Jersey Law 11/1957
REGISTERED DESIGNS (JERSEY) LAW, 1957.
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A LAW to
provide for the registration in the Island of designs registered in the United
Kingdom, and for matters incidental thereto, sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty
in Council of the
29th day of APRIL, 1957.
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(Registered on the 18th day of May, 1957).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
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The 22nd day of
January, 1957.
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THE STATES, subject to the sanction of
Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: -
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
(1) In
this Law, unless the context otherwise requires –
“article” means any article of manufacture and includes
any part of an article if that part is made separately;
“the Comptroller-General” means the Comptroller General
of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks in the United Kingdom;
“copyright” has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph
(1) of Article 9 of this Law;
“design” means features of shape, configuration,
pattern or ornament applied to an article by any industrial process or means,
being features which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by
the eye, but does not include a method or principle of construction or features
of shape or configuration which are dictated solely by the function which the
article to be made in that shape or configuration has to perform;
“Government department” means a department of Her
Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom;
“register” means enter in the register of designs;
“the register of designs” means the register of designs
kept in pursuance of Article 3 of this Law;
“the Registered Designs Act” means the Registered
Designs Act, 1949 (12, 13 and 14 Geo. 6, c. 88);
“registered design” means a design that is actually
registered;
“registered proprietor” means, in relation to a design,
the person or persons for the time being entered in the register of designs as
proprietor of the design;
“set of articles” means a number of articles of the
same general character ordinarily on sale or intended to be used together, to
each of which the same design, or the same design with modifications or
variations not sufficient to alter the character or substantially to affect the
identity thereof, is applied;
“the United Kingdom register of designs” means the
register of designs kept in pursuance of section seventeen of the Registered
Designs Act.
(2) In
Articles 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12 and 15 of this Law, “the court” means
the “Samedi” division of the Royal Court.
(3) Any
reference in this Law to an article in respect of which a design is registered
shall, in the case of a design registered in respect of a set of articles, be
construed as a reference to any article of that set.
ARTICLE 2
LIMITATION OF POWERS OF ROYAL COURT IN RELATION TO REGISTRATION OF
DESIGNS
As from the coming into force of this Law, no title or interest in
respect of any design shall be entered in the rolls of the Royal Court
otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
ARTICLE 3
REGISTER OF DESIGNS
(1) There
shall be kept at the Judicial Greffe a register, to be called “the
register of designs”, in which there shall be entered the representation
or specimen of designs, names and addresses of the proprietors thereof,
particulars of assignments and of transmissions of registered designs, and such
other matters affecting the validity of proprietorship of designs, as may be
prescribed by rules of court, or as the Judicial Greffier may think fit.
(2) Subject
to the provisions of this Law and to rules of court, the register of designs
shall, at all convenient times, be open to inspection by the public; and
certified copies of any entry in the register shall be given to any person
requiring them on payment of the appropriate fee:
Provided that no representation of specimen of a design shall be
open to inspection except by the registered proprietor or a person authorized
in writing by him, or a person authorized by the Court or the Judicial
Greffier, before the date on which it became, or is due to become, open to
public inspection in the United Kingdom.
(3) The
register of designs shall be prima facie
evidence of any matters required or authorized by this Law to be entered
therein.
(4) No
notice of any trust, whether expressed, implied or constructive, shall be
entered in the register of designs and the Judicial Greffier shall not be
affected by any such notice.
ARTICLE 4
REGISTRATION OF DESIGNS
(1) Any
person for the time being entered in the United Kingdom register of designs, as
the proprietor of a design, may apply to the Judicial Greffier for the
registration of the design.
(2) Where
any partial assignment or transmission of the design has been made, every
person having any legal interest in the design shall be joined in the
application for registration.
(3) Every
application under this Article shall be made in such manner as may be
prescribed by rules of court and shall be accompanied by a certified
representation or specimen of the design and a certificate of the
Comptroller-General setting forth the rights or interest to which the
application relates, and stating the date at which the representation or
specimen of the design became, or is due to become, open to public inspection
in the United Kingdom.
(4) Where
an application under paragraph (3) of this Article is received, together with
the documents mentioned in that paragraph, the Judicial Greffier shall register
the design and issue a certificate of registration unless it appears doubtful
to him whether the application should be granted or any question arises in
relation to the application, in which case he shall present a statement of the
matter in question to the Bailiff for the directions of the court, and the
court may order such persons to be convened, such evidence to be taken and such
enquiries to be made as the Court may deem necessary and, subject to the
provisions of this Law and to rules of court, shall determine whether the
design should be registered.
ARTICLE 5
REGISTRATION OF EXTENSIONS OF COPYRIGHT IN DESIGNS
Where a design has been registered and the period of copyright in
the design in the United Kingdom has been extended, the registered proprietor
may apply to the Judicial Greffier in such manner as may be prescribed by rules
of court for the registration of the extension, and the Judicial Greffier, on
production of sufficient evidence thereof, shall register the same.
