27.11.2022
What is the difference between a registered design right and a design patent?
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'Registered design' and 'Design patent' are two terms are often used interchangeably. They are similar rights, used to protect the aethetic appearance of a product, but they arise in different jurisdictions.
A 'Design patent' is a US right for protecting aesthetic appearance. These design patents are distinct from ‘utility patents’, which protect technical inventions, such as a new machine, manufacturing system or process. In the USA, the term ‘patent’ could therefore be considered a broad category of IP right that encompasses both utility patents and design patents.
In Europe and the UK, aesthetic designs are protected with ‘registered designs’. You might see this referred to as a 'UK registered design', 'Community registered design (CRD)', 'Community design registration (CDR)'... and possibly other variations on this theme! In Europe and the UK, the term ‘patent’ is reserved only for technical inventions, so you won't see the term 'design patent' under the EU or UK system.
US design patents and EU/UK registered designs can protect designs in similar ways, but there are a few differences between the systems. For example, a US design patent cannot protect some features, such as colour, which are protectable by an EU or UK registered design. The term of protection for a design patent is 15 years, with no renewal fees required, whereas the maximum term of protection for an EU/UK registered design is 25 years, but requiring renewal fees every 5 years.
Image courtesy of MaximalFocus on Unsplash
01.02.2023
UKIPO Requires UK Address for Service for International TMs and DesignsFollowing the recent decision of the Appointed Person (AP) in Tradeix Ltd v New Holland Ventures Pty Ltd BL (O/681/22) (Marco Polo Case), the UKIPO will now require a local address in the UK (or in Gibraltar or the Channel Islands) before any formal serving of documents in contentious proceedings relating to UK designations of International trade mark or design registrations. Failure to provide a UK address for service may result in a challenged registration being cancelled or an opposed trade mark being treated as withdrawn.
19.09.2023
Post-Brexit Representation for Trade Marks and Designs Before UKIPOWhile the initial effects of Brexit on trade mark and design registrations are baked into our consciousness, one noteworthy aspect will only take effect at the start of next year. Trade mark and design owners should consider appointing a UK address for service to reduce the risk of third-party challenges being successful by default.
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