Indelible IP are exhibiting at the Shell Store Open House & Networking Event in Hereford on 7 March 2024 alongside a number of other businesses providing services in Herefordshire and the surrounding areas.
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A lot of time and effort goes into developing your product design, but relatively few are protected through registration, with registered designs remaining an underutilised form of intellectual property protection.
And if you do protect your product design, will the images you use in your application adequately perform the task of protecting the aspects of your design which are most important?
A recent judgement of the Supreme Court in PMS International Limited v Magmatic Limited, involving a registration for Magmatic's highly successful "Trunki" product, has highlighted how the choice of images used in the design application will determine the extent of protection which can be conferred in the event that enforcement is necessary, and this is reinforced in new guidance issued by the UK Intellectual Property Office.
The reasoning of the Supreme Court has highlighted the level of care which should be taken in considering whether to use line drawings, CAD drawings or photographs, including how tonal differences shown in, for instance, CAD drawings, can impact on the scope of protection.
The case highlights how important it is to carefully consider the form of images used and to consider possible design variations. Use of the multiple application procedure available in the UK and EU design registration systems provides advantages to cover a number of options and build a strong protection fortress around your valuable design.
For guidance on how to approach protecting your valuable and unique product designs please get in touch at info@indelibleip.co.uk.