What is design right?

Design right is automatic – ie you don’t have to apply for registration. It protects the design of the shape and configuration of articles or parts of articles for a maximum of 15 years in the UK and a maximum of three years in the European Union.If you’ve designed a new appearance for an object, it will be protected by design right. However, you will have more protection if you register your design. See the page in this guide on key differences between design right and design registration.

It’s a right to prevent deliberate copying and it comes into force when the article is first “fixed” in a design document – eg a drawing or a computer model – or when the article is first made.

Design right occurs providing the design is original and not commonplace. Design right can be an important piece of intellectual property for your business. To back up your claim to it you should keep all records relating to a design’s initiation, such as CAD files, emails, schematics and prototypes.

Limits of design right

Design right doesn’t apply to any ornamentation of an article. For this you need design registration – see the page in this guide: what is a registered design?

However, it may be possible to obtain design right for ornamentation in Europe.

In the UK, design right lasts for ten years after the articles designed are first marketed and up to an overall limit of 15 years from the creation of the design. For the last five years of design right you’re obliged to agree licensing terms with third parties if the terms are decided by the Patent Office and if parties cannot agree.

Your design right also applies in the European Union but only lasts for three years from the design being made available to the public. The situation in other countries is more complicated. See our guide on intellectual property protection overseas.

Designs and Design Rights

Designs may be subject to three types of protection, copyright, unregistered design rights and may also be registered nationally as registered designs. The actual details of design rights will vary depending on national law. Please see your national patent office for specific details.

1. What is a design?The appearance of a product, in particular, the shape, texture, colour, materials used, contours and ornamentation. To qualify as a new design, the overall impression should be different from any existing design.
2. Who owns the design right?Typically the creator of the design owns any rights in it, except where the work was commissioned or created during the course of employment, in which case the rights belong to the employer or party that commissioned the work.
3. Unregistered design rights.Unregistered design rights protect the shape or configuration of a marketable (or potentially marketable) product, and are used to prevent unauthorised copying of an original design. Design rights can also be bought, sold or licensed in a similar manner to copyright.

   Design rights exist independently of copyright, while copyright may protect documents detailing the design as well as any artistic or literary work incorporated within the finished product, the design right focuses more on the shape, configuration and construction of a product.

   In the UK, unregistered design rights have been available since 1989, and have been available since March 2002 throughout the European Community.

   Unregistered design rights are automatic and are treated in the similar manner as copyright. For this reason they may be registered with the UK Copyright Service in the same manner as copyright work in order to establish proof of the date and content of the work in case of any later dispute or legal claims

   The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) state that ‘…in practice the holder of the UCD may encounter serious problems proving that the protection exists’, (source: http://oami.eu.int/en/design/faq.htm 27th July 2004), so clearly a UKCS registration can be of great value here. (Please note that a UKCS registration provides international evidence of an unregistered design right, this is not the same as a registered design, which would be administered by governments at a territory/national level).

   1. Duration of unregistered design rights.Within the European Community, unregistered design rights lasts for 3 years from the point the design is first disclosed or made available to the public in some manner.

      In the UK rights the duration is 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the design was first made into a marketable product. The original date the design was first fixed in a tangible form is also taken into account, and the duration should not exceed 15 years from the end of the calendar year in which the design was first recorded.

      The UK 10 year duration is split into two 5 year periods: Exclusive rights are retained for the first 5 years, but during the last 5 years other parties are allowed to apply for licenses to the design (for which the owner may claim royalties).

      For UK designers, both the UK and EC rights can exist at the same time.

   2. What constitutes an infringement?An unregistered design is only infringed by copying. Independently created designs are not infringements. You have the right to take civil court action against infringement of a design right.
4. Registered designsA registered design may be applied for to provide additional cover over and above any design right or copyright protection that may exist in the design. Registered designs are administered by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) in the EU, and the UK Patent Office in the UK.

   In the US designs may be registered as part of the standard patent system via the United States Patent and Trademark Office, where they are treated as ‘design patents’, (as opposed to ‘utility patents’).

   The benefit of a registered design is that the design may enjoy prolonged protection from copying, although this protection would only be available in countries or territories where the application was made, up to 25 years protection is available in the UK and EC.

