My Lords, this is a probing amendment and it perhaps goes from the sublime to the ridiculous in the sense that we are moving from the sunny uplands of growth and the contribution to our economy that will flow from a better understanding of the creative industries, better engagement and the recruitment of people to work in them to questions about whether design form DF12A should include a statement indicating whether any associated unregistered design right has been assigned by the same assignee. There is a point in this, again, emerging from the consultation process.
In the consultation, suggestions were made that the relevant form should include a statement indicating whether any associated unregistered design right had been assigned to the same assignee. There was also a suggestion that it might require an assertion about whether the assignment of a registered right to a non-resident national or a non-reciprocating country would also extinguish an unregistered design right, which would be a further step. These are aspects of a debate we have been having throughout this afternoon’s
sitting of the Committee in which we are trying to understand better what makes people wish to use the UK unregistered design right and not the UK registered design right. There are good reasons, we have had them and, to a certain extent, I think we understand them, but it is still intriguing how, by the backdoor, a copyright-style approach has become the preferred choice. The noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, gave us the figures earlier.
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The huge majority of designs circulating and fuelling the creative economy in this country are unregistered design rights with a monopoly position that runs up to 15 years, with the last five years not quite in the same mode. To the extent that this matters, the formal position adopted by the UK Government in the past, and available to all designers, to register the design has not happened. I thought that the IPO was right to raise the question of whether more could be done to create a register of more sanguinity and impact by including in the process more information about the individual designs being registered, and whether more could be offered to those who wish to search the register as it becomes more electronic and more available on the internet. What other associated designs or associated unregistered designs might apply?
The amendment is intended to probe the direction in which the original consultation appeared to be going, which was to bulk up the register, to give the registrar more powers to try to provide something of real value to those who wish to engage with design, design registration and subsequent manufacture—even to the extent, as floated in the consultation, of making that a voluntary rather than a statutory provision. That would seem to me, and to others, a good step in the right direction. We would add value to what was available to those who wished to register, as well as adding content and depth, but obviously at the expense of speed, and it would in some ways be more bureaucratic. I understand why the Government may have decided that this is not the way to go, but I still regret that the arrangements are not being followed through, and I should be grateful if, when he responds, the Minister could give us more detail about that.
Also associated with this matter is a question about the rules on inspection documents. Clause 9(5) allows the Secretary of State to define situations in which documents may not be inspected. That seems a rather draconian, censorship sort of power. There are other mentions elsewhere in the Bill—for instance, in relation to Section 22(2)—giving a limited but not sufficient power to prevent inspection of deferred designs, which is the point of my question. However, I wonder whether it is not necessary to strengthen that area and, at the same time, limit the power of the Secretary of State to effectively withhold information which might be valuable to those who wish to take forward similar designs but who wish to check whether they will be guilty of an infringement if they do. Again, that may be something that needs just a little more thought by the Government. Whether he can answer today or whether he wishes to write to me, I shall be grateful for more information. I beg to move.