Registered Designs Act 1949

International designs in respect of which the European Union is designated to be treated as registered under the Act U.K.

[F1 1 (1) A design which, immediately before [F2 IP completion day], meets the requirements of sub-paragraph (2) (a “protected international registered design (EU))” is to be treated on and after [F2 IP completion day] as if an application for its registration had been made, and it had been registered, under this Act.

(2) The requirements referred to in sub-paragraph (1) are—

(a) the design is the subject of an international registration which designates the European Union;

(b) the international registration has been published by the International Bureau pursuant to Article 10(3) of the Geneva Act;

(c) the European Union Intellectual Property Office has sent to the International Bureau a statement under Rule 18bis of the Common Regulations under the 1999 Act and the 1960 Act of the Hague Agreement to the effect that protection is granted in relation to the design, or the period under Article 106e(1) of the Community Design Regulation for communicating to the International Bureau a notification of refusal in respect of the international registration has expired; and

(d) the effects of the international registration so far as they relate to the design have neither been—

(i) refused by the European Union Intellectual Property Office pursuant to Article 106e(1) of the Community Design Regulation; nor

(ii) declared wholly invalid pursuant to Article 106f of the Community Design Regulation.

(3) Where prior to [F2 IP completion day] the effects of the international registration to which a protected international registered design (EU) is subject are declared partly invalid so far as relating to that design pursuant to Article 106f of the Community Design Regulation, the re-registered international design which derives from the protected international registered design (EU) has effect under this Act to the extent that the effects of the international registration so far as relating to the design have not been declared invalid.

(4) A registered design which comes into being by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) is referred to in this Schedule as a “re-registered international design”.

(5) This Act applies to a re-registered international design as it applies to other registered designs except as otherwise provided in this Schedule.

(6) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) the date of registration of a re-registered international design is the date on which the protected international registered design (EU) from which the re-registered international design derives was treated as registered under the Geneva Act, and

(b) the date of the application of a re-registered international design is the date treated, under Article 9 of the Geneva Act, as the filing date of the application for the registration of the protected international registered design (EU) from which the re-registered international design derives.

(7) Nothing in this Act authorises the imposition of a fee, or the making of provision by rules or regulations which authorises the imposition of a fee, in respect of any matter relating to a re-registered international design (see instead provision made by regulations under Schedule 4 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).

(8) The following provisions of this Act do not apply to a re-registered international design—

(a) section 7A(6);

(b) section 18.

(9) In this Schedule—

(a) “the Community Design Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 of 12th December 2001 on Community Designs as it had effect immediately before [F2 IP completion day];

(b) “the Geneva Act” means the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs adopted by the Diplomatic Conference on 2 July 1999;

(c) “the International Bureau” means the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization; and

(d) “international registration” means the international registration of an industrial design effected according to the Geneva Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Schs. 1A, 1B inserted (31.12.2020) by The Designs and International Trade Marks (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/638), reg. 1, Sch. 3 para. 3 (with Sch. 5 Pt. 1) (as amended by S.I. 2020/1050, regs. 1(2), 23); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F2 Words in Sch. 1B substituted in earlier amending provision S.I. 2019/638, Sch. 3 para. 3 (31.12.2020) by The Intellectual Property (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1050), regs. 1(2), 21(d)(i)