 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
Introduction; Design Registration; Registrability; Spare Parts; Scope of protection given by Design Registration; Protection for Industrial Designs abroad; The International Design Registration; The Application for Design Registration; Ownership of Registered Designs; Design Right; Ownership of Design Right; Copyright; Design Registration versus Design Right (U.K. only).
Scope of protection given by Design Registration
This is a question which is always asked, but unfortunately it is not possible to be specific because, unlike patents, there are no written claims to which you can refer to ascertain the scope of protection. The protection extends to exact or near reproductions of the design the subject of the registration. How "near" will fall within the scope of the registration depends upon a number of factors, the most important of which is what has gone before - in other words, the "prior art" (see under patents).
It is important to note that the protection afforded by a UK design registration applies to the design, and not necessarily to the product to which the design has been applied. When filing an application for registration of a design, it is necessary to state the product to which the design is intended to be applied, but this does not limit the scope of the registration. In other words, action can be taken against an infringer who uses the same design on another (different) product.
Although the design is looked at as a whole, the tendency is that features of the design which are common to all similar designs - common trade variants - will be given lesser weight when assessing infringement, and attention will be concentrated on new features, and whether these have been reproduced in the alleged infringing article.
This is a question which is always asked, but unfortunately it is not possible to be specific because, unlike patents, there are no written claims to which you can refer to ascertain the scope of protection. The protection extends to exact or near reproductions of the design the subject of the registration. How "near" will fall within the scope of the registration depends upon a number of factors, the most important of which is what has gone before - in other words, the "prior art" (see under patents).
It is important to note that the protection afforded by a UK design registration applies to the design, and not necessarily to the product to which the design has been applied. When filing an application for registration of a design, it is necessary to state the product to which the design is intended to be applied, but this does not limit the scope of the registration. In other words, action can be taken against an infringer who uses the same design on another (different) product.
Although the design is looked at as a whole, the tendency is that features of the design which are common to all similar designs - common trade variants - will be given lesser weight when assessing infringement, and attention will be concentrated on new features, and whether these have been reproduced in the alleged infringing article.
For registered designs, design right and copyright, contact Chris Boydell or Sarah Perkins in our London office, or David Marles in our Bristol office.