50On that point, it must be stated, first, that the protection of designs, on the one hand, and copyright protection, on the other, pursue fundamentally different objectives and are subject to distinct rules. As the Advocate General observed, in essence, in points 51 and 55 of his Opinion, the purpose of the protection of designs is to protect subject matter which, while being new and distinctive, is functional and liable to be mass‑produced. Further, that protection is to apply for a limited time, but sufficient time to ensure a return on the investment necessary for the creation and production of that subject matter, without thereby excessively restricting competition. For its part, the protection attached to copyright, the duration of which is significantly greater, is reserved to subject matter that merits being classified as works.
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