New law: UK IPO fees to register designs significantly reduced
Individuals and business should consider taking advantage of significant reductions in filing fees for design registration by applying to register variations of both existing registered designs and new designs not yet registered.
Legal Alert
This update was published in Legal Alert - November 2016
Legal Alert is a monthly checklist from Atom Content Marketing highlighting new and pending laws, regulations, codes of practice and rulings that could have an impact on your business.
Businesses wishing to protect their designs by registering them at the UK Intellectual Property Office can now do so more cheaply because of significant reductions in the registration fee as of 1 October 2016.
For example, up to 10 applications can be filed for £70 and 20 for £90, compared to the previous fees of £420 and £820 respectively.
These cost savings will be particularly valuable for businesses wishing to file multiple versions of the same design, each highlighting individual parts of the design or representing it in different ways, which recent case law has highlighted as desirable in some circumstances.
It is also good news for inventors, as registering their invention as a design can be an alternative to applying for a patent – and will now be cheaper.
Renewal fees have also been reduced, with savings increasing each time a renewal is filed.
Operative date
- Now
Recommendation
- Individuals and business should consider taking advantage of significant reductions in filing fees for design registration by registering variation of both existing registered designs and new designs not yet registered, including inventions
Disclaimer: This article from Atom Content Marketing is for general guidance only, for businesses in the United Kingdom governed by the laws of England. Atom Content Marketing, expert contributors and ICAEW (as distributor) disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions.