The new European Design Regulation (the Amending Regulation on Community designs no. 2024/2822) comes into effect on 1 May 2025, bringing with it some significant changes to the fees due in relation to European registered designs.

Changes to payment of filing fees of European registered designs

Currently, applicants must pay a registration fee and a publication fee. However, the new regulations will introduce a flat fee encompassing both the registration and publication fees.

Application fee	Application fee for designs filed before 1 May 2025 (EUR per design)	Application fee for designs filed on or after 1 May 2025 (EUR per design)
Registration	230	350
Publication	120	N/A

 

It is worth noting that under the current system, applicants can prevent publication of their design by non-payment of the publication fee. From 1 May 2025, it will no longer be possible for applicants to prevent publication in this manner as failure to pay the publication fee upon filing will lead to the application being rejected. Instead, they will need to explicitly state the designs they do not want to publish.

Changes to payment of renewal fees of European registered designs

At present, renewal fees for European registered designs fall due on the last day of the month in which protection expires. However, from 1 May 2025, renewal fees will fall due on actual expiry date of the design. The six-month grace period within which the applicant may validly pay the renewal fee with a surcharge will also be calculated from the actual expiry date and not the last day of the month.

For example, if a European design was registered on 17 March 2020, the renewal fee will fall due 31 March 2025. The applicant would then have a six-month grace period calculated from the 31 March 2025 within which they could validly pay the renewal fee with a surcharge.

However, if a European design was registered on 17 May 2020, the renewal fee will fall due on 17 May 2025 after the introduction of the new regulations. The applicant will then have a six-month grace period calculated from 17 May 2025 within which they could validly pay the renewal fee with a surcharge.

Renewal fees for European registered designs, in particular for the third and fourth periods of renewal, will also increase significantly. Renewal requests filed on or before 1 May 2025 will still be charged at the current lower rates whereas renewal requests filed after 1 May 2025 will be charged at the increased rates noted in the table below:

Renewal Fee	Renewal fee for requests received before 1 May 2025 (EUR per design)	Renewal fee for requests received on or after 1 May 2025 (EUR per design)
for the first period of renewal	90	150
for the second period of renewal	120	250
for the third period of renewal	150	400
for the fourth period of renewal	180	700

 

Renewal fees may be validly paid within the six-month period leading up to the renewal date of a European registered design. In light of the significant increase, where possible applicants whose European registered designs are due for renewal before the end of November 2025 are advised to pay renewal fees early to benefit from being charged at the lower rate. If this is of interest to you, please contact your usual Wilson Gunn attorney for advice.