UK Design Registration Changes on October 1, 2006

On October 1, 2006 the U.K. Patent Office will change the way it handles design registrations. A guide to new procedures, forms, and fees is available here, with the following sections:

• Background
• Summary
• Changes to The Registered Designs Act 1949
• Changes to The Registered Designs Rules
• Changes to the Registered Designs Fees

The main changes to the Registered Designs Act 1949 will be:

• Ending the examination of new applications on grounds of novelty and individual character
• Allowing multiple design
• Restoration of lapsed

The main changes in the Registered Designs Rules 2006 will be:

• Simplification of the application procedure
• Provision for the public inspection of documents
• A modernised set of statutory forms
• Provision for the public inspection of
• A requirement on the registrar to publish new designs in a journal

The main changes in the Registered Designs (Fees) Rules 2006 will be:

• A new multiple application fee structure
• A new deferment of publication fee

Get the bigger picture from "Cumulative Protection of Designs in EU Member States: Designs and Copyright" at the IPR Helpdesk, including

1. Cumulative protection of designs in IPR
2. Approach to cumulative protection in the EU countries
3. Legal effects for the right holder
4. The right to an unregistered design - a copyright substitute