EU Design Act: Designing the future - why the EU Design Act matters for automotive and mobility

What’s new: What can be protected?

The EU Design Act introduces new opportunities for design protection: graphical user interfaces (GUIs), animations & motion, including lighting effects, as well as nonphysical, digital products and spaces can now be protected by a design:

• Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)

GUIs in modern cars have transformed vehicle interiors into digital, interactive environments focusing on safety, connectivity and entertainment. With the reforms, protection now extends to:

• Menus, navigation and vehicle control systems.
• Driver assistance and vehicle charging interfaces.
• Animated screen displays.
• Distinctive visual styles that define car identity and driver experience.

• Animations & motion, including lighting effects

Under the new EU design regime, dynamic 3D reproductions of vehicle interiors and exteriors and elements, such as animations and lighting effects, can also be registered, including:

• Exterior lighting designs.
• Car interior lighting systems.
• 3D vehicle animations.
• Unique transitions or vehicle effects, such as driving mode transitions or parking assistance animations.

• Digital products & digital spaces

EU design protection now expressly extends to nonphysical products and digital spaces, such as:

• AR/VR experiences in connected vehicles, such as parking cameras with overlays.
• Remote vehicle interaction systems.
• Digital twin technologies.

New repair clause: What cannot be protected?

The new EU design regime excludes from protection the so-called “must match” parts, which are form-dependent component parts used for repair purposes to restore the original appearance of vehicles.

There is a transitional period until 9 December 2032, during which existing national design rights protecting such component parts can still enjoy protection.

Why it matters for you

Under the new EU design regime, automotive companies can protect far more than static visuals. Exclusive rights may extend to the entire look and feel of vehicle exteriors and interiors, including lighting effects (using dynamic 3D reproductions, animations, movements or interactions), GUIs and user interface systems that are unique and carry consumer recognition and digital products and digital spaces, including AR/VR environments that shape driver experience. This strengthens the ability to fight back against unauthorized imitations and copycats.

How to protect these new designs

The technical standards for representing dynamic and animated designs will be finalized by 1 July 2026.

Article 26 of the EU Design Directive already allows for static, dynamic, or animated representations using generally available technologies: drawings, photos, videos, or computer models. Further formats of reproduction will be added and 3D reproductions (e.g. OBJ and STL) and video formats (e.g. MP4) are expected to play a central role.

What we recommend

The reform provides an opportunity to refine your design protection strategy and fully utilize the new options to legally secure the features that shape driver experience and vehicle identity and shield them from unauthorized use and copycats.

We recommend that you

• Educate teams: Brief product development teams and patent design teams on the new possibilities for using dynamic and animated reproductions for design protection in the EU.
• Audit assets: Identify core new vehicle models, their key elements, GUIs and unique effects that may be eligible for dynamic or animated protection (keeping in mind the novelty requirement).
• Strategize: Develop filing strategies for securing an extra layer of design protection in the EU, while new design formats may still not be available in other jurisdictions.
• Monitor developments: Track the July 2026 technical rules and further category expansions.
• File early: Begin submitting design applications for key visual features that define the look and feel of your vehicles.
• Signal protected design status: Consider using the new registration symbol Ⓓ to raise awareness and deter infringers.

We are happy to assist you!

Authored by Anna Glinke and Šárka Pětivlasová.