Regulatory Reform (Registered Designs) Order 2006

I thank the Minister for explaining this draft order in some detail. The regulatory impact assessment states that the aims of the order are: "““to encourage more businesses to seek registration; encourage UK businesses to innovate; reduce the level of copying of new designs in the UK; make the system fairer for all applicants””." These are laudable aims. We notice that this system runs in parallel with the Community design system that was brought about by the designs directive. Can the Minister tell the Committee whether it is possible for a UK company to have an approved design under the UK Act and for another company to have an identical, or very similar, design approved under the EC system? If so, what happens when the other company starts to sell its product in the UK in competition with the product of the UK company? Which one is protected from the other? We welcome the proposal to reduce the standard of care required for restoration of lapsed design registrations to match the standards in other forms of intellectual property protection. On the proposal to end substantive examination for novelty, the order would remove a burden and would introduce some procedural clarity, albeit that there would be slightly greater legal uncertainty, because a few more invalid applications would be granted than hitherto. I have a concern that the ending of substantive examination prior to grant of approval might lead to an increase in costs for those—we hope very few— who end up in court. Have the Government considered an optional substantive examination, which could be offered at the cost of the applicant, the results of which would be binding and would therefore remove the need for subsequent litigation? It would give applicants confidence that, having made an application, they need not worry that they might yet have to contest their right to it in court. I also note that the report of the Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Commons indicated its support for the draft order, as the Minister mentioned, subject to slight revision to ensure consistency in the references in Articles 8 and 9 to ““sections of this Act””. That revision seems to be appropriate, and was accepted by the Patent Office. We have no objection to the proposal to allow multiple applications, although we have no evidence on which to judge the savings that would accrue. There is potential for lower costs, but that depends on the level of the fees for applications. We support the proposal to make all designs open to public inspection. Indeed, we think that the proposal could go further. The Patents Act 1977 changed patent law to open most of the Patent Office correspondence files of published patents to third-party inspection. The same measure was enacted for trade marks by the Trade Marks Act 1994. The files of Community designs are open to public inspection. There is therefore no reason to keep the correspondence files of published registered designs secret. To do so also appears contrary to the spirit of open government. We do not see why the files of designs, unlike any other UK form of intellectual property and unlike Community designs, should be kept secret. Indeed, the files should be opened to allow third parties more effectively to do the job of challenging bad registrations from which the registry proposes to resign. For example, where priority is claimed, the public should have access to the priority document and any translation thereof. Can the Minister make any commitments in this regard?