5. Copyright in designsCopyright will exist in designs, and principally may protect documents detailing the design as well as any artistic or literary work incorporated within the finished product. Please see our copyright information pages for details of copyright protection.

   Evidence of your claim to copyright and unregistered design rights may be obtained by applying for a registration with the UK Copyright Service.

Protect data in your business

Protect data in your business

Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 will vary depending on the class of data, so it is worth auditing all your business’s data systems to ensure the correct security procedures are in place.

Although an internet user might be happy to provide personal information online to a company, it is still that company’s duty to protect the user under Principle 3 of the Data Protection Act 1998. This states that data can only be obtained for specific and lawful purposes.

The data protection controller is responsible for determining the purposes for which your business processes personal data. Once appointed, he or she will be primarily responsible for the business’s data protection compliance.

On request, the data subject must be supplied with a description of their personal data being held, the reasons why and a record of and reasons for any disclosures to a third party.

How can I protect my business?

Drawing up a privacy policy is one way in which the Act’s requirements can be met. This might, for example, tell the data subject what sort of information will be collected, why and how it will be used, what security measures will be in place and their rights of access to and correction of personal data.A number of businesses use encryption to restrict access to information about the company itself. Messages are electronically transmitted and can only be de-coded with a personal “key”.

To overcome the confidentiality issue, some are also turning to Privacy Enhanced Technologies (PETS), software packages which allow the user to assume a pseudo-identity and carry out a transaction electronically with the option of remaining anonymous.

…and another thing

Audit all data systems within your business to identify which category they fall into under the Act Keep databases up to date and free of irrelevant personal data Train and educate staff so they are aware of the Act’s requirements and their data subject’s rights Draw up a privacy policy so that personal data providers understand how their data will be used and know their rights

Fire Safety Law is changing.

Fire Safety Law is changing.

If you are:

• responsible for business premises
• an employer
• a voluntary organization or charity

Then You must act Now.

1. Fire Hazards
Fire starts when heat (source of ignition) comes into oxygen (air). You need to keep source of ignition and fuel apart.
How could Fire start?
Think about heaters, lighting, naked flames, electrical equipments, hot processes such as welding or grinding, cigarettes, matches and anything else that gets very hot or causes sparks.
What could burn?
Packaging rubbish and furniture could all burn, just like the more obvious fuels such as petrol, paint, varnish and white spirit. Also think about wood, paper, plastic, rubber and foam. Do the walls or ceilings have hardboard, chipboard, or polystyrene? Check outside too.

2. People at risk.
Everyone is at risk if there is fire. Think whether the risk is greater for some because of when or where they work, such as night staff, or because they’re not familiar with the premises, such as visitor or customers. Children, the elderly or disabled people are especially vulnerable.

3. Evaluate and act.
Evaluate
First think about what you have found in steps 1 and 2: what are the risks of a fire starting, and what are the risks to people in the building and nearby?
Remove and reduce risk
how can you avoid accidental fires?
Could a source of heat or sparks fall, be knocked or pushed into something that would burn? Could that happen the other way round?
Protect
Take action to protect your premises and people from fire.
4. Record, plan and train
Record
Keep record of any fire hazards and what you have done to reduce r remove them. If you have done to reduce or remove them. If your premises are small, a record is a good idea. If you have five or more staff or have a license then you must keep a record of what you have found and what you have done.
Plan
you must have a clear plan of how to prevent fire and how to prevent fire and how you will keep people safe in case of fire. If you share a building with others, you need to coordinate your plan with them.

Train
You need to make sure your staff know what to do in case of fire, and if necessary, are trained for their roles.

5. Review

Keep your risk assessment under regular review. Overtime, the risk may change.
If you identify significant changes in risk or make any significant changes to your plan, you must tell others who share the premises and where appropriate re-train staff.

We have produced a series of guides for different business sectors. These guides will give you more information about how to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment, with specific advice for your type of premises.

For more Information Visit www.communities.gov.uk/fire

Important changes to Small Business Rate Relief scheme

Date: 30th July 2006
Small Business Rate Relief(SBRR)

The Scheme gives 50% rate relief for properties with rateable values up to £5000. For properties with higher rateable values the percentage of relief gradually taper’s off, with no relief for properties with a rateable value over £10,000. The relief is funded by a supplement on the rate bills of ratepayers not eligible for the relief, except those with eligible inherited property between £10,000 and £15,000 (£21,500 in London).

