This chapter considers the way in which design right comes into being, whether by registration in the case of registered designs in the United Kingdom or automatically in the case of unregistered designs. It also discusses the conditions that must be satisfied for an unregistered design right to arise, as well as the procedures for applying for national registered design protection in the UK. The chapter also explains the ramifications of Brexit for design protection in the UK.
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Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
Chapter
This chapter discusses designs law, which is a collection of legal rights that can protect designers of products from having the appearance or shape of their products copied, or give them a monopoly over the commercial exploitation of a shape. Designs law is not about any literary or musical content recorded on a product—that will be protected by copyright. Similarly, the underlying technological ideas may be protected by a patent. In the UK, copyright in designs cannot be used to prevent designs for everyday, functional articles from being copied; only artistic designs can be protected by copyright. Design right protects non-artistic designs and registered designs, and protects designs which are new and of individual character by a monopoly right that lasts 25 years. Registered designs law has been harmonized by the European Union.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the law of registered designs. It explains the international treaty context for design law, and then considers the substantive law of registered designs in the UK and at an EU level, looking together at UK registered design protection and the Community registered design. Issues considered include: what designs may be validly registered, exclusions from protection, treatment of spare parts and component parts of complex products, challenging the validity of a registration, rights conferred by registration, and defences to infringement. The chapter also looks briefly at the interaction between registered design protection and other IP rights, in particular copyright.
Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter considers the requirements for a design to be protected, with particular reference to the requirement that there be a design. It begins by outlining the requirements for validity before turning to the definition of ‘design’ with respect to registered designs in the UK as well as unregistered designs, citing three key elements of this definition: appearance, features, and product. It also examines three types of design that are excluded from the very broad definition of design: designs dictated solely by technical function; designs for products that must be produced in a specific way to enable them to connect to another product; and designs that are contrary to morality or public policy.
Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter deals with the conditions under which copyright law might protect designs as well as the limitations on the term of design protection. It first considers the subsistence of copyright in designs via two routes: either directly, by protecting the form and decoration of articles as artistic works (particularly sculptures, engravings, or works of artistic craftsmanship), or indirectly, by protecting the author of a preliminary document on which a design is based. It then discusses the limitation on protection afforded by design documents in section 51 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter considers the way in which design right comes into being, whether by registration in the case of registered designs in the UK and in the European Union, or automatically in the case of unregistered Community designs. It also discusses the conditions that must be satisfied for an unregistered Community design right to arise, as well as the procedures for applying for national registered design protection in the UK and in the European Union.
Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter deals with the conditions under which copyright law might protect designs as well as the limitations on the term of design protection. It first considers the subsistence of copyright in designs via two routes: either directly, by protecting the form and decoration of articles as artistic works (particularly sculptures, engravings, or works of artistic craftsmanship), or indirectly, by protecting the author of a preliminary document on which a design is based. It then discusses section 52 of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, which limited the term of protection of copyright for mass-produced designs to twenty-five years, and its demise.
Chapter
Aesthetic designs are protected under the provisions of the Registered Designs Act 1949, while functional designs are governed by the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This chapter discusses the natural overlap between design law and copyright, and the influence of the law reform in s. 51 CDPA 1988 on the defence created in the British Leyland case. It also looks at the reform of s. 52 CDPA 1988.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the law of registered designs. It explains the international treaty context for design law, outlines the history of European harmonisation in this field, and considers the implications of Brexit for registered design protection. It reviews the substantive law of registered designs in the UK, and across the EU in the form of the Community registered design. Issues considered include: what designs may be validly registered, exclusions from protection, treatment of spare parts and component parts of complex products, challenging the validity of a registration, rights conferred by registration, and defences to infringement. The chapter also looks briefly at the interaction between registered design protection and other IP rights, in particular copyright.
Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter focuses on the unregistered Design Right as a means of protecting designs in the United Kingdom under Part III of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It begins by considering the subsistence of the Design Right, with emphasis on the requirement that there be a ‘design’ and exclusions to design protection by the unregistered design right. The chapter then discusses issues of ownership, duration, and infringement as well as the defences that are available in cases of infringement of unregistered designs.
Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter considers the requirements for a design to be protected, with particular reference to the requirement that there be a design. It begins by outlining the requirements for validity that are set out in Article 25(1) of the Community Design Regulation before turning to the definition of ‘design’ with respect to registered designs in the UK and the European Union as well as unregistered Community designs, citing three key elements of this definition: appearance, features, and product. It also examines three types of design that are excluded from the very broad definition of design: designs dictated solely by technical function; designs for products that must be produced in a specific way to enable them to connect to another product; and designs that are contrary to morality or public policy.
