There is confusion in the world of design. Copyright Unregistered Designs, defennces available to copying all make the whole thing very confusing. It does not help when even the Court of Appeal are confused and cannot agree. ( See the Lambretta case).
So its not todayÂs exercise to bore you with this but to focus breifly on the protection that all designers need to adhere to without fail.
Best tip is to register all new designs, including the surface decoration, either as Community registered designs (“CRDs”) pursuant to EC Regulation 6/2002 (“the Design Regulation”), or under the amended national registered design regime which has been harmonised pursuant to EC Directive 98/71.
Register the design in class code 02 Â it appears to have been very popular over the years and is a must.
In addition any design created after March 2002 is also protected by virtue of the Community unregistered design laws created by the Design Regulation. It lasts three years and expressly protects the colours and ornamentation of an article, without excluding surface decoration.
 Fees
Registered design
Europe
* whether the application contains one or more designs, the fee structure is 350 Euros for a single application and thereafter up to 10 designs 175 Euros. More than 10 ie 11 or more its 80 Euros.
* Legal Fees. £300+VAT and an extra £75+VAT per design.Â
United Kingdom
* whether the application is a textile or garment its £30, otherwise its £60Â
* Legal fees are £200 +VAT and £50+VAT
