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Design disputes may arise when a proprietor of a registered design brings a complaint against another party for copying part or whole of the said registered design and represents it as their own. Any such allegations may lead to design disputes.
Depending on the level of infringement the plaintiff may take legal action resulting in a court case against the so-called infringer.
The other end of the coin is that one has to defend against such an allegation. In both cases you will want to get expert guidance and counselling from design lawyers as offered by Smit & Van Wyk Attorneys.
Design disputes can also occur where one party brings a case against another for commercially exploiting the design registered by the proprietor without a proper license agreement in place.
In another instance, the proprietor may bring legal action against a person for not paying the royalties as stipulated in the usage agreement.
Design rights obtained give the proprietor the right to exclude others from copying, making, using, distributing or commercially benefitting from a design with similar features or one exactly the same as the design registered by the proprietor.
Should such an action take place by another person, violation would have taken place regarding the design rights of the proprietor.
Companies should ensure that their employment contracts state that designs made during the employment period, using resources of the company or when the company has commissioned such, are the property of the company.
If not done, it may be difficult during later disputes to get compensation for damages.
It is also imperative to register a design as soon as possible and before the disclosure of any information about the design.
This will prevent disputes which may arise from another design already being in use at the time of registration or one made during the period before the registration of the said design.
Contact us at Smit & Van Wyk for assistance regarding the resolution of design disputes.
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