Applied arts, and in particular industrial design, have always played an important
role in
human life. During the evolution of human societies
,
the reasons for protecting intellectual
creations or products have been identified, such as providing a financial incentive for the
creator or an opportunity to invest in business.
In Greece, for seventy years it has been
attempted by the legal system to protect the above creations by either the Copyright Act, as
works of applied arts, or the provisions on unfair competition. In 1997, a special law for
industrial designs and models was voted.
The
current legal regime of the protection of
industrial designs and models in Greece is characterized by the interface of two different laws:
copyright law and industrial design law. A design in order to be qualified as a work of applied
arts needs to be original, whereas in order to be qualified as an industrial design needs to be
new and have individual character.
The interpretation of the above concepts is largely made
by the national courts and by the European
Court of Justice.
The application of one or the
other law in one case mainly results in different time protection of the design as well as
compliance with formalities or not. Consolidation of the different branches of intellectual
property law could be the substance of the various issues that arise.
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