LegalizeCommission Regulation (EC) No 2245/2002 of 21 October 2002 implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on Community designs
The entry of a professional representative in the list referred to in paragraph 1 shall be deleted automatically:
- (a) in the event of the death or legal incapacity of the professional representative;
- (b) where the professional representative is no longer a national of a Member State of the EEA, unless the Executive Director has granted an exemption pursuant to Article 78(6), point (a), of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002;
- (c) where the place of business or employment of the professional representative is no longer in the EEA;
- (d) where the professional representative no longer possesses the entitlement referred to in Article 78(4), point (c), of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.
The entry of a professional representative in the list referred to in paragraph 1 shall be suspended of the Office’s own motion where the entitlement of the professional representative to represent natural or legal persons before the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property or before the central industrial property office of a Member State of the EEA as referred to in Article 78(4), point (c), of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 has been suspended.
A professional representative whose entry has been deleted shall, upon request pursuant to Article 78(5) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, be reinstated in the list referred to in paragraph 1 if the conditions for deletion no longer exist.
The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property and the central industrial property offices of the Member States of the EEA concerned shall, where they are aware thereof, promptly inform the Office of any relevant events referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3.
The amendments to the list referred to in paragraph 1 shall be published in the Official Journal of the Office.
CHAPTER XIII WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS AND FORMS
Article 65
Communication in writing or by other means
Applications for the registration of an EU design as well as any other application or declaration provided for in Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and all other communications addressed to the Office shall be submitted in one of the following ways:
- (a) by submitting a signed original of the document in question to the Office, by post, personal delivery, or by any other means; annexes to documents submitted need not be signed;
- (b) by transmitting a signed original by fax in accordance with Article 66;
- (c) by transmitting the contents of the communication by electronic means in accordance with Article 67.
Article 66
Communication by fax
Where an application for registration of a EU design is submitted by fax and the application contains a reproduction of the design pursuant to Article 4(1) which does not satisfy the requirements of that Article, the required reproduction suitable for registration and publication shall be submitted to the Office in accordance with Article 65(1)(a).
Where the reproduction is received by the Office within a time limit of one month from the date of the receipt of the fax, the application shall be deemed to have been received by the Office on the date on which the fax was received.
Where the reproduction is received by the Office after the expiry of that time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been received by the Office on the date on which the reproduction was received.
Where a communication received by fax is incomplete or illegible, or where the Office has reasonable doubts as to the accuracy of the transmission, the Office shall inform the sender accordingly and shall call upon him/her, within a time limit to be specified by the Office, to retransmit the original by fax or to submit the original in accordance with Article 65(1)(a).
Where that request is complied with within the time limit specified, the date of the receipt of the retransmission or of the original shall be deemed to be the date of the receipt of the original communication, provided that where the deficiency concerns the granting of a filing date for an application to register a EU design, the provisions on the filing date shall apply.
Where the request is not complied with within the time limit specified, the communication shall be deemed not to have been received.
Any communication submitted to the Office by fax shall be considered to be duly signed if the reproduction of the signature appears on the printout produced by the fax.
The Executive Director of the Office may determine additional requirements for communication by fax, such as the equipment to be used, technical details of communication, and methods of identifying the sender.
Article 67
Communication by electronic means
Applications for registration of an EU design may be submitted by electronic means, including the representation of the design.
The conditions shall be laid down by the Executive Director.
The Executive Director shall determine the modalities for communication by electronic means, such as the means to be used, technical details of communication, and methods of identifying the sender.
Where a communication is sent by electronic means, Article 66(2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Where a communication is sent to the Office by electronic means, the indication of the name of the sender shall be deemed to be equivalent to the signature.
Article 68
Forms
The Office shall make available free of charge forms for the purpose of:
- (a) filing an application for a registered EU design;
- (b) applying for the correction of an application or a registration;
- (c) applying for the registration of a transfer and the transfer form and transfer document referred to in Article 23(4);
- (d) applying for the registration of a licence;
- (e) applying for renewal of registration of a registered EU design;
- (f) applying for a declaration of invalidity of a registered EU design;
- (g) applying for restitutio in integrum;
- (h) taking an appeal;
- (i) authorising a representative, in the form of an individual authorisation and in the form of a general authorisation.
