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EU Design Act: Designing the Future - Why the EU Design Act matters for sports, media and entertainment
28 April 2026
The EU Design Act (effective 1 May 2025 with further reforms effective 1 July 2026) has been introduced to strengthen, simplify, and harmonize existing design protection, which will modernize the EU design system and align with EU trademark rules. This new reform will offer design protection that is fit for the era of digital designs and evolving technologies.
But what changes does the reform bring to your business? We address this question in a series of sector-specific articles featured in our "Designing the Future" series. The series started with the video games sector, followed by fashion and furniture, automotive and mobility, medical devices, consumer electronic goods, and food and beverages. In this article, we examine the implications of the reform for sports, media and entertainment.
The changes in EU design law go far beyond administrative tweaks – the reform clearly opens the door to protect the very features that shape consumer experience and brand identity in the field of sports, media and entertainment, offering stronger tools against copycats and other infringements.
Chapter 1
What’s new: What can be protected?
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 assets that are visually perceptible.
For sports, media and entertainment companies, this means that design protection becomes available for
- Animations, transitions and other movement‑based visual effects.
- Character designs and animated figures.
- Visually distinctive objects, scenes or elements appearing in animated films or series.
- Digital and virtual items, including non‑tangible visual assets.
- Virtual environments, such as backgrounds, stadiums, buildings, stylized worlds.
- Cinematic visual effects sequences or recurring VFX motifs.
- Branded AR filters and visual effects used in sports and entertainment apps.
b) Extended protection opportunities for Sports, Media and Entertainment
These new rules provide enhanced protection opportunities within the sports, media and entertainment sectors.
- Merchandise and digital collectibles can be protected.
Design protection covers physical and digital merchandise, virtual items, packaging, surface designs and digitally rendered products.
- Animations and motion graphics qualify as designs.
Animations, transitions, motion logos and broadcast graphics can be protected as dynamic visual assets.
- Screen displays and visualisations may be protected.
Distinctive screen layouts, overlays and data visualisations may qualify where appearance drives visual identity.
- Virtual and immersive environments fall within scope.
Virtual stadiums, backgrounds, stylised worlds and immersive environments can be protected as designs.
- Simplified filing strengthens portfolio protection.
Up to 50 designs can be filed in a single EU application, enabling efficient protection of creative portfolios.
Chapter 2
Why it matters for you
For sports, media and entertainment companies, the new EU Design Act means exclusive protection can now extend to the dynamic visual elements that define fan experience, from iconic character movements and pre‑game animations to branded AR effects, broadcast graphics and immersive digital environments.
Chapter 3
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 design filings using static, dynamic, or animated representations the available technologies, including drawings, images, videos and computer generated models. Further formats will be added and video formats (e.g., MP4) are expected to play a central role for capturing movement, transitions and visual effects.
Chapter 4
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 field of food and beverages.
We recommend that you
- Educate teams: Brief creative, branding and product teams on the expanded scope of design protection, including animated and dynamic elements in animations and certain visualisations.
- Audit assets: Identify key new animations and visualisations that merit protection, bearing in mind the novelty requirement.
- Strategize protection: Develop a filing strategy aligned with your commercial priorities, focusing on protecting your key assets.
- File early: Start filing design applications for key animations and visualisations before public disclosure to secure protection.
- Monitor developments: Keep track of the July 2026 technical rules and further expansion of design categories that may affect your portfolio.
- Signal protected design status: Consider using the new registration symbol Ⓓ to raise awareness and deter infringers.
We are happy to assist you!
Authored by Samantha Brinkhuis.
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