ARTICLE 6
REGISTRATION OF ASSIGNMENTS, ETC
(1) Where
a person becomes entitled by assignment, transmission or other operation of
law, to a registered design, or to a share in a registered design, or becomes
entitled as licensee or otherwise to any other interest in a registered design,
and has obtained registration in the United Kingdom of such title or interest
in accordance with the law for the time being in force in the United Kingdom,
he may apply to the Judicial Greffier for the registration of such title or
interest.
(2) Every
such application shall be made in such manner as may be prescribed by rules of
court and shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Comptroller-General
relating to the registration in the United Kingdom of such title or interest.
(3) On
the receipt of such an application, the Judicial Greffier shall register the
title or interest unless it appears doubtful to him whether the application
should be granted, or any question arises in relation to the application, in
which event he shall present a statement of the matter in question to the
Bailiff for the directions of the court, and the court may order such persons
to be convened, such evidence to be taken and such enquiries to be made as the
court may deem necessary and, subject to the provisions of this Law and to
rules of court, shall determine whether the application should be granted.
ARTICLE 7
CANCELLATION OF REGISTRATION, AND REGISTRATION OF CHANGE OF NAME
AND ADDRESS
The Judicial Greffier may, on request in writing made by the
registered proprietor –
(a) cancel the registration
of a design; or
(b) enter in the register
any change in the name or address of the registered proprietor.
ARTICLE 8
LEGAL PRESENCE IN ISLAND UNNECESSARY FOR PURPOSE OF MAKING
APPLICATIONS
An application under Article 4, 5, 6 or 7 of this Law may be made
notwithstanding the fact that the person making the application is not present
in the Island and is not represented by an attorney present in the Island so
long as he has notified the Judicial Greffier of an address in the Island to
which any notice or summons in connexion with any matter relating to the design
may be sent, and, in such case, any such notice or summons shall be deemed to
be sufficiently served if it is sent to that address.
ARTICLE 9
EFFECT OF REGISTRATION
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Law, the registration of a design or any title or
interest in a design shall give to the registered proprietor the copyright in
the registered design, that is to say the exclusive right in the Island to make
or import for sale or for use for the purposes of any trade or business, or to
sell, hire or offer for sale or hire, any article in respect of which the
design is registered, being an article to which the registered design or a
design not substantially different from the registered design has been applied,
and to make anything for enabling any such article to be made as aforesaid,
whether in the Island or elsewhere, but, save as aforesaid, no person shall be
entitled to any privileges or rights in respect of any design.
(2) The
copyright so given shall date from the date of registration in the United
Kingdom and shall continue in force for so long only as the registration in the
United Kingdom remains in force:
Provided that no action for infringement of copyright in the design
shall be entertained –
(a) in respect of any use
of the design prior to the date of the registration thereof under the Law; or
(b) where the period of
copyright in the design has been extended, unless such extension has been
registered.
ARTICLE 10
POWER OF COURT TO CANCEL REGISTRATION
(1) A
petition for the cancellation of the registration of a design may be presented
to the court by the Attorney General or by any person who alleges that his
interests have been pre-judicially affected by such registration on any of the
following grounds, that is to say –
(a) that the design was
registered on the application of a person not entitled under the provisions of
this Law to make the application; or
(b) that the design has
been used in the Island before the date of the registration thereof in the
United Kingdom; or
(c) that more than three
years had elapsed between the date of the registration of the design in the
United Kingdom and the date of the registration thereof under this Law and
that, on the latter date, the design was being used in the Island on a
commercial scale; or
(d) that, three years
having elapsed since the date of the registration, the design (being one
capable of being used in the Island) is not, at the time of the presentation of
the petition, being used in the Island on a commercial scale; or
(e) that, three years
having elapsed since the date of the registration, the demand in the Island for
the design is not being met to an adequate extent and on reasonable terms;
and the court, after hearing the parties if desirous of being
heard, may make an order cancelling the registration or dismissing the
petition.
(2) In
proceedings under this Article, the court may determine any question which it
may be necessary or expedient to determine in connexion with such cancellation.
ARTICLE 11
RECTIFICATION OF REGISTER
(1) The
court may, on the application of the Attorney General or of any person
aggrieved, order the register of designs to be rectified by the making of any
entry therein or the variation or deletion of any such entry.
(2) In
proceedings under this Article, the court may determine any question which it
may be necessary or expedient to determine in connexion with the rectification
of the register.
ARTICLE 12
POWER TO CORRECT CLERICAL ERRORS
(1) The
Judicial Greffier may, in accordance with the provisions of this Article,
correct any clerical error in the register of designs.
