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Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice Advance Access originally published online on December 19, 2006
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 2007 2(1):40-49; doi:10.1093/jiplp/jpl193
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© The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved

Enforcement of Community Designs by Alicante courts: a promising start

José J. Izquierdo Peris *

LEGAL CONTEXT: Within the context of the European Union legal framework of designs, the Community Designs Regulation has been operating since March 2002. Since April 2003, the first Registered Community Designs were published by the Alicante-based OHIM. From the springtime of 2004, the first decisions issued by OHIM related to invalidity of designs were published.

KEY POINTS: Enforcement of Community Designs is a matter for national courts to deal with it, since no Community-wide judicial system was set. National "Community Design Courts", as they are called, were set in each Member State with jurisdiction to hear infringement cases and make decisions with cross-border effect.

PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE: For holders of Community designs, the first cases decided by the Spanish Community Designs Courts are specially relevant since holders have a legitimate expectation, on the basis of the first decisions adopted since September 2004, to see their designs effectively enforced. The consolidation of the Community design system will very much depend on the effectiveness of enforcement by courts like the one in Alicante, which has shown, not only a clear readiness to protect CTM owners, but now also, Community design holders.

Key Words: The Community Design Regulation requires European Union Member States to designate Community Design courts within each jurisdiction, those being the tribunals that will determine issues concerning the infringement of Community designs and before which, as a defence to an infringement action, the invalidity of a Community registered design may be raised. • In Spain, the controversial step was taken of establishing the Community Design Court in Alicante, the seat of OHIM (the organ that grants Community registered designs) rather than in the larger centres of legal and commercial activity in Madrid and Barcelona. • This article reviews the early case law of the Spanish Community Design Court in Alicante and concludes that, while it is too early to conclude that this move was wise or not, the first indications have so far been encouraging.

* Administrator, Assistant to the Director of the Designs Department, OHIM. The opinions expressed in this communication are exclusively those of the author. Any reproduction of a design is made for the purpose of making citations. Email: jose.izquierdo{at}oami.europa.eu


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