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This version of this statute is extracted from the UK Statute Law Database (SLD). It is not necessarily in the form in which it was originally enacted but is a revised version, which means that any subsequent amendments to the text and other effects are incorporated with annotations.
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9. Exemption of innocent infringer from liability for damages
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11ZC. Determination of applications for declaration of invalidity
11ZE. Effect of cancellation or invalidation of registration
11A. Powers exercisable for protection of the public interest
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Grounds for refusal of registration in relation to emblems etc
An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to registered designs.
[16th December 1949]
C1Act restricted (retrospectively) by 1994 c. 26, s. 106(1), Sch. 4 para. 2(4); S.I. 1994/2550, art. 2Act modified (9.12.2001) by S.I. 2001/3678, art. 2(1)(2), Sch. 1
C2Functions of Board of Trade and of President of Board of Trade now exercisable concurrently by Secretary of State: S.I. 1970/1537, art. 2(1)
C3Act reprinted as amended by Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48, SIF 67A), s. 273, Sch. 4
E1Act extends to Isle of Man see s. 47
I1Act wholly in force at 1.1.1950 see s. 49 (2)
(1)A design may, subject to the following provisions of this Act, be registered under this Act on the making of an application for registration.
(2)In this Act “design” means the appearance of the whole or a part of a product resulting from the features of, in particular, the lines, contours, colours, shape, texture or materials of the product or its ornamentation.
(3)In this Act—
“complex product” means a product which is composed of at least two replaceable component parts permitting disassembly and reassembly of the product; and
“product” means any industrial or handicraft item other than a computer program; and, in particular, includes packaging, get-up, graphic symbols, typographic type-faces and parts intended to be assembled into a complex product.]
F1Ss. 1-1D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 1 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 2 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
(1)The following shall be refused registration under this Act—
(a)anything which does not fulfil the requirements of section 1(2) of this Act;
(b)designs which do not fulfil the requirements of sections 1B to 1D of this Act;
(c)designs to which a ground of refusal mentioned in Schedule A1 to this Act applies.
(2)A design (“the later design”) shall be refused registration under this Act if it is not new or does not have individual character when compared with a design which—
(a)has been made available to the public on or after the relevant date; but
(b)is protected as from a date prior to the relevant date by virtue of registration under this Act or an application for such registration.
(3)In subsection (2) above “the relevant date” means the date on which the application for the registration of the later design was made or is treated by virtue of section 3B(2), (3) or (5) or 14(2) of this Act as having been made.]
F1Ss. 1-1D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 1 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 2 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
(1)A design shall be protected by a right in a registered design to the extent that the design is new and has individual character.
(2)For the purposes of subsection (1) above, a design is new if no identical design or no design whose features differ only in immaterial details has been made available to the public before the relevant date.
(3)For the purposes of subsection (1) above, a design has individual character if the overall impression it produces on the informed user differs from the overall impression produced on such a user by any design which has been made available to the public before the relevant date.
(4)In determining the extent to which a design has individual character, the degree of freedom of the author in creating the design shall be taken into consideration.
(5)For the purposes of this section, a design has been made available to the public before the relevant date if—
(a)it has been published (whether following registration or otherwise), exhibited, used in trade or otherwise disclosed before that date; and
(b)the disclosure does not fall within subsection (6) below.
(6)A disclosure falls within this subsection if—
(a)it could not reasonably have become known before the relevant date in the normal course of business to persons carrying on business in the European Economic Area and specialising in the sector concerned;
(b)it was made to a person other than the designer, or any successor in title of his, under conditions of confidentiality (whether express or implied);
(c)it was made by the designer, or any successor in title of his, during the period of 12 months immediately preceding the relevant date;
(d)it was made by a person other than the designer, or any successor in title of his, during the period of 12 months immediately preceding the relevant date in consequence of information provided or other action taken by the designer or any successor in title of his; or
(e)it was made during the period of 12 months immediately preceding the relevant date as a consequence of an abuse in relation to the designer or any successor in title of his.
(7)In subsections (2), (3), (5) and (6) above “the relevant date” means the date on which the application for the registration of the design was made or is treated by virtue of section 3B(2), (3) or (5) or 14(2) of this Act as having been made.
(8)For the purposes of this section, a design applied to or incorporated in a product which constitutes a component part of a complex product shall only be considered to be new and to have individual character—
(a)if the component part, once it has been incorporated into the complex product, remains visible during normal use of the complex product; and
(b)to the extent that those visible features of the component part are in themselves new and have individual character.
(9)In subsection (8) above “normal use” means use by the end user; but does not include any maintenance, servicing or repair work in relation to the product.]
F1Ss. 1-1D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 1 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 2 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
(1)A right in a registered design shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product which are solely dictated by the product’s technical function.
(2)A right in a registered design shall not subsist in features of appearance of a product which must necessarily be reproduced in their exact form and dimensions so as to permit the product in which the design is incorporated or to which it is applied to be mechanically connected to, or placed in, around or against, another product so that either product may perform its function.
(3)Subsection (2) above does not prevent a right in a registered design subsisting in a design serving the purpose of allowing multiple assembly or connection of mutually interchangeable products within a modular system.]
