This book is a revised and updated edition of a major work first published in 2001 under the auspices of the Intellectual Property Committee of the International Bar Association. As a comparative cross-jurisdictional analysis of the practice, theory, scope, and types of design protection, it will continue to be of immeasurable value to lawyers and others involved in industrial design. Industrial designs are particularly interesting because the laws in many countries attempt in different ways to find a balance between protection for the artistic creation and the freedom to use the purely functional, and between the proprietary rights of the creator and the public domain rights of the competitor. The third edition is comprised of twenty-five country reports, each written by one or more prominent intellectual property lawyer(s) in the country covered. To facilitate cross-jurisdictional comparison, each report is structured according to the following sequence of topics: new developments in each jurisdiction; conventions and legislation; definition of what constitutes a protectable design; originality /novelty; duration of protection; infringement; defences to infringement; procedures for filing application for registration; and expunging, cancelling, or varying registration. Prominent new developments covered in the third edition include new chapters from South Korea, Russia and Turkey as well as continuing coverage of the impact of the European Community Design Directive, the adoption of the Hague Agreement with corresponding major changes to US and Canadian design law and practice, the newly revised Japanese Design Law, and China’s revised Guidelines for Examination. Each jurisdiction’s currently applicable legislation, regulation, and case law is summarized and analysed.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Under current intellectual property laws, industrial designs (ID) may potentially be protected through design patents, trade dress, and copyright. In addition, the Vessel Hull Design Protection Actestablished a specialized, or sui generis, intellectual property right for the protection of boat hull designs. Some experts argue that the present intellectual property regime does not adequately protect ID. Contents of this report: (1) ID and Intellectual Property: Copyright; Trade Dress; Design Patents; Vessel Hull Design Protection; (2) Current Issues in ID Protection: Intellectual Property Rights in Fashion Designs; U.S. Adherence to the Hague Convention; Auto Spare Parts; Judicial Developments Concerning ID Patents; (3) Issues in Innovation and Competition.

This booklet provides an introduction for newcomers to the subject of industrial property. It explains the principles underpinning industrial property rights, and describes the most common forms of industrial property, including patents and utility models for inventions, industrial designs, trademarks and geographical indications.

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind – everything from works of art to inventions, computer programs to trademarks and other commercial signs. This booklet introduces the main types of IP and explains how the law protects them. It also introduces the work of WIPO, the global forum for IP services, policy, information and cooperation.

Reports explains the problem that copyright, trade dress, and design patent law deny protection to industrial designs with a functional component. Sui generis protection systems may potentially fill gaps that may not have been anticipated by the framers of the traditional intellectual property regimes.

The 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act attempted to clarify the legal issues concerning the amount of protection that should be afforded to industrial design.