Amending design regulations now in force

New regulations entitled the Industrial Designs (Amendment) Regulations 2004, which amend the existing regulations regarding industrial designs, came into force on November 1 2004.

The amending regulations remove the requirement for a statement of the feature or features of novelty and individual character in an application for registration of a design under the existing regulations. This requirement was of concern to many practitioners in Ireland since an equivalent condition does not exist in the Community Design Implementation Regulation, which brought into effect the Council Regulation on Community Designs. The Irish Association of Patent and Trademark Attorneys raised this concern with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) and asked that the requirement be abolished. The DETE has duly obliged by bringing into effect the amending regulations.

As a result of the amendments, new Forms 1 (Single Application), 1A (Multiple Application) and 2 (Certificate of Registration) have been substituted for the forms bearing these numbers under the existing regulations. In particular, the revised format for Form 2 has removed the reference to and requirement for a product listing on the Certificate of Registration.

Patricia McGovern and Aine Matthews, LK Shields Solicitors, Dublin