensee.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions of the licensing contract, the licensee may bring proceedings for infringement of a Community design only if the right holder consents thereto. However, the holder of an exclusive licence may bring such proceedings if the right holder in the Community design, having been given notice to do so, does not himself bring infringement proceedings within an appropriate period.
4. A licensee shall, for the purpose of obtaining compensation for damage suffered by him, be entitled to intervene in an infringement action brought by the right holder in a Community design.
5. In the case of a registered Community design, the grant or transfer of a licence in respect of such right shall, at the request of one of the parties, be entered in the register and published.
Effects vis-à-vis third parties
1. The effects vis-à-vis third parties of the legal acts referred to in Articles 28, 29, 30 and 32 shall be governed by the law of the Member State determined in accordance with Article 27.
2. However, as regards registered Community designs, legal acts referred to in Articles 28, 29 and 32 shall only have effect vis-à-vis third parties in all the Member States after entry in the register. Nevertheless, such an act, before it is so entered, shall have effect vis-à-vis third parties who have acquired rights in the registered Community design after the date of that act but who knew of the act at the date on which the rights were acquired.
3. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to a person who acquires the registered Community design or a right concerning the registered Community design by way of transfer of the whole of the undertaking or by any other universal succession.
4. Until such time as common rules for the Member States in the field of insolvency enter into force, the effects vis-à-vis third parties of insolvency proceedings shall be governed by the law of the Member State in which such proceedings are first brought under the national law or the regulations applicable in this field.
The application for a registered Community design as an object of property
1. An application for a registered Community design as an object of property shall be dealt with in its entirety, and for the whole area of the Community, as a national design right of the Member State determined in accordance with Article 27.
2. Articles 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 33 shall apply mutatis mutandis to applications for registered Community designs. Where the effect of one of these provisions is conditional upon an entry in the register, that formality shall be performed upon registration of the resulting registered Community design.
TITLE IV
APPLICATION FOR A REGISTERED COMMUNITY DESIGN
Section 1
Filing of applications and the conditions which govern them
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
