FRYER* NEWSLETTER NO. 3, JANUARY 5, 1999

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN PROTECTION UPDATE

Prepared by William T. Fryer, III

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

European Union publishes Design Directive

New Vessel Hull Design Protection Act

New Edition (7th) of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Chapter 1500 on Design Patents

Industrial Design Treaty Diplomatic Conference Dates are Set

WIPO Intellectual Property Library

U. S. PTO Web Site Adds Page with Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Design Patent Applications

New CD-ROM WIPO Designs Bulletin Publication

Australian Patent Office Provides Information on Design Protection

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European Union publishes Design Directive. On October 28, 1998, the EU has published the long awaited Design Directive, mandating basic design laws for its members. This step will be followed soon by establishing an EU Community Design System whose text is almost completed. An Introductory Report on the Design Directive and Resources, including a copy of the Design Directive, is available on this web site.

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New Vessel Hull Design Protection Act. On October 28, 1998, the Vessel Design Protection Act became U.S. law and effective on enactment to protect certain features of vessel hulls and decks against copying. An Introductory Report on Vessel Hull Design Protection Act and Resources for studying this new law are available on this web site.

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New Edition (7th) of the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, Chapter 1500 on Design Patents. The MPEP 7th Edition was published, revising Chapter 1500 on design patents and incorporating the recent rule changes. A copy of the new chapter 1500 is on the PTO web site under the Patent heading. An analysis of the Major PTO Design Patent Rule Changes incorporated in the new edition is on this web site.

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Industrial Design Treaty Diplomatic Conference Dates are Set. The Diplomatic Conference on the revised Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs will be held on June 16 to July 6, 1999, at the World Intellectual Property Law Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The revised treaty will provide a centralized system for filing design patents in member countries and establish several uniform procedures that will facilitate obtaining foreign design protection. This Conference will determine the final treaty text and which countries and regional organizations interested in joining. In the near future a copy of the proposed treaty documents will be available on the WIPO web site under the heading Hague System .

It is expected that U.S. government representatives will participate actively in this Conference and work hard to provide a treaty to which the U.S. can Adhere. The U. S. PTO plans to announce the Conference soon in the Federal Register and solicit comments from interested utilizing the treaty system, and a hearing to receive comments will be held probably. The comment period will provide another important opportunity for firms, companies and organizations to demonstrate their support. In the past many companies have endorsed this project.

It is critical that these prior supporters and new ones communicate their interest at that time to the U. S. PTO. A report on the meetings of experts revision work that led up to the Diplomatic Conference proposed is on this web site

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WIPO Intellectual Property Library. A very useful intellectual property (IP) library is at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the WIPO web site under the heading "Library" has several important data bases. One resource has all treaties administered by WIPO. Another database has a list articles in key IP periodicals, updated weekly. The library will provide research assistance.

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U. S. PTO Web Site Adds Page with Answers to Frequently Asked Questions on Design Patent Applications. The U.S. PTO has added to its web site a page providing answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) concerning design patent protection. This resource includes access to U. S. PTO design patent application related forms that can be printed out.

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New CD-ROM WIPO Designs Bulletin Publication. WIPO announced the new publication on CD-ROM of its Designs Bulletin (WIPO Press Release, Nov. 6, 1998, found on the WIPO web site under the Hague System heading. This publication will be less expensive than the Designs Bulletin paper version.

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Australian Patent Office Provides Information on Design Protection. The Australian Patent Office web site has several features related to design registrations. There is a summary of design registration system. In addition, it has the text of the Designs Act for the design registration and the Designs Regulations. This site link has been added to the Country and Regional Industrial Design Protection Information List, a feature of this web site.

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Comments on topics mentioned in this newsletter are welcomed. All comments should be sent to the editor at the following e-mail address: fryer@fryer.com --.

* "FRYER" is a trademark for paper publications created printing out from the Internet or from a down loaded copy of the web file, and it is a service mark for electronic information services.

This page was last updated on January 3, 1999.

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