F1Ss. 1-1D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 1 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 2 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
A right in a registered design shall not subsist in a design which is contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality.]
F1Ss. 1-1D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 1 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 2 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
[F1(1)The author of a design shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the original proprietor of the design, subject to the following provisions.
(1A)Where a design is created in pursuance of a commission for money or money’s worth, the person commissioning the design shall be treated as the original proprietor of the design.
(1B)Where, in a case not falling within subsection (1A), a design is created by an employee in the course of his employment, his employer shall be treated as the original proprietor of the design.]
(2)Where a design F2. . . becomes vested, whether by assignment, transmission or operation of law, in any person other than the original proprietor, either alone or jointly with the original proprietor, that other person, or as the case may be the original proprietor and that other person, shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as the proprietor of the design F3. . ..
[F4(3)In this Act the “author” of a design means the person who creates it.
(4)In the case of a design generated by computer in circumstances such that there is no human author, the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the creation of the design are made shall be taken to be the author.]
F1S. 2(1) substituted by Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48, SIF 67A), s. 267(2)
F2Words in s. 2(2) repealed (9.12.2001) by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 9(2), Sch. 2 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
F3Words in s. 2(2) repealed (9.12.2001) by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 9(2), Sch. 2 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
F4S. 2(3)(4) inserted by Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (c. 48, SIF 67A), s. 267(3)(4)
(1)An application for the registration of a design shall be made in the prescribed form and shall be filed at the Patent Office in the prescribed manner.
(2)An application for the registration of a design shall be made by the person claiming to be the proprietor of the design.
(3)An application for the registration of a design in which national unregistered design right subsists shall be made by the person claiming to be the design right owner.
(4)For the purpose of deciding whether, and to what extent, a design is new or has individual character, the registrar may make such searches (if any) as he thinks fit.
(5)An application for the registration of a design which, owing to any default or neglect on the part of the applicant, has not been completed so as to enable registration to be effected within such time as may be prescribed shall be deemed to be abandoned.]
F1Ss. 3-3D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 3 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 4 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
(1)Subject as follows, the registrar shall not refuse an application for the registration of a design.
(2)If it appears to the registrar that an application for the registration of a design has not been made in accordance with any rules made under this Act, he may refuse the application.
(3)If it appears to the registrar that an application for the registration of a design has not been made in accordance with sections 3(2) and (3) and 14(1) of this Act, he shall refuse the application.
(4)If it appears to the registrar that any ground for refusal of registration mentioned in section 1A of this Act applies in relation to an application for the registration of a design, he shall refuse the application.]
F1Ss. 3-3D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 3 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 4 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
(1)The registrar may, at any time before an application for the registration of a design is determined, permit the applicant to make such modifications of the application as the registrar thinks fit.
(2)Where an application for the registration of a design has been modified before it has been determined in such a way that the design has been altered significantly, the registrar may, for the purpose of deciding whether and to what extent the design is new or has individual character, direct that the application shall be treated as having been made on the date on which it was so modified.
(3)Where—
(a)an application for the registration of a design has disclosed more than one design and has been modified before it has been determined to exclude one or more designs from the application; and
(b)a subsequent application for the registration of a design so excluded has, within such period (if any) as has been prescribed for such applications, been made by the person who made the earlier application or his successor in title,
the registrar may, for the purpose of deciding whether and to what extent the design is new or has individual character, direct that the subsequent application shall be treated as having been made on the date on which the earlier application was, or is treated as having been, made.
(4)Where an application for the registration of a design has been refused on any ground mentioned in section 1A(1)(b) or (c) of this Act, the application may be modified by the applicant if it appears to the registrar that—
(a)the identity of the design is retained; and
(b)the modifications have been made in accordance with any rules made under this Act.
(5)An application modified under subsection (4) above shall be treated as the original application and, in particular, as made on the date on which the original application was made or is treated as having been made.
(6)Any modification under this section may, in particular, be effected by making a partial disclaimer in relation to the application.]
F1Ss. 3-3D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 3 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 4 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
(1)Subject as follows, a design, when registered, shall be registered as of the date on which the application was made or is treated as having been made.
(2)Subsection (1) above shall not apply to an application which is treated as having been made on a particular date by section 14(2) of this Act or by virtue of the operation of section 3B(3) or (5) of this Act by reference to section 14(2) of this Act.
(3)A design, when registered, shall be registered as of—
(a)in the case of an application which is treated as having been made on a particular date by section 14(2) of this Act, the date on which the application was made;
(b)in the case of an application which is treated as having been made on a particular date by virtue of the operation of section 3B(3) of this Act by reference to section 14(2) of this Act, the date on which the earlier application was made;
(c)in the case of an application which is treated as having been made on a particular date by virtue of the operation of section 3B(5) of this Act by reference to section 14(2) of this Act, the date on which the original application was made.]
F1Ss. 3-3D substituted (9.12.2001) for s. 3 by S.I. 2001/3949, reg. 4 (with transitional provisions in regs. 10-14)
Registered Designs Act 1949