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8/20/2019 Patents Basicfacts
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This leaflet provides basic information on
some areas of design protection.
Designs:
Basic Facts
Intellectual Property Of fice is an operating name of the Patent Of fice
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All information contained in this document was correct at the time of going to print, and is available inalternative formats on request. For further information please visit our website at:- www.ipo.gov.uk or
contact us on:- 0300 300 2000
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Introduction This leaflet provides basic information on some areas
of design protection. It is not a reference book and has no legal
authority. We cannot give legal advice or opinions about design
protection unless it is in the course of formal legal action.
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Design protection takes two forms.
Registered design gives stronger
protection and involves applying to
us. Unregistered Design Right gives
weaker but automatic protection without
the need to register the design with us.
What is a registered design?
It is a total right of ownership to the
appearance of a product or part of a
product. It lasts for five years at first but
may be extended over four five-year
periods up to a maximum of 25 years.
Registering a design provides further
protection over any protection whichmay exist automatically in the design.
A registered design is a property which,
like any other business commodity, can
be bought, sold or licensed.
Can all designs be registered?
Design registration cannot protect
designs where:
• the appearance of the product
design is set because of its
technical function;
• the design must be reproduced
in an exact form and dimensions
in order to allow the product to
perform its function;
• the design goes against public
policy or accepted principles of
public morality;
• if design incorporates a foreign
flag or protected symbol, then the
applicant will have to get permission
from the country concerned. Any UK
flag or symbol can be used as long
as it is not in a derogatory manner
and not owned by the Royal Family.
Registered designs
Registered design is a total right of ownership to the
appearance of a product or part of a product.
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Are there any other conditions
the design has to meet?
Your design must be novel at the time
you apply. This means that it must
not be identical to a design which has
already been made available to the
public.
The design must also possess
individual character - this means that
the overall impression that it produces
must be different from any other design
which has been made available to the
public.
What is the difference between apatent and a registered design?
A registered design applies to the
appearance of a product or part of a
product. A patent is concerned with
the function, operation, manufacture or
material of an item.
What rights do registered
designs provide?
A registered design gives you the
exclusive right to use the design and
any similar design.
Using the design includes:
• making, offering, selling, importing
or exporting a product to which the
design has been applied;
• stocking a product for those
purposes; or
• letting others use the design under
terms agreed with you as the
registered owner .
You also have the right to take legal
action against anyone using your
design without your permission and to
claim damages from them. Finally, thefact that your design is registered may
be enough to put anyone off using your
design without permission.
Registered designs
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How can I register a design in
the UK?
As the owner of the design you must
apply to our Designs Registry. You will
need to send us:
• photos, drawings or a 2
dimensional sample of the design;
• an application form; and
• a filing fee.
If your design meets our requirements,
we will then send you a certificate of
registration. Otherwise we will refuse
registration, but you can appeal against
this decision.
Can I register more than one
design at anyone time?
Yes, you can apply for as many
designs as you like on one application
form. This is known as a multipleapplication and you will be required
to provide separate information and
representations for each different
design you are applying for.
Can I register changes to my
design?
You will need to make a separate
application to register any changed
version of your registered design.
How long does registration take?
Correctly filed applications are
registered within two months.
What will you charge me?
We charge a fee for handling your
application. Also this fee will vary
according to the number of designs youapply for and whether you want them
published straight away. If you want
to extend the registration after the first
five-year registration period, you will
have to pay a fee for each extra five-
year period. You can get a list of design
fees from us.
Does a UK registration giveprotection abroad?
A UK-registered design applies only
in the United Kingdom and the Isle of
Man. However, some countries accept
registration of a design in the UK as
equivalent to a registration in their
country. In other cases you can useyour UK application to set a ‘priority’
Registered designs
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date for a separate application in
another country, if the application is
made within six months from the date
the application is filed in the UK.
Can you help me exploit my
registered design?
We cannot provide any financial or
other support as this would conflict with
our role as an impartial organisation
for registering designs. But there are
organisations throughout the UK which
can help you exploit designs with
commercial potential.
Can I tell anyone about mydesign and how soon can
products made to my design be
manufactured?
If you want to test the market for
your design, you can do so in the 12
months before you file your application.
However, protection will only begin fromthe date you filed your application.
Are registered designs made
public?
