A design shall be considered to have individual character if the overall impression it produces on an informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any other design which has been disclosed to the public before the filing date for the registration or the date of priority of the design in respect of which the protection is requested.

In assessing the individual character of a design, the degree to which the designer, in developing the design, has been dependent on the nature of the product and the peculiarities of the sector of industry or handicrafts shall be taken into account.