Stevens Hewlett and Perkins
Guide to Intellectual Property
Introduction to IP Summary table of GB IP Patents Industrial Design Patent and Design Searches Trade Marks Know How
INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
Introduction; Design Registration; Registrability; Spare Parts; Scope of protection given by Design Registration; Protection for Industrial Designs abroad;
The Community Design Registration; The International Design Registration;
The Application for Design Registration; Ownership of Registered Designs; Unregistered Design Rights; UK Unregistered Design Right; Ownership of UK Unregistered Design Right; Unregistered Community Design; Copyright.

Ownership of UK Unregistered Design Right

Design right is not available to everyone. A design only qualifies for protection if the first owner of the design - see below - is a citizen or body corporate of an EEC country, New Zealand or certain former colonial territories. Designs made by non-qualifying individuals and companies may obtain protection if the articles concerned are marketed initially in one or more EEC countries and by a qualifying individual or company; in this case, the proprietor of the design right is the qualifying individual or company, not the original owner.

  1. Where the author is an employee, the employer will normally be the legal owner of the design right;
  2. Where the author was commissioned for money or money's worth, the person doing the commissioning will normally be the legal owner of the design right.
The primary owner of design right is the author of the design but this may be varied under the following circumstances:

For registered designs, design right and copyright, contact Chris Boydell or
Sarah Perkins in our London office, or David Marles in our Bristol office.