The Regulatory Reform (Registered Designs) Order 2006, the Registered Designs Rules 2006 and the Registered Designs (Fees) Rules 2006 are expected to come into force on 1 October 2006.
Compared to designers in the rest of the EU, British designers have historically been reluctant to register designs. The proposed changes are intended to contribute to the harmonisation of the law of designs within the EU, and to simplify the registered design regime in order to encourage innovation.
The key changes to the Registered Designs Act 1949 will include the following:
New applications will no longer be examined on grounds of novelty and individual character
Currently some applications are examined on grounds of novelty and individual character and others are not. This change will avoid confusion over whether the examiner has compared the design with the prior art.
Applicants will be able to make a single application to register multiple designs
At the moment a new application has to be made for each design applied for. The administrative and financial burden this entails is thought to deter some designers from applying for design registrations. This change should encourage them to do so.
Ending the ability to withhold some registered designs from public inspection for more than 12 months
Under the current law, some classes of designs are registered but remain unavailable to the public for 2 or 3 years. The purpose of this is to give the designer the opportunity to bring the design to market without risk of it being copied, but the varying periods for which different classes of design are withheld is confusing. Instead, in future all applicants will have the option of delaying publication for up to 12 months.
An easier process to restore lapsed designs to the register
Currently, proprietors who allow their registrations to lapse due to non-payment of a renewal fee have to provide evidence that they took reasonable steps to extend the protection. This requirement of evidence will be removed; if a proprietor can state that his failure to pay the renewal fee on time was unintentional, he is unlikely to be asked for any evidence to support that statement.
The changes are to be made by means of a Regulatory Reform Order. While this has begun the Parliamentary process, that process is not yet complete. These changes are therefore subject to the final approval of Parliament.
More details on the changes can be found at http://www.patent.gov.uk/design/notices/guidance/index.htm
This article was written for Law-Now, CMS Cameron McKenna's free online information service. To register for Law-Now, please go to www.law-now.com/law-now/mondaq
Law-Now information is for general purposes and guidance only. The information and opinions expressed in all Law-Now articles are not necessarily comprehensive and do not purport to give professional or legal advice. All Law-Now information relates to circumstances prevailing at the date of its original publication and may not have been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
The original publication date for this article was 12/07/2006.