Once we have registered your design,
it will be open to public inspection at
the Intellectual Property Office. Theregistration details will also be:
Registered designs
Protection will only begin from the
date you filed your application.
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Do registered designs have
other uses?
Existing registered designs provide
a large amount of technical and
commercial information about the latest
developments in product design.
Does the Designs Registry
provide any other services?
In return for a fee, the Registry will carry
out a search for you to see whether
your design is the same as a design
which has already been registered, in
the United Kingdom.
Where can I get more
information?
Our booklet, “How to apply to register
a design” contains more details of the
matters mentioned in this leaflet. Also,
the information is regularly updated on
our website at www.ipo.gov.uk
Registered designs
• recorded in the Register of Designs
which any member of the public
can look at; and
• published in The Registered
Designs Journal – an illustrated
journal containing a selected image
for each registered design.
Registration details are also published
in the Patents and Designs Journal and
on our website at www.ipo.gov.uk
Can I postpone the publication ofmy design?
If you want to keep the appearance
of your design secret, you can ask us
to postpone publication, (known as
deferment), for up to 12 months from
the application date.
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Do all designs qualify for a
Design Right?
The design must be of the shape
or configuration of an item, so two-
dimensional designs, such as textile
or wallpaper designs, will not qualify.
(These may qualify for copyrightand/or possibly registered design
protection.) Also, the design must
not be commonplace, so well-known,
routine designs will not qualify for a
Design Right.
What is a Design Right?
Design Right is an intellectual property
right which applies to an original design
of the shape or configuration of an
item. Design Right is not a total right of
design ownership. It is a right to prevent
copying. It lasts for 10 years after youhave first marketed an item made to
the design, up to an overall limit of 15
years from creating the design. Design
Right is a property which, like any other
business commodity, can be bought,
sold or licensed. For more information
on Design Right see Part III of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Unregistered Design Right
Design Right is a property which, like any other business
commodity, can be bought, sold or licensed.
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Who can get protection through
unregistered Design Right?
In general, unregistered Design Right
protects designs created by nationals,
residents or companies of the
European Union, and designs created
by citizens of the United Kingdomcolonies.
Do I have to apply for
unregistered Design Right?
Unregistered Design Right is like
copyright in that you are protected
automatically when you create the
design. However, it may be wise to
keep a note of:
• when you first recorded the design;
and
• when articles made to the design
were first made available for
sale or hire.
This information may be useful if
someone challenges your rights in
the design or if you believe someone
is copying the design without your
permission.
Unregistered Design Right
In general, unregistered Design Right
protects designs created by nationals,
residents or companies
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What protection does
unregistered Design Right give?
Unregistered Design Right gives you an
‘exclusive right’ to your design for five
years after you first market it. People
can then apply for licences of right to
use your design for the remaining fiveyears. This means that, in general,
during the first five years no one can
make or trade in items copying your
design without your permission. If they
do, you can claim damages from them
in the civil courts, apply for an injunction
to stop them and so on. During the last
five years of your Design Right, anyone
will be entitled to a licence to makeand sell items copying your design.
However, you will not have to make
your design drawings or know-how
available to them.
Are there any exceptions to
Design Right?
Design features which allow one item
to be functionally fitted or matched
to another item get no protection.
These so-called ‘must fit’ and ‘must
match’ exceptions are there to makesure that competing designs for spare
parts cannot be kept out of the market.
They mean that competitors cannot be
prevented from copying features of a
protected design to help them connect
or match their own design to existing
equipment designed by someone else.
However, competitors must not copy
features of a protected design wherethere is no need to do so.
Unregistered Design Right
So-called ‘must fit’ and ‘must match’ exceptions are there to make sure that competing
designs for spare parts cannot be kept out of the market.
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What about semi-conductor
chips?
Designs of semi-conductor chips will
get Design Right protection. But to
meet a European Community Directive,
the exclusive rights in semi-conductor
chip designs will last for the full 10years in the market. In other words,
licences to copy will not be available
during the last five years.
Does the Design Right give
protection abroad?
Design Right applies only in the United
Kingdom, apart from any countriesthe UK has or may in the future have
reciprocal agreements with. Protection
may be available in other countries
under, for example, petty patent or
registered design systems, but usually
you will have to apply for this protection.
Are there any other kinds of
protection for designs?
If your design is technically inventive
it may qualify for up to 20 years’ total
protection of ownership under the
patent system. Or the appearance
of the design may qualify for up to 25
years’ total protection of ownership
under the registered design system.Design drawings and graphic designs
may get copyright protection.
