广东省贸易摩擦应对综合服务平台
（海外知识产权）

The New European Design Directive No. 2024/2823 came into force on 8 December 2024. From 1 May 2025, it will be possible to file European Union Designs (EUDs), as they will then be known, at the EU IPO under the new European Design Regulation (Amending Regulation 2024/2822). Some of the major changes (e.g. to allow for electronic representations) will not come into force until 1 July 2026, after secondary legislation is enacted. What this secondary legislation contains, as well as the EU IPO's new design guidelines due to be published soon, is eagerly awaited. For now, a good summary of the early procedural changes is available on the EU IPO website at: Design Reform - EUIPO.

新的欧盟外观设计指令第2024/2823号于2024年12月8日生效。自2025年5月1日起，将可以依据新的欧盟外观设计条例（修订条例2024/2822），在欧盟知识产权局提交欧盟外观设计（届时将以此称之）。部分重大变更（例如允许电子形式的展示）要等到2026年7月1日次级立法颁布后才会生效。各方都在热切期待这项次级立法的具体内容，以及欧盟知识产权局即将发布的新外观设计指南。目前，欧盟知识产权局网站（Design Reform - EUIPO）上有关于早期程序变更的详细总结。

We have already commented on the effect the changes in EU Design Law could have in relation to unregistered design rights in the EU in our briefing EU Design Law Reforms & the Protection of Unregistered Design Rights; Is a Fundamental Change Now on the Cards?–J A Kemp. For the rest of this briefing, we focus on another major change, namely, that the 'repair clause' that exempts certain products (spare parts) used to repair more complex products, where certain criteria are met.

在我们的简报《欧盟外观设计法改革与未注册外观设计权的保护：重大变革在即？》（J A Kemp）中，我们已经阐述了欧盟外观设计法的变更可能对欧盟未注册外观设计权产生的影响。在本简报的其余部分，我们将聚焦于另一项重大变化，即“维修条款”。该条款规定，在满足特定标准的情况下，用于维修更复杂产品的某些产品（零部件）可获豁免。

Whilst Article 110 of existing Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 contains a comparable provision, this provision was only transitional where the wording of Article 110 makes it clear that the provision subsists only until such time as amendments to the Regulation enter into force. The new Article 20a of the new European Design Regulation, therefore, marks the permanent introduction of the exclusion from protection of design rights in this area, albeit with an additional requirement that customers are informed that the part is specifically for the purposes of repair and is not an original part.

虽然现行的理事会第6/2002号（EC）条例第110条载有类似规定，但该规定仅为过渡性条款，第110条的措辞明确表明，该规定仅在条例修正案生效前持续有效。因此，新的欧盟外观设计条例第20a条标志着在这一领域永久性地将相关设计排除在设计权保护范围之外，不过还额外要求告知客户该部件是专门用于维修目的，并非原装部件。

In addition, since a repair clause is also included in Article 19 of the new Directive, all EU Member States will be required to implement comparable provisions in their national design legislation. Any EU Member States whose national design legislation does not already include a repair clause will have until 9 December 2032 to give effect to the changes introduced by the Directive (this date marking the end of the relatively generous transitional period provided for by Article 19(4) of the Directive). Once implemented fully, a greater degree of harmonisation will be achieved between EU Member States, including in aligning national design systems with the protection provided at the EU level by EUDs. This is desirable for a number of reasons, not least because it will reduce barriers to trade between Member States but also because it will support greater competition in the EU spare parts market. At the national level, the expansion of the repair clause will be particularly welcomed by manufacturers of spare parts for the automotive sector where, currently, the fragmentation of national design legislation gives rise to uncertainty for both businesses and consumers alike. By way of example, whilst Germany has since 2020 implemented a repair clause in its national design legislation, neighbouring Austria has not. As a result, the current law often gives rise to situations in which a product that is sold in multiple countries within the EU does not infringe a design that is registered at the European Community level but which may infringe an earlier design that is registered nationally (in Austria, for example, but not in Germany).