The Office may make other forms available free of charge.
The Office shall make available the forms referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 in all the official languages of the Union.
The Office shall place the forms at the disposal of the Benelux Design Office and of the Member States' central industrial property offices free of charge.
The Office may also make available the forms in machine-readable form.
Parties to proceedings before the Office should use the forms provided by the Office, or copies of those forms, or forms with the same content and format as those forms, such as forms generated by means of electronic data processing.
Forms shall be completed in such a manner as to permit an automated input of the content into a computer, such as by character recognition or scanning.
CHAPTER XIV INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC
Article 69
Register of EU designs
In addition to the entries set out in Article 72(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, the Register shall contain the following entries, each accompanied by the date of recording such entry:
- (a) changes in the name or the city and country of the holder;
- (b) the notice of an amendment to the design pursuant to Article 25(6) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, including, if applicable, a reference to the disclaimer made or the court decision or the decision by the Office declaring the partial invalidity of the design right, as well as corrections of mistakes and errors pursuant to Article 20 of this Regulation;
- (c) the grant or transfer of a licence pursuant to Article 16(2) or Article 32 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and, where applicable, the type of licence pursuant to Article 25 of this Regulation.
CHAPTER XV EU DESIGNS BULLETIN AND DATA BASE
Article 70
EU designs Bulletin
The Office shall determine the frequency of the publication of the EU designs Bulletin and the manner in which such publication shall take place.
Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 50(2) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and subject to Articles 14 and 16 of this Regulation relating to deferment of publication, the EU designs Bulletin shall contain publications of registration and of entries made in the Register as well as other particulars relating to registrations of designs whose publication is prescribed by Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 or by this Regulation.
Where particulars whose publication is prescribed in Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 or in this Regulation are published in the EU designs Bulletin, the date of issue shown on the Bulletin shall be taken as the date of publication of the particulars.
The information the publication of which is prescribed in Articles 14 and 16 shall, where appropriate, be published in all the official languages of the Union.
CHAPTER XVII ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION
Article 77
Exchange of information and communications between the Office and the authorities of the Member States
The Office and the central industrial property offices of the Member States and the Benelux Design Office shall, upon request, communicate to each other relevant information about the filing of applications for registered EU designs, Benelux designs or national registered designs and about proceedings relating to such applications and the designs registered as a result thereof. Such communications shall not be subject to the restrictions provided for in Article 74 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.
Communications between the Office and the courts or authorities of the Member States which arise out of the application of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 or this Regulation shall be effected directly between those authorities.
Such communication may also be effected through the central industrial property offices of the Member States or the Benelux Design Office.
Expenditure in respect of communications pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be chargeable to the authority making the communications, which shall be exempt from fees.
Article 78
Inspection of files by or via courts or authorities of the Member States
Inspection of files relating to EU designs applied for or registered EU designs by courts or authorities of the Member States shall if so requested be of the original documents or of copies thereof. Article 74 shall not apply.
Courts or public prosecutors' offices of the Member States may, in the course of proceedings before them, open files or copies thereof transmitted by the Office to inspection by third parties. Such inspection shall be subject to Article 74 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.
The Office shall not charge any fee for inspections pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2.
The Office shall, at the time of transmission of the files or copies thereof to the courts or public prosecutors' offices of the Member States, indicate the restrictions to which the inspection of files relating to EU designs applied for or registered EU designs is subject pursuant to Article 74 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and Article 72 of this Regulation.
CHAPTER XVIII COSTS
Article 79
Apportionment and fixing of costs
Apportionment of costs pursuant to Article 70(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 shall be dealt with in the decision on the application for a declaration of invalidity of a registered EU design, or in the decision on the appeal.
Apportionment of costs pursuant to Article 70(3) and (4) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 shall be dealt with in a decision on costs by the Invalidity Division or the Board of Appeal.
A bill of costs, with supporting evidence, shall be attached to the request for the fixing of costs provided for in the first sentence of Article 70(6) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.
The request shall be admissible only if the decision in respect of which the fixing of costs is required has become final. Costs may be fixed once their credibility is established.
