History of design registration

The protection of designs in the United Kingdom has a history going back the eighteenth century, protecting the printing of cloth. Printed cloth was therefore seen as an article of manufacture, and not an artistic work protected by copyright.

The first Register of Designs was created in 1839 under an Act that also provided for the Registration of the three-dimensional shape and configuration of an article of manufacture, in addition to patterns applied to two-dimensional material and ornamentation applied to three-dimensional objects – such as teapots. 

The third major attribute for Design Registration came with the Patents and Designs Act of 1919, which effectively separated appropriate subject matter for Registration for designs as distinct from appropriate subject matter for Patents for inventions. The protected shape and configuration are judged solely by the eye. This was expanded in the Registered Designs Act 1949 to exclude design features that are dictated solely by function.

Thus, a design in the context of Design Registration is not a functional Engineering Design but protects aesthetic features that may be added to the engineering solution. It is more akin to copyright for mass produced articles (applied to more than fifty articles) without the requirement to show actually copying but being required to be new over what was already in the public domain.

Thus, in an engineering environment, it is likely that patent protection for inventions will be more appropriate than registration of (aesthetic) designs. However, Design Registration can be attractive for several reasons:

  1. Applications progress to grant quickly following only a formal examination.
  2. Fees are relatively low compared to patents.
  3. Drawings (Representations) can often by recycled from patent drawings.
  4. An equivalent right in the United States is identified as a Design Patent - a standard US patent being identified as a “Utility Patent”.
  5. Design Registrations are renewed every five years – not annually.
  6. In the UK and Europe, they may remain in force for a total of twenty-five years.

Thus, a Design Registration may be seen as low lying fruit, enabling the Company to quickly obtain something very quickly, at minimal cost, allowing them to proclaim that the IP is protected.