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The Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union
A Registered Community Design is valid for five years from the date of filing of the application. It can be renewed up to four times, each time for five years, giving a total period of protection of 25 years.
The procedure
At least six months before the expiry of the registration, OHIM will inform the proprietor or his representative or any other registered right holder(s), in writing, that the registration is going to be due for renewal.
An application for renewal must be submitted and the renewal fee must be paid within a period of six months before the expiry date and may be submitted until the last day of the month in which protection ends.
If no application is filed within the time limit, late renewal is still possible within an additional period of six months. The late application for renewal must be submitted and the renewal fee + a 25% surcharge must be paid within a further period of six months. This period starts from the date until which a first request for renewal was possible.
If no application for renewal has been submitted, or is submitted after expiry of the ‘additional period’, OHIM will inform the RCD proprietor, in writing, that the RCD is cancelled from the Register and a notice will be published in the RCD Bulletin.
Should the RCD holder not agree with the cancellation of the RCD from the Register due to non renewal, he/she still has the possibility to request the Office to issue a decision on the matter.
How to renew
You can either renew an RCD yourself or ask your representative to do it for you. The application can be submitted either via OHIM’s e-renewal system or by filing the paper form. The electronic system will guide you through all the steps necessary and automatically calculate the required fee.
Once the RCD has been renewed, OHIM will inform the RCD holder or his representative in writing. The renewal will take effect on the day following the date on which the existing registration expires. The RCD Register will be updated and a notice will be published in the RCD Bulletin.
Renewal of a multiple registration
If you are filing via e-renewal or the paper form, you can indicate if you wish to renew all the designs covered by a multiple registration or only some designs.
Costs
The renewal fees are:
What happens if an RCD is not renewed?
If an RCD is not renewed, it will be marked as expired approximately two weeks after the end of the additional period. The cancellation, however, will be effective from the day following the day on which the registration expired. OHIM will inform the RCD proprietor in writing, that the RCD is cancelled from the Register and an entry will be published in the RCD Bulletin.