Part G: Glossary

The glossary contains a short explanation of terms and abbreviations, contained within the manual.

Alphabetical list
Accessing decisions	Decisions in earlier cases are available from several sources: reports of patents, designs and trade marks cases (RPCs) - these normally include reports of appeals to the courts and sometimes to the appointed person. They may also include decisions of the Tribunal where the decision contains statements of practice and interpretation of the law. Fleet Street reports (FSRs) - these also contain reports of intellectual property cases of interest and are published by Sweet and Maxwell.
Appointed Person	Decisions are not binding on the Designs Registry other than in the case being dealt with. However, they are persuasive value in considering cases. These decisions are published on the office website under ‘Hearings (Results of past decisions)’. Appointed Persons are experienced intellectual property law practitioners, who are appointed by the Lord Chancellor. A decision of the Designs Registry may be appealed to the appointed person (see section 27A) but is not subjected to further appeal.
Article 6ter	Article 6ter is a part of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, and specifically protects national flags and emblems of convention countries. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) holds a database of these flags and emblems, all of which will have been notified to WIPO by individual countries.
Decision of other Courts and Tribunals	The management and decisions of tribunal actions under the Act must take account of guidance laid down or endorsed by appellate bodies and other Courts. The Registered Designs Act is largely derived from EU law (Council Regulations 6/2002).As a result, it is assimilated law under section 2 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. In relation to the interpretation of such assimilated law, the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (including the General Court) issued before 1 January 2021 continues to apply, and is binding on the registrar, as assimilated EU case law under Section 6 of the Withdrawal Act. Judgments made by the CJEU after that date are not binding, although regard can still be had to them. However, the Supreme Court, the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland, and various appeal courts, including the Court of Appeal, are not bound to follow assimilated EU case law and have the power to depart from such judgments. Any decisions made on that basis are then binding on the registrar.
Decisions of Tribunals/Courts outside the UK	With the exception of judgments of the CJEU that apply as assimilated case law (see above), decisions of other National Courts/Tribunals are not binding on the Registrar, nor are they usually of particular persuasive value. Decisions of National Tribunals/Courts within the EU maybe of persuasive value in determining the meaning of the assimilated law but they are similarly not binding. Even when the UK was a Member State of the EU, Laddie J. held in a Wagamama [1995] FSR 713 that: “it would not be right for an English Court, if it is firmly of a different view, to follow the route adopted by the courts of another Member State simply because the other courts expressed a view first. The scope of European legislation is too important to be decided on a ‘first past the post’ basis.”
Design Practice Notices (DPN)	Designs practice notices are used to notify our stakeholders of changes in relation to examination practice. They are published in the Intellectual Property section of the UK government’s website, and provide guidance for practitioners on how the Registrar is continuing to update practice.
Ex parte hearing	A hearing on an issue solely between an applicant and the Registrar.
Forms	A number of different Design forms and fees are used by the IPO for the purposes of administering registered design applications and registrations.
Geneva Convention Act 1957	The Geneva Convention Act 1957 is the legislative vehicle which enables the UK to enact the Geneva Convention. This allows for, in particular, the protection of the Red Cross and equivalent symbols by the UK government.
Hearing Officer	A hearing officer is a senior representative of the Registrar of Designs, and issues decisions on his behalf. Hearing Officers can deal with both ex parte and inter partes proceedings.
Intellectual Property Office (IPO)	The IPO is an operating name of the Patent Office. It is the government body responsible for intellectual property rights in the UK and is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Inter Partes Hearing	A hearing involving two or more parties, held before a Hearing Officer from the IPO’s Trade Marks and Designs Tribunal. In the context of registered designs, an inter partes hearing will commonly relate to an invalidation action brought by one designer against another.
Locarno Classification	The World Intellectual Property Organization Locarno Classification (LOC), established by the Locarno Agreement (1968), is an international classification system used for the purposes of classifying industrial designs in relation to design registrations. It is an administrative tool which enables third parties to search national design registers for earlier prior art. Although the Locarno system is managed by WIPO, the UK is a member and therefore attends international meetings.
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property	The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, adopted in 1883, as amended 1979, applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including industrial designs, trade marks, patents and geographical indications. It is administered by the World Intellectual Property Office (or ‘WIPO’ - see below) and, amongst other things, enables users to protect their intellectual property in other countries by allowing them to claim a date from an earlier application (a so-called ‘priority claim’). The Convention also provides automatic protection for flags and emblems of Paris convention countries (those signed up to the Paris Convention).
Registered Designs Act 1949 (as amended)	The legislative vehicle by which designs are examined in the UK. It sets out the overall requirements for designs registrations. The Registered Designs Act and Rules was last updated by The IP Act 2014.
Registered Designs Rules 2006	A piece of UK secondary legislation which sets out the statutory requirements in respect of registered designs, and provides The Registered Designs Rules 2006 on filing requirements.
RPC	Abbreviation for ‘Reports of Patent, Design and Trade Mark Cases’, a series of law reports relating to intellectual property cases, currently published on behalf of the Intellectual Property Office by Oxford University Press.
Trade Marks and Designs Tribunal	A department within the IPO which deals with inter partes trade mark and designs proceedings involving two or more parties.
UK Courts (High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court)	Any decision reached by the IPO Designs Examination Section may be appealed to the UK Courts. Unlike the AP decisions which are not subject to further appeal, decisions of the Courts can be appealed to a higher jurisdiction. Decisions issued by any of the UK Courts are binding on the Registrar and must be taken into account when making further decisions on future designs cases.
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)	WIPO is a United Nations Agency which specialises in protecting intellectual property rights throughout the world. Applicants who wish to file an international designs application can do so through the Hague system.