Registered Designs Rules 1995
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1995/2912 |
| Year | 1995 |
1995 No. 2912
DESIGNS
The Registered Designs Rules 1995
Made 13th November 1995
Laid before Parliament 13th November 1995
Coming into force 4th December 1995
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 1(5), 3(1), (4) and (6), 5(2), 6(6), 8(3), 8A(1) and (3), 11(1), 17(1), (5) and (6), 18(1), 19(1) and (2), 20(3) and (4), 22(2), 29, 30(1) and (3), 31, 32(1), 36(1) and (1A), 39(1) and 44(1) of the Registered Designs Act 19491and after consultation with the Council on Tribunals pursuant to section 8(1) of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 19922, hereby makes the following Rules:
PRELIMINARY
Citation and commencement
1. These Rules may be cited as the Registered Designs Rules 1995 and shall come into force on 4th December 1995.
Interpretation
2. In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the Act” means the Registered Designs Act 1949 and “section” means a section of the Act;
“convention application” means an application in the United Kingdom under section 14;
“Journal” means the Official Journal (Patents) published by the Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks under the Patents Act 19773;
“register” means the register of designs kept under section 17;
“specimen” means an article with the design applied to it;
“textile article” means textile and plastics piece goods, handkerchiefs, shawls and such other classes of articles of a similar character as the registrar may from time to time decide, for which the protection required is limited to features of pattern and ornament only;
“United Kingdom” includes the Isle of Man.
Revocation
3. The Registered Designs Rules 19894and the Registered Designs (Amendment) Rules 19905are hereby revoked.
Forms
4.—(1) The forms mentioned in these Rules are those set out in Schedule 1 to these Rules.
(2) A requirement under these Rules to use a form set out in Schedule 1 to these Rules is satisfied by the use either of a replica of that form or of a form which contains the information required by the form set out in the said Schedule and which is acceptable to the registrar.
DOCUMENTS
Size and presentation of documents
5. Subject to any directions that may be given by the registrar in any particular case, all applications, notices, papers having representations affixed, and other documents filed under the Act or these Rules shall be upon strong paper and, except where otherwise required, on one side only, of a size approximately 297mm by 210mm or approximately 330mm by 200mm to 210mm and having on the left hand part thereof a margin of approximately 50mm.
Signature of documents
6.—(1) This rule applies to any notice, application or other document required or authorised by the Act or these Rules to be given, made or filed at the Patent Office and such a notice, application or other document is referred to in the following paragraphs of this rule as a “document”.
(2) A document filed by or on behalf of a firm which is concerned in any proceedings to which these Rules relate as principal and not as an agent shall contain the names of all the partners in full and shall be signed by all the partners, by any partner stating that he signs on behalf of the firm (or, in the case of a firm formed under the law of Scotland, by any partner in the firm’s name) or by any other person who satisfies the registrar that he is authorised to sign the document.
(3) A document signed for or on behalf of a body corporate shall be signed by a director or the secretary or other principal officer of the body or by any other person who satisfies the registrar that he is authorised to sign the document.
(4) A document signed for or on behalf of an unincorporated body or association of persons other than a firm may be signed by any person who satisfies the registrar that he is authorised to sign the document.
Service of documents
7. Any notice, application or other document sent to the Patent Office by posting it in the United Kingdom shall be deemed to have been given, made or filed at the time when the letter containing it would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.
ADDRESS
Address for service
8.—(1) There shall be furnished to the registrar—
(a)
(a) by every applicant for the registration of a design, an address for service in the United Kingdom for the purpose of his application; and
(b)
(b) notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (2) and (3) below, by every person (including the applicant for registration of a design or the proprietor of a registered design, as the case may be) concerned in any proceedings to which any of these Rules relate, an address for service in the United Kingdom,
and the address so furnished or, where another address (being an address in the United Kingdom) has been furnished in place thereof, that address shall be treated for the purposes of that application or those proceedings, as appropriate, as the address of that applicant or, as the case may be, of that person.
(2) Upon the registration of a design, the applicant’s address for service shall be treated as the address for service of the proprietor of the registered design unless an alternative address is furnished.
(3) An address for service for an applicant for registration of a design, or a proprietor of a registered design, may be withdrawn by the applicant or the proprietor or an agent or other person providing the address for service, as the case may be, by notice to the registrar; and upon such notification the registrar may treat the address of the applicant or the proprietor previously notified to him, or the address shown in the register, as the address for service until such time as an alternative address is furnished.
Failure to provide address for service
9. Where an address for service in the United Kingdom has not been furnished to the registrar by an applicant in any proceedings to which these Rules relate, the registrar need not proceed with the examination of the application until such an address has been furnished to him.
AGENTS
Appointment of agents
10. Unless the registrar otherwise directs in any particular case, anything required or authorised by these Rules to be done by or in relation to any person may be done by, or in relation to, his agent.
Appointment of agent after start of proceedings
11. Where after a person has become a party to proceedings before the registrar he appoints—
(a) an agent for the first time, the newly appointed agent shall file Designs Form 1A on or before the first occasion when he acts as agent; or
(b) one agent in substitution for another, the newly appointed agent shall file in duplicate Designs Form 1A on or before the first occasion when he acts as agent and the comptroller shall send one copy of the Form to the previously appointed agent.
APPLICATIONS FOR REGISTRATION
Form for applications
12. Applications to register designs shall be made on Designs Form 2A.
Application for same design in respect of more than one article
13. Where it is desired to register the same design in respect of more than one article other than sets of articles, a separate application shall be made in respect of each article and each application shall be numbered separately and shall be treated as a separate and distinct application.
Article to which design is applied
14.—(1) Every application shall state the article to which the design is to be applied and that the applicant claims to be the proprietor of the design in relation to that article.
(2) If any question arises as to whether an article to which a design is to be applied is made substantially of lace or as to whether a design to be applied to a textile article consists substantially of checks or stripes, it shall be decided by the registrar.
Statement of novelty on representations or specimens
15.—(1) Except in the case of an application to register the pattern or ornament of a design to be applied to a textile article, to wallpaper or similar wall covering or to lace or to sets of textile articles or lace, a statement satisfactory to the registrar of the features of the design for which novelty is claimed shall appear on each representation or specimen of the design.
(2) The statement referred to in paragraph (1) above shall appear on the front of the first sheet only of each representation or specimen (except where the registrar is satisfied that this is impracticable in which case it shall appear in a place satisfactory to the registrar) and it shall be separate from any other statement or disclaimer.
Registration of same design in respect of other articles, etc.
16. If the application is for the registration of a design which has already been registered or applied for in respect of one or more articles, or consists of a design already registered or applied for with modifications or variations not sufficient to alter the character or substantially to affect the identity thereof, and it is desired to claim the protection of section 4 for such application, it shall contain the number or numbers of the registration or registrations already effected or the application or applications already made.
REPRESENTATIONS AND SPECIMENS
Supply of representations and specimens
17. Except as regards applications for registration of designs to be applied to sets of...
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