Notification of changes in circumstances.
At present, every small business that wants to receive Small Business Rate Relief must apply to the billing authority every year. But many small businesses circumstances do not change between five-yearly revaluations. Each year, therefore, the business will put the same information on a new application and the authority will process again information that it received the previous year. Under new proposals, it is only when a ratepayer’s circumstances change that they need to notify the billing authority.

Relevant Changes

There are thee scenarios where a change in the ratable value of a property may affect a ratepayer’s entitlement to Small Business Rate Relief:

i) Where the ratepayer occupies just one property for which relief is being claimed. In this situation the change in rateable value will be notified to both the billing authority and the ratepayer by the valuation officer within four weeks. Under new proposals, ratepayers will not be required to inform the billing authority of rateable value changes.

ii) Where the ratepayers occupies more than one property and all properties are within the same billing authority area. As with the situation above, the billing authority and the ratepayer will be notified within four weeks. Under new proposals, ratepayers will not be required to inform the billing authority of rateable value changes.

iii) Where the ratepayers occupies properties in more than one billing authority area. If there is a change in the rateable value of a property that is situated in the area of billing authority other than the authority from which relief is being claimed, the authority granting the relief will not be notified. Under new proposals the ratepayers should be required to notify any such rateable value change to the billing authority from which relief is being claimed.

Occupation Changes

A ratepayer’s eligibility for Small Business Rate Relief, or the level of the relief available to the ratepayers, may also change if existing properties are vacated or new properties are occupied. Under new proposals if any such change in occupation occurs, ratepayers will be required to notify the billing authority that grants a relief. This will enable the ratepayer to confirm that he or she:

i) wants to continue to receive relief, by submitting a new application , or

ii) does not want to continue to receive relief

Notification Period

Ratepayers are required to notify billing authorities of changes to rateable values on the day the changes takes place. Under new proposals ratepayers will be given a four-week period of grace during which they may notify the billing authority of changes without losing entitlement to their relief.

Bill Gates backs blogs for businesses

Bill Gates told the world Thursday that Blogs are a big deal for businesses and that companies should start using blogs and RSS (Real Simple Syndication) for communicating with customers, staff and partners.

Bill Gates topped it off by saying blogs have advantages over other, older ways of communicating such as email and Web sites. This is Bill Gates we’re talking off folks – a guy that does not try to predict the future for business purposes – he makes the future.

Bill Gates didn’t announce his views in the lunchroom at Microsoft. He did it at the eighth annual Microsoft CEO Summit attended by 100 global business leaders including Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett, Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos, Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer, Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and media tycoon Barry Diller.

Here’s what the BBC reported early this morning:

Mr. Gates made a point of dwelling on blogs and said that although they started in the technical community and have come to be a broader social phenomenon, businesses can use them too.They had advantages over more traditional ways of keeping in touch such as e-mail and websites, he said.

E-mail messages could be too imposing or miss out key people who should be included, said Mr Gates.

Websites were a problem too, he added, because they demand that people visit them regularly to find out if anything has changed and require regular updating to avoid going stale.

These problems could be solved, said Mr. Gates, by using blogs and Real Simple Syndication (RSS), that lets people know when a favorite journal is updated.

Gates succinctly put what I really believe:”What blogging and these notifications are about is that you make it very easy to communicate, the ultimate idea is that you should get the information you want when you want it.”

Doing the Business with blogs.

Business blogs (or weblogs) are predicted by some to be the next killer application for online marketing.

Simply put, a blog is a website featuring chronologically-organised time-stamped content. New items, each with their own title, appear at the top as they are posted. Blog publishers can also include links to allow users to enter their own comments.

And, in the words of the Google-owned Blogger.com:

‘A blog is your easy-to-use website, where you can quickly post thoughts, interact with people, and more.

‘A blog gives you your own voice on the web. It’s a place to collect and share things that you find interesting – whether it’s your political commentary, a personal diary, or links to websites you want to remember.

‘Many people use a blog just to organise their own thoughts, while others command influential, worldwide audiences of thousands. Professional and amateur journalists use blogs to publish breaking news, while personal journalers reveal inner thoughts.’

