Commentary Part 1: DESIGNS
6.Part 1 of the Act introduces changes to the UK design framework. Design law is primarily governed in the UK by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) (“CDPA”), the Registered Designs Act 1949 (as amended) (“RDA”) and Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12th December 2001 on Community Designs (OJ L 3, 5.1.2002, p.1) (as amended) (“the EU Regulation”).
7.The Prime Minister commissioned the Hargreaves Review of IP and Growth, which was published in May 2011. As a result, the Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”)(1), an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, started a programme of work to establish whether and, if so, how to improve the current designs framework. In July 2012, the IPO launched a consultation with proposals to amend the system(2). The measures in this Part stem from the work undertaken by the IPO following the Hargreaves Review.
8.The sections which follow have three broad purposes: to simplify design law and get the IP framework to better support innovation; to help improve the enforcement of designs and understanding the design rights of others; and to improve processes associated with the design framework, such as better provision of information.