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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L. Bently, B. Sherman, D. Gangjee, and P. Johnson
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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.
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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.
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This chapter summarizes the discussion of the law on registered and unregistered designs. The Design Directive, as implemented in the revised version of the Registered Designs Act 1949, has put in place a modern system of registered design protection that does away with the aesthetical requirements of the old 1949 Act and only attempts to exclude technical matters that should, in principle, be dealt with by patent rather than design law. The continued enforcement of a domestic unregistered design right that was supposed to fit in seamlessly with a system of registered rights that no longer exists is no longer necessary. The overlap of protection creates confusion and an undue duplication of rights.
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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.
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This chapter discusses the law on registered designs. It covers the requirements for the grant of a registered design; grounds for refusal of registration; ownership of a registered design; rights of the owner and infringement; grounds on which a design may be declared invalid; duration of the registered design right; spare parts; international commercial exploitation; and EU law on registered design.
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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.
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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.
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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.
