The system which includes both unregistered and registered design rights, operates in addition to national systems of protection in each Member State, which are partially harmonised by the Directive on the legal protection of designs (98/71/EC).

A design is defined as "the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture and/or materials of the product itself and/or its ornamentation" (Art. 3).

"The public" in this case is defined as "the circles specialised in the sector concerned".

Eligible designs may be registered within one year of their first being made available to the public: it is also possible to claim "priority" if an application for a registered design right has been made in a country party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention) or the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the six months prior to the application for registration of the Community design.

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