Will I need professional help?
Unless you are very experienced in
design matters, you may want to get
professional advice.
You can get more details from our
Information Centre or our website.
Who should I contact at
the Intellectual Property Office
about designs?
Our Information Centre will answer your
questions. You can contact them at:
Concept HouseCardiff Road
Newport
South Wales
NP10 8QQ.
Phone: 0300 300 2000 (calls charged
at local rate; 24-hour answerphone
available)Minicom: 0300 0200 015
E-mail: information@ipo.gov.uk
Fax: 01633 813600
Website: www.ipo.gov.uk
Or you can visit the Designs Registry
on weekdays between 9am and 5pm
(not including bank holidays).
Unregistered Design Right
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Other Publications
How to Apply to Register aDesign
IntellectualProperty Of fice is an operating name of the Patent Of fice
Thisbooklet willhelp you applyto register a design in
the United Kingdom. It also includes information about
applying to register a design outside the UK.
This leaflet provides basicinformation on
some areas of design protection.
Designs:
Basic Facts
IntellectualProperty Of fice isan operating name of the Patent Of fice
Copyright givesthe creators of certain kinds of materialrights to controlwaystheir materialcan be used.
Copyright:
Basic facts
IntellectualProperty Of fice isan operating name of the Patent Of fice
Thisbookletprovidesinformationyouneedtoconsider beforecommittingyourselftoapplyingforapatent,a
summaryofthepatentingprocessintheUKandabroad.
PATENTS:
EssentialReading
IntellectualProperty Of fice is an operating name of the Patent Of fice
PATENTS:
Application Guide
IntellectualProperty Of fice is an operating name of the Patent Of fice
ThisguideisallabouthowtoapplyforaUKpatent.Beforeyouapply,therearetwoimportantissuesyouneedtoconsider–theneedtokeepyour
inventionsecretandtheimportanceofgettingprofessionaladvice.
PATENTS:
Basic Facts
IntellectualProperty Of fice isan operating name of the Patent Of fice
Ifyouinventsomethingthatcouldbecommercially
successful,youmaybeinterestedinapplyingfora patent.
TradeMarks:
EssentialReading
IntellectualProperty Of fice is an operating name of the Patent Of fice
This booklet, together with the booklet ‘Trade marks:application guide’, willhelp you applyto register a trade mark in the UK.This booklet, together with the booklet ‘Trade marks:application guide’, willhelp you applyto register a trade mark in the UK.
IntellectualProperty Of fice is an operating name of the Patent Of fice
Trade Marks:
Application Guide
This booklet, together with the booklet ‘Trade marks: essential
reading’, willhelp you applyto register a trade mark in the UK. TradeMarks:
Basic Facts
IntellectualProperty Of fice isan operating name of the Patent Of fice
This leaflet providesbasic information on someareas of trade marks. It is not a reference bookand hasno legalauthority.
Patents
1. Patents: Essential Reading
2. Patents: Application Guide
3. Patents: Basic Facts
Designs
4. How to Apply to Register a Design
5. Designs: Basic Facts
Copyright
6. Copyright: Basic Facts
Trade Marks
7. Trade Marks: Essential Reading
8. Trade Marks: Application Guide
9. Trade Marks: Basic Facts
Additional
10. Confidential Disclosure Agreements
11. Licensing Intellectual Property
12. Agreeing a Price for Intellectual
Property Rights13. Search and Advisory Service
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Name:
Address:
Phone number:
Fax number:
E-mail:
Any other comments you may wish to add:
All Publications are available through the Intellectual Property Of fice Website:
www.ipo.gov.uk or by phoning our Information Centre on 0300 300 2000
To order any of the publications overleaf, please tick the box next to the ones youwant, fill in your name and address, and return the form to:
Information Centre, Concept House, Cardiff Road, Newport, NP10 8QQ.
Intellectual Property Of fi ce
Publications order form
8/20/2019 Patents Basicfacts
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Concept House
Cardiff Road
Newport
NP10 8QQ
Tel: 0300 300 2000
Minicom: 0300 0200 015Fax: 01633 817 777
www.ipo.gov.uk
For copies in alternative formats pleasecontact our Information Centre.
When you no longer need this booklet,
please recycle it.
Revised: July 09
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