EU Design Act: designing the future - why the EU Design Act matters for fashion and furniture

What’s new: What can be protected and how?

a) Broadened definition of “design” and “product”

The EU Design Act significantly broadens what qualifies as a “design” and “product” extending protection beyond static forms to include dynamic, animated, and digitally rendered elements, as well as nonphysical goods, including:

• Animations, transitions, movement‑based effect.
• Light‑based or interactive digital visual features.
• Digital representations in photos, videos, and 3D models.
• Digital fashion items, virtual garments, and nontangible assets.
• Spatial arrangements such as store layouts, visual merchandising, runway setups, window displays, and showroom environments - including virtual ones.

b) From runway to registry: smarter protection for Fashion & Furniture

The EU Design Act’s simplified registration system - allowing up to 50 designs in a single multi‑class application - offers fashion and design companies a faster, more cost‑efficient way to protect entire collections, from seasonal garments to coordinated product lines, while the introduction of the Ⓓ symbol gives brands a clearer and more immediate way to signal design protection on both physical items and digital assets, strengthening deterrence against imitation in an industry where speed and visibility are crucial.

• Protect entire collections at once – from runway looks to coordinated furniture lines – thanks to multiclass, multidesign filings.
• Signal protection instantly with the new Ⓓ symbol, helping deter copycats across both apparel and interior design.
• Faster and smarter registration empowers brand to safeguard seasonal drops and design sets without slowing creative cycle.

Why it matters for you

The enhanced possibilities introduced by the new EU Design Act provide fashion and furniture brands with broader, modern protection across physical, digital, and spatial designs, along with stronger tools against copying - from fast‑fashion lookalikes and imitation furnishings to virtual replicas and unauthorized use of signature patterns, shapes, and atmospheres.

How to protect these new designs

The technical standards for representing animated designs are still being finalized, with updates due 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 will be added 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 consumer experience and brand identity in the fashion and furniture fields.

We recommend that you

• Educate teams: Brief design, digital, marketing and merchandising teams.
• Audit assets: Map physical, digital, spatial, and animated elements (keeping in mind the novelty requirement).
• Strategize: Combine physical and digital portfolios.
• Monitor developments: Track the July 2026 technical rules and further category expansions.
• File early: Begin submitting design applications for key features that define the look and feel of your collections.
• Signal protected design status: Consider using the new registration symbol Ⓓ to raise awareness and deter infringers.

We are happy to assist you!

Authored by Alessandra Pannozzo, and Maria Luce Piattelli.