Designs Flashcards
Essential features of design right
- protects the appearance of a purely functional product
- right to prevent copying which does not require registration
International design law basis
- Paris Convention
- Berne Convention
- Hague Agreement
- Locarno Agreement
- TRIPS
Design approach
in the European law
• design protected as a marketing tool
• sui generis protection tailor-made (no
copyright approach, no patent approach) – a design approach
• full harmonization of substantive provisions on specific design protection on the national and EU level
Design Protection on National level
Harmonized in the EU MS Directive 98/71
Design Protection on EU level
unified in the EU Regulation 6/2002 - pan-EU unitary design right - registered and unregistered Community designs - EU design registrations administered by EUIPO in Alicante
Unregistered Community design has a term of 3 years
Registered Community Design can last up to 25 years
Novelty + individual character
Requirements for both UCD and RCD
Proving infringement for UCD and RCD differs…
Because UCD required same overall impression on the informed user AND proof of copying
Claiming systerm for registered and unregistered design differs because…
Unregistered design = ex post - product’s apperance as disclosed
Registered design = ex ante - graphic representation
Grounds for exclusion from protection
• design features solely dictated by its
technical function
• designs contrary to public order or
morality
Remedies available to design right owner
- Damages
- Injunctions
- Order for delivery up or destruction of the infringing articles
Novelty
no identical prior design disclosed to
specialised circles in Community
(quasi- identity)
Individual character
- overall impression produced on informed user differs from overall impression produced by other prior design
- freedom of designer to be taken into account
(qualitative step)
Relative novelty
Disclosure may happen anywhere in the world as long
as those events could reasonably have become
known in the normal course of business in the
circles specialized in the sector concerned operating
in the EU
Disclosure
• designs made avalable to the public before
the relevant date, if published (incl. registration), exhibited, used in trade (available in the marketplace), otherwise disclosed
• by an image (photograph, drawing) or by a
product
Confidential disclosures
The design shall not, however, be deemed
to have been made available to the public
for the sole reason that it has been
disclosed to a third person under explicit
or implicit conditions of confidentiality
Relevant prior art
Includes any design for any kind of product
from any sector
A RCD has a a grace period of
12 months