此外，由于新指令第19条也包含维修条款，所有欧盟成员国都需在其国内外观设计立法中实施类似规定。对于国内外观设计立法尚未纳入维修条款的任何欧盟成员国，需在2032年12月9日前落实该指令所引入的变更（该日期标志着指令第19(4)条所规定的相对宽松的过渡期结束）。全面实施后，欧盟成员国之间将实现更高程度的协调统一，包括使国内外观设计体系与欧盟层面通过欧盟外观设计（EUDs）提供的保护保持一致。这一举措因诸多原因而备受期待，不仅因为它将减少成员国之间的贸易壁垒，还因为它将促进欧盟零部件市场的更大竞争。在国家层面，汽车行业零部件制造商将特别欢迎维修条款的扩展，目前，各国外观设计立法的碎片化给企业和消费者都带来了不确定性。例如，德国自2020年起在其国内外观设计立法中实施了维修条款，而邻国奥地利却没有。因此，现行法律常常导致这样的情况：在欧盟多个国家销售的产品不侵犯在欧盟共同体层面注册的外观设计，但可能侵犯在某个国家（例如奥地利，但不是德国）国内注册的在先外观设计。

In terms of the scope of the 'repair clause' provision, this excludes from design protection replacement parts that are used to restore a complex product to its original appearance. The effect of this clause is to make European Union design rights (in both registered and unregistered forms) unenforceable in certain circumstances. These rights are not lost nor rendered invalid but cannot be relied upon in order to prevent the use of that design by a third party.

就“维修条款”规定的范围而言，该条款将用于使复杂产品恢复其原始外观的替换部件排除在外观设计保护之外。该条款的作用是，在某些情况下，欧盟外观设计权（包括已注册和未注册形式）无法执行。这些权利并未丧失或无效，但不能用以阻止第三方使用该外观设计。

In order to fall under the 'repair clause' exemption/exclusion, the following requirements must also be met:

为符合“维修条款”的豁免/排除规定，还必须满足以下要求：

1.Used exclusively for the purpose of repair

Article 20a, para. 1 – the spare part must be used solely for the purpose of repairing a complex product so as to restore its original appearance. This limits the scope of the repair clause to cases where there is a requirement that any component parts match the original design of the product. This would, for example, extend to and include car doors and car body panels, where these components must be reproduced in a form that is identical to that of the parts being replaced. If this were not permitted, car manufacturers would otherwise secure a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of spare parts.

1. 专门用于维修目的

第20a条第1款——零部件必须仅用于维修复杂产品，以恢复其原始外观。这将维修条款的适用范围限制在要求任何零部件都与产品原始设计相匹配的情形。例如，这会涵盖车门和车身面板，这些部件必须以与被替换部件完全相同的形式进行复制。否则，如果不允许这样做，汽车制造商就会在零部件的制造和销售上获得垄断地位。

2.Requirement to inform customers

2. 告知客户的要求

第20a条第2款——维修条款规定，制造和销售零部件的一方有义务告知客户，其所购买的零部件是专门用于维修的，并非原装部件。这一要求旨在确保消费者不被误导，同时支持公平竞争。然而，这些改革并未要求销售此类零部件的一方确保所售产品实际上不会被用于非维修目的。

3.Part must be visible

Article 20a, para. 1 – the repair clause applies exclusively to parts that are visible once a complex product is assembled. This is clear from the wording included at paragraph 1 of Article 20a where it is stated that the design of the component part must be dependent on the appearance of the complex product. By way of example, a car headlight would fall within the repair clause exclusion, whilst a non-visible, internal part would not.

3. 部件必须是可见的

第20a条第1款——维修条款仅适用于复杂产品组装后可见的部件。这从第20a条第1款的措辞中可以明确看出，其中规定零部件的设计必须取决于复杂产品的外观。例如，汽车前大灯属于维修条款排除的范畴，而不可见的内部部件则不属于。

For the reasons explained above, the introduction of a permanent 'repair clause' seeks to address long-standing issues in the 'aftermarket' sector by allowing third parties to manufacture and sell spare parts for the purposes of repair. In so doing, manufacturers will no longer be able to claim a monopoly over component parts that are sold within the EU for the purpose of restoring a complex product to its original appearance. The clause is therefore seen as a way of promoting competition and affordability in sectors including, in particular, automotive repair, and represents a shift in balancing the interests of design rights holders and independent manufacturers. Whilst the effect of the relatively generous transitional period provided for by Article 19(4) of the Directive is such that full harmonisation between EU Member States (in respect of national rights) will not be realised until 2032, the introduction of a repair clause in the new EU Regulation provides immediate clarity in relation to EUDs.

基于上述原因，引入永久性“维修条款”旨在解决“售后市场”领域长期存在的问题，允许第三方为维修目的制造和销售零部件。这样一来，制造商将无法再对在欧盟境内销售、用于使复杂产品恢复原始外观的零部件主张垄断权。因此，该条款被视为促进竞争、提高特定行业（尤其是汽车维修行业）产品可负担性的一种方式，代表了在平衡设计权所有者与独立制造商利益方面的转变。尽管指令第19(4)条规定的相对宽松的过渡期意味着，直到2032年欧盟成员国之间（在国内权利方面）才能实现完全协调统一，但新欧盟条例中维修条款的引入，即刻明晰了欧盟外观设计（EUDs）相关内容。