More is More: Design Protection for Upcycling

In response to the urgent global environmental crisis, policymakers have embraced the concept of a Circular Economy (CE), which aims to redefine the traditional linear model of production and consumption. However, current EU design law falls short of the objectives of the CE. This misalignment is primarily due to incentives that prioritize short-term gains over long-term sustainability. Under the current system, producers benefit most from increased sales volume, leading to practices such as planned obsolescence, which reduces product longevity and exacerbates negative externalities like overconsumption, pollution, and waste. Yet, the design phase is crucial in the process of developing and producing tangible products, with 80% of a product’s environmental impact being determined during that phase.