(2) A
correction may be made in pursuance of this Article either upon a request in
writing made by any person interested, or without such a request.
(3) Where
the Judicial Greffier proposes to make any such correction as aforesaid
otherwise than in pursuance of a request made under this Article, he shall give
notice of the proposal to the registered proprietor and to any other person who
appears to him to be concerned, and shall give them an opportunity to be heard
before making the correction.
(4) Where
a request is made under this Article for the making of any such correction as
aforesaid and it appears to the Judicial Greffier that the correction would
materially affect the privileges and rights conferred by the registration of
the design, he shall require the person by whom the request was made to apply
to the court for the rectification of the register of designs in accordance
with the provisions of Article 11 of this Law.
ARTICLE 13
USE OF REGISTERED DESIGNS FOR THE SERVICES OF THE CROWN
(1) Subject
to the provisions of this Law, the registration of a design shall have the same
effect against the Crown as it has against a subject:
Provided that any Government department, and any person authorized
in writing by any such department, may use any registered design for the
services of the Crown in the like manner, to the like extent and subject to the
like conditions as it might be used in the United Kingdom by any such
department or by any person so authorized.
(2) For
the purposes of this Article, any use of a registered design for the supply to
the Government of any country outside the United Kingdom, in pursuance of any
agreement or arrangement between Her Majesty’s Govenment in the United
Kingdom and the government of that country, of articles required for the
defence of that country, shall be deemed to be a use of the design for the
services of the Crown; and the power of a Government department or a person
authorized by a Government department under this Article to use a design shall
include power –
(a) to sell such articles
to the government of any country in pursuance of any such agreement or
arrangement as aforesaid; and
(b) to sell to any person
any articles made in the exercise of the powers conferred by this Article which
are no longer required for the purpose for which they were made.
(3) The
purchaser of any articles sold in the exercise of powers conferred by this
Article, and any person claiming through him, shall have power to deal with
them in the same manner as if the rights in the registered design were held on
behalf of Her Majesty.
ARTICLE 14
USE OF REGISTERED DESIGNS FOR THE SERVICE OF THE STATES
(1) Notwithstanding
anything in this Law, the States, and any person authorized by the States, may
use for the public service of the Island any registered design upon such terms
as may be agreed, either before or after the use, between the States and the
registered proprietor, or as may in default of agreement be determined by the
court on a reference under Article 15 of this Law.
(2) The
authority of the States in respect of a registered design may be given under
this Article either before or after the design is registered and either before
or after the acts in respect of which the authority is given are done, and may
be given to any person whether or not he is authorized directly or indirectly
by the registered proprietor to use the design.
(3) Where
any use of a registered design is made by or with the authority of the States
under this Article, then, unless it appears to the States that it would be
contrary to the public interest so to do, the States shall notify the
registered proprietor as soon as practicable after the use is begun, and
furnish him with such information as to the extent of the use as he may from
time to time require.
(4) The
power of the States or of a person authorized by the States under this Article
to use a registered design shall include power to sell to any person any
articles made in the exercise of the powers conferred by this Article which are
no longer required for the purpose for which they were made.
(5) The
purchaser of any articles sold in the exercise of powers conferred by this
Article, and any person claiming through him, shall have power to deal with
them in the same manner as if the rights in the registered design were held on
behalf of the States.
(6) The
States may, by Act, delegate the exercise of all or any of its powers under
this Article to any Committee of the States.
ARTICLE 15
REFERENCE OF DISPUTES AS TO USE BY CROWN OR STATES
(1) Any
dispute as to the exercise by a Government department or by the States, or by a
person authorized by a Government department or by the States, of the powers
conferred by Article 13 or 14 of this Law, or as to terms for the use of a
registered design for the services of the Crown or of the States thereunder, or
as to the right of any person to receive any part of a payment in respect of
those services, may be referred to the court by either party to the dispute in
such manner as may be prescribed by rules of court.
(2) In
any proceedings under this Article to which a Government department or the
States are a party, the department or the States, as the case may be, may
–
(a) if the registered
proprietor is a party to the proceedings, apply for the cancellation of the
registration of the design upon any ground upon which the registration of a
design may be cancelled under Article 10 of this Law;
(b) in any case, put in
issue the validity of the registration of the design without applying for its
cancellation.
(3) In
determining under this Article any dispute between a Government department or
the States and any person as to terms for the use of a design for the services
of the Crown or the States respectively, the court shall have regard to any
benefit or compensation which that person or any person from whom he derives title
may have received, or may be entitled to receive, directly or indirectly, from
any Government department or from the States, as the case may be, in respect of
the design in question.
(4) In
any proceedings under this Article, the court may at any time order the whole
proceedings or any question or issue of fact arising therein to be referred to
a special or official referee or an arbitrator on such terms as the court may
direct; and references to the court in the foregoing provisions of this Article
shall be construed accordingly.
