PATTERNS. Connected with the subject of patents is the copy right of designs. By recent Acts of Parliament (5 & 6 Vict. c. 100; 6 & 7 Vict. c. 65 ; and 13 & 14 Vict. e. 104—known respectively as " The Designs Act, 1342 ;" " The Designs Act, 1343 ;" and " The Designs Act, 1850"), the inventor, or purchaser, or proprietor of any new design for ornamenting any article of manufacture of a useful character in respect of the pattern, or the shape, or the external appearance, may register such design, and thereby secure the sole right of applying it for a period of three years, subject to extension at the discretion of the Board of Trade.
Provision is contained in the later Act for provisional registration for one year.
The person intending to register must take or send to the office of the Registry of Designs, 1, Whitehall, two copies or drawings of his design ; one of which will be filed by the registrar, and the other returned to the party registering, with a certificate, which certificate is made evidence of registration.
Every article manufactured according to such design must have thereon the number of the design in the register, and the date of the registration.
Any person pirating a design thus protected is liable to a penalty of from Si. to 30/. for each offence, which may be recovered by an action at law, or by summary proceeding before two magistrates.
Registered designs may be transferred from one person to another, in which case the latter is entitled to be registered as the proprietor. Printed forms of such transfers are supplied at the office.
The commissioners of the Treasury have power to fix the fees payable upon registrations, transfers, &c. These fees are of very mode rate amount.