The request provided for in the second sentence of Article 70(6) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 for a review of the decision of the registry on the fixing of costs, stating the reasons on which it is based, must be filed at the Office within one month of the date of notification of the awarding of costs.
It shall not be deemed to be filed until the fee for reviewing the amount of the costs has been paid.
The Invalidity Division or the Board of Appeal, as the case may be, shall take a decision on the request referred to in paragraph 4 without oral proceedings.
The fees to be borne by the losing party pursuant to Article 70(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 shall be limited to the fees incurred by the other party for the application for a declaration of invalidity and/or for the appeal.
Costs essential to the proceedings and actually incurred by the successful party shall be borne by the losing party in accordance with Article 70(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 on the basis of the following maximum rates:
- (a) travel expenses of one party for the outward and return journey between the place of residence or the place of business and the place where oral proceedings are held or where evidence is taken, as follows:
- (i) the cost of the first-class rail fare including usual transport supplements where the total distance by rail does not exceed 800 km;
- (ii) the cost of the tourist-class air fare where the total distance by rail exceeds 800 km or the route includes a sea crossing;
- (b) subsistence expenses of one party equal to the daily subsistence allowance for officials in grades A 4 to A 8 as laid down in Article 13 of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities;
- (c) travel expenses of representatives within the meaning of Article 78(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and of witnesses and of experts, at the rates provided for in point (a);
- (d) subsistence expenses of representatives within the meaning of Article 78(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and of witnesses and experts, at the rates referred to in point (b);
- (e) costs entailed in the taking of evidence in the form of examination of witnesses, opinions by experts or inspection, up to EUR 300 per proceedings;
- (f) costs of representation, within the meaning of Article 78(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002:
- (i) of the applicant in proceedings relating to invalidity of a registered EU design up to EUR 400;
- (ii) of the holder in proceedings relating to invalidity of a registered EU design up to EUR 400;
- (iii) of the appellant in appeal proceedings up to EUR 500;
- (iv) of the defendant in appeal proceedings up to EUR 500;
- (g) where the successful party is represented by more than one representative within the meaning of Article 78(1) of the Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, the losing party shall bear the costs referred to in points (c), (d) and (f) for one such person only;
- (h) the losing party shall not be obliged to reimburse the successful party for any costs, expenses and fees other than those referred to in points (a) to (g).
Where the taking of evidence in any of the proceedings referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph involves the examination of witnesses, opinions by experts or inspection, an additional amount shall be granted for representation costs of up to EUR 600 per proceedings.
CHAPTER XIX LANGUAGES
Article 80
Applications and declarations
Without prejudice to Article 98(4) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002:
- (a) any application or declaration relating to an application for a registered EU design may be filed in the language used for filing the application or in the second language indicated by the applicant in his/her application;
- (b) any application or declaration other than an application for declaration of invalidity pursuant to Article 52 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, or declaration of surrender pursuant to Article 51 of that Regulation relating to a registered EU design may be filed in one of the languages of the Office;
- (c) when any of the forms provided by the Office pursuant to Article 68 is used, such forms may be used in any of the official languages of the Union, provided that the form is completed in one of the languages of the Office, as far as textual elements are concerned.
Article 81
Written proceedings
Without prejudice to Article 98(3) and (5) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and save as otherwise provided in this Regulation, in written proceedings before the Office a party may use any language of the Office.
If the language chosen is not the language of the proceedings, the party shall supply a translation into that language within one month of the date of the submission of the original document.
Where the applicant for a registered EU design is the sole party to proceedings before the Office and the language used for the filing of the application for the registered EU design is not one of the languages of the Office, the translation may also be filed in the second language indicated by the applicant in his/her application.
Save as otherwise provided in this Regulation, documents to be used in proceedings before the Office may be filed in any official language of the Union.
Where the language of such documents is not the language of the proceedings the Office may require that a translation be supplied, within a time limit specified by it, in that language or, at the choice of the party to the proceeding, in any language of the Office.
Article 82
Oral proceedings
Any party to oral proceedings before the Office may, in place of the language of proceedings, use one of the other official languages of the Union, on condition that he/she makes provision for interpretation into the language of proceedings.
