The European Design Regulation (the Amending Regulation on Community designs no. 2024/2822) (the "EUDR") was published in November 2024 and is due to apply from 1 May 2025, with secondary legislation to apply from 1 July 2026.

The changes modernise the design rights regime considerably and are especially relevant to interactive entertainment platforms which provide players with tools to build virtual assets themselves.

Virtual assets

The definition of 'product' now explicitly includes non-physical items, stating that a product can be "any industrial or handicraft item other than computer programs, regardless of its physical embodiment". The statutory definition now includes sets of articles, spatial arrangements of items, parts included for complex products, symbols, logos and surface patterns, in addition to graphical user interfaces (GUI).

It is worth noting that under the existing position, reflected in the harmonised UK Registered Designs Act 1949 (RDA), a "product" already includes certain intangible items, namely graphic symbols and typographic typefaces (s. 1 RDA).

As such, it is already possible to obtain design registration in the EU and UK for various intangibles such as a GUI, which can be an important (but sometimes underused) tool, particularly in the mobile gaming market, as protection against "look alike" games. It is also already possible to obtain registrations for characters and in-game items as graphic symbols.

This new definition will ensure that virtual assets, which are increasingly significant in the interactive entertainment industry, are comprehensively protected under the EU regime and provide futureproofing for technological developments.

We can expect that the explicit broadening of protection under the EUDR will lead to an increase in filings for digital items in the EU. The above points are worth bearing in mind for companies who might also wish to seek protection for those digital assets in the UK.

Animated designs

Similarly, the definition of 'design' has been broadened by the EUDR to include animation, which encompasses progressive changes in design features, with or without retaining their identity. This will include both movement and transition, recognising the dynamic nature of digital designs in the interactive entertainment space. By explicitly including animations within the scope of the EUDR, the new regime acknowledges the evolving nature of digital content and provides robust protection for these dynamic elements.

The EUDR also does away with the seven-view limit that currently applies to design filings. Under the current system (which will continue in the UK, although 12 views are permitted here), applicants must file a series of snapshots representing the animated sequence or other moving design (including GUI) for which protection is sought. This can present challenges when seeking to ensure the design is clearly and consistently represented.

The expectation is that secondary legislation following the EUDR will allow applicants to file videos and other digital files, greatly simplifying the application process for animated designs, and providing greater certainty to third parties interpreting the design.

Relevance to the UK video gaming industry

The changes introduced by the EUDR are particularly relevant for games studios, both from the perspective of developers, brands and for individual players who create virtual assets within platforms. While the EUDR is an EU regulation, UK studios with operations or markets in the EU will need to be aware of these changes and consider how they impact their wider intellectual property (IP) strategies.

• User-Generated Content: Players creating assets in-game can now apply for their own design rights, providing greater protection against other users. This empowers users to protect their creations and fosters a more secure environment for innovation. Operators of these gaming platforms should consider their current EULA terms for player ownership of User-Generated Content, and concerning re-use of such items, with these potential developments in mind.

• Developers: The new regime opens up the possibility for game developers to apply for design rights in respect of the assets they create. For games studios, ensuring that all virtual assets created by employees and contractors alike are owned by the studio and are properly protected will be crucial to their wider IP strategy. It will be crucial for studios to ensure that their contracts with contractors and employees contain the necessary IP protections to ensure that the studio owns all IP created by employees and contractors in a work capacity.

• Brand owners: It will now be possible for brand owners to protect their digital goods supplied solely in virtual environments, including video games. This will provide increased certainty to businesses operating in the market for skins and other similar items.

• Game mechanics: The ability to file digital copies of animations will offer a new avenue for protecting video game mechanic sequences which might not be registrable as trade marks. When similar changes were made to EU trade mark law in 2015 (Directive 2015/2436), this paved the way for multimedia trade marks. We saw applications from the gaming industry such as the widely-reported trade mark application no. 017282203, which (although ultimately refused on distinctiveness and morality grounds) sought to protect 25 seconds of footage from a shooter game "kill-cam" mechanic.

As designs are assessed on different grounds (although still taking account of public morality), it may now be possible to obtain registrations for appropriate mechanics through this alternative route.

Further changes

Other changes introduced by the legislation which will be relevant to interactive entertainment platforms include:

• Increased Renewal Fees: From 1 May 2025, increased renewal fees will apply to third and fourth renewals, reflecting the growing value and importance of design rights over time.

• Expanded Application Systems: The application systems will be expanded to permit concurrent applications for multiple designs, regardless of whether those designs fall within the same Locarno class. This change simplifies the process for registering multiple designs, making it more efficient and cost-effective.

• Enhanced Protection for 3D Printing: Enhanced protection will be available for design rights holders whose rights are infringed via 3D printing technologies. This includes creating, downloading, copying, sharing, or distributing any medium or software that records the design, addressing the growing use of 3D printing.

• New Design Registration Symbol: Design rights will be protected by a new design registration symbol ( ). This symbol will help raise awareness about design protection and facilitate the marketing of registered designs.

• Renaming Community Designs: Community Designs will be renamed to European Union Designs across the board, harmonising nomenclature with the system adopted in the European Trade Mark systems. This change aligns the terminology with the Lisbon Treaty and reflects the broader scope of the regulation.

• New Defence: The EUDR introduces a new defence for acts carried out for the purpose of comment, critique or parody, which will bring EU registered design infringement into line with copyright infringement. This will be of interest to companies who feature real world items in their video games for these purposes. Companies will need to be mindful that, as is the case for copyright, strict conditions will apply to the application of these defences. Case law can be expected to refine what each of comment, critique and parody mean for the purposes of registered designs in due course. In the meantime, the EUDR already states that use for these purposes must be compatible with fair trade practices and not unduly prejudice the normal exploitation of the design. Another point to bear in mind, is that this change will not vary the position in the UK, where no such defence currently applies.

These updates to the design rights regime represent a significant step forward in protecting digital and virtual assets, ensuring that creators and developers in the interactive entertainment industry can safeguard their innovations effectively.