Registered Designs Act 2000 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 2 · Registration of Designs
9. Provisions as to artistic works
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2017.
Subject to subsection (2), where an application is filed by or with the consent of the owner of copyright in an artistic work for the registration of a corresponding design, the design is not to be treated for the purposes of this Act as being other than new by reason only of any use previously made of the artistic work.
Subsection (1) does not apply if —
the previous use consisted of or included the sale, letting for hire, or offer or exposure for sale or hire, of —
articles or non‑physical products to which had been applied —
the design in question; or
a design differing from the design in question only in immaterial details or in features that are variants commonly used in the trade (called in this subsection an immaterial variant); or
devices for projecting any non‑physical products mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i);
the design in question or an immaterial variant had been applied industrially in relation to those articles, non‑physical products or devices; and
the previous use was made by or with the consent of the copyright owner.
The Minister may make rules to provide for the circumstances in which a design is to be regarded as having been applied industrially, in relation to articles, non‑physical products or devices for projecting non‑physical products, for the purposes of this section.
design
“design” means features of shape, configuration, colours, pattern or ornament applied to any article or non‑physical product that give that article or non‑physical product its appearance, but does not include —(a)a method or principle of construction;(b)features of shape, configuration or colours of an article or a non‑physical product that —(i)are dictated solely by the function that the article or non‑physical product has to perform;(ii)are dependent upon the appearance of another article or non‑physical product of which the article or non‑physical product is intended by the designer to form an integral part; or(iii)enable the article or non‑physical product to be connected to, or placed in, around or against, another article or non‑physical product, so that either article or non‑physical product may perform its function; or(c)features consisting only of one or more colours that —(i)are not used with any feature of shape or configuration; and(ii)do not give rise to any feature of pattern or ornament;