Where the oral proceedings are held in a proceeding concerning the application for registration of a design the applicant may use either the language of the application or the second language indicated by him/her.
In oral proceedings concerning the application for registration of a design, the staff of the Office may use either the language of the application or the second language indicated by the applicant.
In all other oral proceedings, the staff of the Office may use, in place of the language of the proceedings, one of the other languages of the Office, on condition that the party or parties to the proceedings agree(s) to such use.
With regard to the taking of evidence, any party to be heard, witness or expert who is unable to express himself/herself adequately in the language of proceedings, may use any of the official languages of the Union.
Where the taking of evidence is decided upon following a request by a party to the proceedings, parties to be heard, witnesses or experts who express themselves in languages other than the language of proceedings may be heard only if the party who made the request makes provision for interpretation into that language.
In proceedings concerning the application for registration of a design, in place of the language of the application, the second language indicated by the applicant may be used.
In any proceedings with only one party, the Office may at the request of the party concerned permit derogation from the provisions in this paragraph.
If the parties and the Office so agree, any official language of the Union may be used in oral proceedings.
The Office shall, if necessary, make provision at its own expense for interpretation into the language of proceedings, or, where appropriate, into its other languages, unless this interpretation is the responsibility of one of the parties to the proceedings.
Statements by staff of the Office, by parties to the proceedings and by witnesses and experts, made in one of the languages of the Office during oral proceedings shall be entered in the minutes in the language employed. Statements made in any other language shall be entered in the language of proceedings.
Corrections to the application for or the registration of a EU design shall be entered in the minutes in the language of proceedings.
Article 83
Certification of translations
When a translation of any document is to be filed, the Office may require the filing, within a time limit to be specified by it, of a certificate that the translation corresponds to the original text.
Where the certificate relates to the translation of a previous application pursuant to Article 42 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002, such time limit shall not be less than three months after the date of filing of the application.
Where the certificate is not filed within that time limit, the document shall be deemed not to have been received.
The Executive Director of the Office may determine the manner in which translations are certified.
Article 84
Legal authenticity of translations
In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Office may assume that a translation corresponds to the relevant original text.
CHAPTER XX RECIPROCITY, TRANSITION PERIOD AND ENTRY INTO FORCE
Article 85
Publication of reciprocity
If necessary, the Executive Director of the Office shall request the Commission to enquire whether a State which is not party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or to the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation grants reciprocal treatment within the meaning of Article 41(5) Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.
If the Commission determines that reciprocal treatment in accordance with paragraph 1 is granted, it shall publish a communication to that effect in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
Article 41(5) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 shall apply from the date of publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities of the communication referred to in paragraph 2, unless the communication states an earlier date from which it is applicable.
Article 41 (5) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 shall cease to be applicable from the date of publication in the *Official Journal of the European Communities* of a communication of the Commission stating that reciprocal treatment is no longer granted, unless the communication states an earlier date from which it is applicable.
Communications referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall also be published in the Official Journal of the Office.
Article 86
Transition period
Any application for registration of a EU design filed no more than three months before the date fixed pursuant to Article 111(2) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 shall be marked by the Office with the filing date determined pursuant to that provision and with the actual date of receipt of the application.
With regard to the application, the priority period of six months provided for in Articles 41 and 44 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 shall be calculated from the date fixed pursuant to Article 111(2) of that Regulation.
The Office may issue a receipt to the applicant prior to the date fixed pursuant to Article 111(2) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002.
The Office may examine the applications prior to the date fixed pursuant to Article 111(2) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 and communicate with the applicant with a view to remedying any deficiencies prior to that date.
Any decisions with regard to such applications may be taken only after that date.
Where the date of receipt of an application for the registration of a EU design by the Office, by the central industrial property office of a Member State or by the Benelux Design Office is before the commencement of the three-month period specified in Article 111(3) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 the application shall be deemed not to have been filed.
The applicant shall be informed accordingly and the application shall be sent back to him/her.
Article 87
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
[^E0002]: OJ L 386, 29.12.2006, p. 30, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2006/954/oj.
[^E0003]: OJ L 11, 14.1.1994, p. 1.
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