Within the framework of the convergence program of the EUIPO and the national offices for a common practice in a project concerning the requirements for graphic representations of designs, guidelines were developed and published in a Joint Communication of 15 April 2016.

The purpose of this project was to develop a common practice and common guidelines on the requirements of the application process for the graphic rendering of designs. The focus of the project were the graphical definitions of protection restrictions ( “disclaimer”) as well as the permissible types of views and the assessment criteria for a neutral background.

The guidelines of the communication will be implemented by the German Patent and Trademark Office as of 15 July 2016 in the design entry procedure.

The contents and results of the project can be found in the joint communication.