And, in Guardian Unlimited, Jane Perrone writes: ‘A weblog is, literally, a “log” of the web – a diary-style site, in which the author (a “blogger”) links to other web pages he or she finds interesting using entries posted in reverse chronological order.’

But blogs have more power than simply acting as online journals for self-publishing individuals.

Blogs can be strong business tools, too.

And don’t just take it from me. In a speech to an audience of chief executives, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said ‘Blogs are good for business!’

Gates went on to say that regular updated business blogs could be a good way for firms to tell customers, staff and partners what they are doing.

And he said that blogs had advantages over other, older ways of communicating such as email.

Indeed, more than 700 Microsoft employees are already using blogs to keep people up to date with their projects.

Here are some of the benefits a business blog can deliver:

• Up-to-the minute information can be published for your customers.
• Updates can be made via the web or email.
• Higher search engine positioning can be achieved (search engines love fresh and regularly updated content).
• Other bloggers may link to your blog for free.
• Subscribers can be automatically emailed when you create a new post.
• A webfeed can be set up so readers automatically receive headings and summaries of new updates with links to the full items (these can also be picked up by aggregator services – sites which dynamically collect feeds).
• Company information can be published to keep internal staff updated (this can be password protected).

Savings are child’s best interest

There are a wealth of bank accounts designed to entice children into investing.

The Government has tried to give young savers a head start through the introduction of the Child Trust Fund, where each child is given £250 to invest.

Banks are doing their best to get youngsters on board too, by giving them free gifts ranging from money boxes and calculators to teddy bears when they open an account.

But while they may attract financially naive children, parents must be aware that such freebies could be hiding a low interest rate or poor access.

Brian Capon, a spokesman for the British Bankers’ Association, insists that such gifts are merely an understandable enticement to get new customers.

Ensuring Easy access for Disabled people.

Make sure Disabled people can access the goods and services your business offers.

You mustn’t discriminate against disabled people you employ or who use your goods or services.

If you provide services to the public, you must make reasonable adjustments to the way you provide your services if disabled people would otherwise find it impossible or unreasonably difficult to access them.

Making a resonable adjustment might mean you have to :

• change a policy, practice or procedure(waiving a ‘no dogs’ policy for blind customers with guide dogs, for example)
• provide an extra aid or service (such as hearing loop or arranging goods on shelves so that popular items are at a range heights)
• overcome a physical feature of your premises where it makes it impossible unreasonably difficult for disabled person to access your service by: removing it, altering it, providing a reasonable means of avoiding it or providing the service by a reasonable alternative method.

Under the law, you are required to make reasonable adjustments given the circumstances with factors such as practically and cost taken into account. What is considered reasonable will differ for large organizations and for small organizations with limited resources.

• You must review your services and premises with disabled access in mind.
• Get further information and advice from Disability Rights Commission

Contact: 08457 622 633 www.drc-gb.org

• For more information on the laws relating to disability visit www.disablity.gov.uk

Choosing the right Name.

The right name for your business can help you stand out from the crowd but there are a few restrictions which could affect your choice.

Sole traders or partnerships can trade under their own names or choose different business name. However, if you choose something other than your own name you will have to include your own name and the business address on all business stationery.

You must register the name of a limited company or limited liability partnership when it is formed.

You cannot use offensive names. And your proposed company name must not be the same as another name already appearing on the register at Companies House.

There are restrictions on the use in business or company name of a number of ’sensitive’ words and expressions – such as ‘Royal’ or ‘Institute’. Further details of what is allowed can be found in Companies House.

You should check the availability and suitability of company names with companies House before completing the company registration documents. You can’t reserve intended company names for your possible future use.

When choosing a name, you may want to consider weather you will want to set up a website in future.  If so it’s good idea to check the name is available as web address(domain name) and register it, so your customers will be able to find your website easily.

Nominet Uk is the registry for .uk domain names and also providers advice on registring and maintaining your internet name.

• You can check your name isn’t the same or similar to that of another company or limited liability partnership on the Companies House.
• Make sure your company name doesn’t conflict with any registered trade marks.       Contact The patent Office Trade Mark.
• You can check availability of domain names at Nominet or NetNames.
• For more information on naming your business, read : Company Names(GBF2); Business Names(GBF 3). Contact: 0870 33 33 636. www.companieshouse.gov.uk