Patents and registered designs.

• The government’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) grants legal rights (patents) for novel inventions.
• Patents apply only to working parts of a design (e.g. a car suspension system, electronic product PCB, automatic kettle sensor).
• They provide up to 20 years’ legal protection, but are expensive and complicated to obtain.
• It is essential that the invention is completely new or significantly improves an existing design.
• Detailed, labelled diagrams and clear description are central to submissions.
• A patent attorney is often employed to check a patent prior to submission.
• Legal conflict examples include Apple vs Samsung (software features) and Dyson vs Hoover (dual cyclone).
• It can be argued that publication of a patent encourages further innovation.

Figure 24.2 Patent drawings for the 1904 Gillette razor

• Registered designs offer legal protection for product appearance and decoration, not working parts.
• Designs are registered for up to 25 years by submitting illustrations and a fee to the IPO.
• Trade in fake designer label products is an ongoing problem despite legal penalties.

Figure 24.3 The ® symbol used on a label for a toy