ARTICLE 16
EXEMPTION OF INNOCENT INFRINGER FROM LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES
(1) In
proceedings for the infringement of the copyright in a registered design,
damages shall not be awarded against a defendant who proves that at the date of
the infringement he was not aware, and had no reasonable ground for supposing,
that the design was registered, and a person shall not be deemed to have been
aware or to have had reasonable grounds for supposing as aforesaid by reason
only of the marking of an article with the word “Registered” or any
abbreviation thereof or any other word or words expressing or implying that the
design applied to the article has been registered, unless the number of the
design and the words “in Jersey” followed the word
“Registered” or the abbreviation thereof or the words
“Registered in Jersey” accompanied that other word or those other
words.
(2) Nothing
in this Article shall affect the power of the court to grant an injunction in
any proceedings for infringement of copyright in a registered design.
ARTICLE 17
REMEDY FOR GROUNDLESS THREATS OF INFRINGEMENT PROCEEDINGS
(1) Where
any person (whether or not entitled to or interested in a registered design) by
circulars, advertisements or otherwise threatens any other person with
proceedings for infringement of the copyright in a registered design, any
person aggrieved thereby may bring an action against him for any such relief as
is mentioned in paragraph (2) of this Article.
(2) Unless
in any action brought by virtue of this Article the defendant proves that the
acts in respect of which proceedings were threatened constitute or, if done,
would constitute, an infringement of the copyright in a registered design the
registration of which is not shown by the plaintiff to be invalid, the
plaintiff shall be entitled to the following relief, that is to say –
(a) a declaration to the
effect that the threats are unjustifiable;
(b) an injunction against
the continuance of the threats; and
(c) such damages, if any,
as he has sustained thereby.
(3) For
the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that a mere notification that a
design is registered does not constitute a threat of proceedings within the
meaning of this Article.
ARTICLE 18
FALSIFICATION OF REGISTER, ETC
If any person makes or causes to be made a false entry in the
register of designs, or a writing falsely purporting to be a copy of an entry
in that register, or produces or tenders or causes to be produced or tendered
in evidence any such writing, knowing the entry or writing to be false, he
shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a
fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, or to both such imprisonment and fine.
ARTICLE 19
FINE FOR FALSELY REPRESENTING A DESIGN AS REGISTERED
(1) If
any person falsely represents that a design applied to any article sold by him
is registered in respect of that article, he shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding five pounds; and for the purposes of this provision a person who
sells an article having stamped, engraved or impressed thereon or otherwise
applied thereto the words “Registered in Jersey”, or any other word
expressing or implying that the design applied to the article is registered,
shall be deemed to represent that the design applied to the article is registered
in respect of that article.
(2) If
any person, after the copyright in a registered design has expired, marks any
article to which the design has been applied with the words “Registered
in Jersey” or any word or words implying that there is a subsisting
copyright in the design, or causes any such article to be so marked, he shall
be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds.
ARTICLE 20
RULES OF COURT
(1) The
power to make rules of court under the Royal Court (Jersey) Law, 1948, shall include a power to make rules for the
purposes of this Law and proceedings thereunder, and such rules may make
provision –
(a) for the appointment of
advisers to assist the court in proceedings for infringement of copyright in
registered designs and proceedings under this Law, and for regulating the
functions of such advisers;
(b) for enabling persons to
take proceedings under this Law in forma
pauperis;
(c) for the hearing by the
court in vacation of all such matters under this Law as may require to be
immediately or promptly heard.
(2) The
remuneration of any adviser appointed under rules made in pursuance of this
Article shall be defrayed out of the General Revenues of the States.
ARTICLE 21
POWERS OF STATES AS REGARDS FEES
For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that the power to
fix fees conferred upon the States by –
(a) “La
Loi (1930) constituant le Département du Vicomte”;
(b) “La
Loi (1930) constitutant le Département des Officiers de la
Couronne”;
(c) “La
Loi (1931) constituant le Département du Greffe Judiciaire”;
(d) “La
Loi (1936) touchant la Rétribution de la charge de Bailli”;
or by any Law, whether passed before or after the commencement of
this Law, amending the said Laws, shall include a power to fix fees in respect
of the registration of designs and applications therefor, and in respect of all
other matters relating to designs under this Law.
ARTICLE 22
SAVING OF VESTED RIGHTS
Nothing in this Law shall be deemed to derogate from such rights as
may be possessed by any person by virtue of the registration in the rolls of
the Royal Court before the coming into force of this Law of any document
relating to a design.
ARTICLE 23
SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This
Law may be cited as the Registered Designs (Jersey) Law, 1957.
(2) This
Law shall come into force on such day or days as the States may by Act appoint, and different days may be fixed for different
purposes and different provisions of this Law.