Book
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. Intellectual Property Concentrate is the essential study and revision guide for intellectual property law students. The clear, succinct coverage enables you to quickly grasp the fundamental principles of this area of law and helps you to succeed in exams. After an introduction to intellectual property and common themes, the book covers: copyright; computer programs and databases; moral rights; performers’ rights; trade secrets and confidential information; patents; designs; and passing-off and trade marks. Written by experts and covering all the key topics so you can approach your exams with confidence, the book is: clear, concise, and easy to use, helping you get the most out of your revision; full of learning features and tips to show you how best to impress your examiner; and accompanied by online resources including multiple-choice questions and interactive flashcards to test your understanding of topics. Its ‘Exam essentials’ feature prepares you for your intellectual property law exam by giving help and guidance on how to approach questions, structure answers, and avoid common pitfalls.
Chapter
L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
This chapter focuses on unregistered design right as a means to protect designs in the UK under Part III of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It begins by considering the subsistence of the UK unregistered design right, with emphasis on the requirement that there be a ‘design’ and exclusions to design protection by the unregistered design right. It then discusses issues of ownership, duration, and infringement as well as the defences available in cases of infringement of unregistered designs. The chapter concludes with a brief explanation of sui generis right involving semiconductor chips.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the conditions that a work must meet for it to attract copyright. Copyright will only exist if a work comes within the scope of a category of works defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The first set of categories requires some level of originality, and comprises literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. A second set involves mainly entrepreneurial rights. Originality as such is not required; often, these are derivative rights. This category includes films, sound recordings, broadcasts, and typographical arrangements of published editions.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the law on unregistered designs. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 defines unregistered designs as the design of any aspect of the shape or configuration (whether internal or external) of the whole, or part, of an item. In order to secure protection, such a design must be original, in the sense that it should not be commonplace in the design field in question at the time of its creation. Unregistered design rights roughly offer 15 years of protection, during which the right holder has the exclusive right to reproduce the design for commercial purposes. Infringement consists in anyone making an item to the design without authorization and in the making of a design document that records the design for the purposes of enabling someone else to make items to it, again without authorization.
Book
Lionel Bently, Brad Sherman, Dev Gangjee, and Phillip Johnson
Intellectual Property Law provides a detailed analysis of intellectual property law with reference to a wide range of academic opinion, giving a broad context for exploring the key principles of the subject. The book covers a number of areas of intellectual property law including copyright, patents, the legal regulation of designs, trade marks and passing off, confidential information, misuse of private information, and litigation and remedies. In this sixth edition, the introduction has been updated to take account of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. Important developments covered include CJEU decisions on the concept of a copyright work, communication to the public, digital exhaustion and defences, and the Court of Appeal’s analysis of joint authorship.
Book
Stavroula Karapapa and Luke McDonagh
Intellectual Property Law aims to provide a comprehensive text on all aspects of this field. The first part looks at the complexities of copyright law, from authorship and first ownership to infringements and defences. It also covers moral and related rights. The second part looks exclusively at passing off. Then the text turns to trade marks. It examines the absolute grounds for refusal and the relative grounds for refusal of registration. It looks in detail at infringement and loss of registration of trade marks, and this part of the book ends with an examination of defences to trade mark infringement. The next part is about patents. After an introduction to patents the text analyses ownership and infringement of patents. The text then moves on to confidential information, in other words, trade secrets. Designs are examined after this. The final few chapters are about the exploitation and enforcement of intellectual property. The text concludes.
Chapter
This chapter discusses the law on designs. The underlying idea behind the law on designs is that it involves two distinct elements: an article or product and some added ingredient, a design feature, which enhances the appearance of the article. It is the design feature, the added matter, which receives legal protection, not the product itself. The chapter then deals with the five principal means available to protect the appearance of a product: UK registered design; UK unregistered design right; UK copyright; EU registered design; and EU unregistered design. Thus, a designer who wishes to acquire protection for the appearance of an article under UK and/or EU law has several options. To add to the complexity, various aspects of the design can be protected by registered designs, unregistered designs, and copyright. The outcome is that a designer could end up with several different layers of protection.
Book
Lionel Bently, Brad Sherman, Dev Gangjee, and Phillip Johnson
Intellectual Property Law provides a detailed analysis of intellectual property law with reference to a wide range of academic opinion, giving a broad context for exploring the key principles of the subject. In this fifth edition, the introduction has been updated to take account of Brexit. Important developments covered include the introduction of a doctrine of equivalents into UK patent law, the reforms of EU trade mark law (particularly with respect to ‘representation’ of marks, and the ‘functionality exclusions’), and the development of the concept of ‘communication to the public’ by the CJEU. The book covers a number of areas of intellectual property law including copyright, patents, the legal regulation of designs, trade marks and passing off, confidential information, and litigation and remedies. The volume includes a new chapter on the tort of misuse of private information.
Chapter
All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing able students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses design protection in the UK and EU and the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU on this protection. In particular, it traces the history of industrial design protection before turning to examine in detail the registered designs and unregistered design right systems. The chapter also analyses the relationship between copyright and industrial designs, the tensions that arise from this interrelationship, and how this interface will be regulated in future under UK law.
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