EU-ASEAN High-Level Study Visit to Europe on Industrial Designs,” Alicante, 28-29 June, 2004

During the last week of June, the heads along with senior officials of ASEAN IP offices visited OHIM to gain first hand insight on the establishment and implementation of the Registered Community Design system (RCD) that came into operation on 1 April 2003.

With the accomplishment of a single market in the European Union, and in particular the free movement of goods and services, impetus has centred on the creation of complementary legal instruments that provide exclusive regional protection for trade mark and design right holders.  In this context, both the Community trade mark and design were created as regional industrial property rights to meet the needs of exporters whose business strategies lie within the European Union.

Focusing on the tendency of pursuing greater economic integration, the aim of this study visit was to share the European experience of establishing and realising the Community design system.  The initial prerequisite was the harmonization of design legislation among the EU Member States.  As such the transposition of the European Designs Directive into national legislation paved the way for the adoption of the EC Community Design Regulations and thus the creation of the RCD, which is administered by OHIM – the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market.

In addition to the legislative framework, the study visit  also provided for presentations and roundtable discussions on the practical implications of administering a regional design system, the procedural aspects that are applied by the OHIM, as well as the mechanisms that are in place to deal with disputes and post-registration proceedings.

Following this event, the 4th Programme Committee Meetings was held at OHIM’s seat in Alicante, where the third ECAP II regional and national annual Work Plans were discussed.

Moreover, with this being the first regional event to take place in Spain, and thus bringing together senior figures from the ASEAN IP Offices, the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office welcomed all delegations on the 2nd of July in Madrid.

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