Multistate infringement of design rights: jurisdiction and applicable law - the European approach

This chapter deals with questions of jurisdiction and applicable law in situations where the design right is protected in more than one country. The focus of the presentation is on the legal situation in the European Union, where protection for designs is available through the unitary Community design obtained through registration at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) as Registered Community Design or through first disclosure in the EU resulting in an Unregistered Community Design or in each of the EU Member States through registration. Jurisdiction for actions for infringement of multiple national design rights is governed by the Brussels I Regulation. Actions may be brought in the Member State where the defendant is domiciled and in the Member State where acts of infringement are or may be committed. Jurisdiction in cases of infringement of Community designs lies with special national courts named Community Design Courts. These courts have plenary EU-wide competence when the action is brought in the Member State of the defendant’s domicile, or, in the absence of a domicile, where the defendant has an establishment, or, in the absence of both, where the claimant is domiciled or, if not, established. If all these connection are missing, the action may be brought in the courts of Spain as the country where the EUIPO is established.