A full photograph of my product will go up once I've made sufficient sales and I do need to watch my back as much from my extremely nosy stalking neighbours.
Registered design number 15 March 2021: 6124458
Registered design number September 2023: 6307969
So I needed a way to put my registered design number on my strap, it is a requirement to say the design is mine and legally deter any copying. A website address can be used instead of the number, but I don't think many people would be to happy with a giant hyperlink on their strap, not to mention the cost of a domain and running it.
I actually got this idea of using a Brother label printer to attach the number to the underside of my design with TZe Tape from my place of work who love using Dynamo tape. I've got the Brother P-Touch D210VP since it is the only one that comes with a UK adapter and not run on batteries, it's so much fun to play with and the tape is perfect, waterproof and good on budget price wise per label. I'm using a cheap copy of TZe Tape from Amazon which is a whole lot cheaper, each label I make is about 3cm in length, so can produce many sew on labels per meter. The tape will eventually peel off, though it does have it strengths and will stay on for quite some time I expect.
Designs are automatically protected once you create an object, but I've design registered with the government, due to Covid-19 took 6.5 weeks to process instead of the quoted 15 days. The design examination department is unbelievably slow at processing. The plus side when registering it with the government is that you can stop other people selling the design and have a piece of paper to say it is your design and the date in which it was created. I will be releasing my design for sale after trademarking and producing labels for my products in about 1-2 months time.
For my second application which was rejected, the process took 9 weeks for first contact and another few weeks later due to waiting for the examiner to respond and the application will close at the end of June. The examiner refused it on the basis on which she perceived as purely designed around a function. But that doesn't matter, all I need is a date for when I produced it for self protection, I think all my correspondence and application process with her confirms that. It is still my design and it is still automatically design protected, it just doesn't fit in with the government application process.
What I have found is that the Intellectual Property Office examiner will perceive and judge a design according to their own perceptions, which I have found they do not think out the box, they believe a design can only be used for one purpose. All designs cannot be designed solely for a function, which is ridiculous as most designs would have been designed around a function initially (Bauhaus, "form follows function") and replacement parts cannot be protected. A design can be protected for its appearance, configuration, pattern, colour, and materials. Even my umbrella strap was initially designed around its function and then made more appealing. The fact is, most individuals would not buy something ugly that does not work.
The cost of registering a design cost is £50, to register up to 10 designs costs £70. The total I've spent on two designs is £70, so it really is worth considering registering 10 all in one go if you're planning to take this route as a designer and you do lose the money if a design is rejected. I'm registering my designs mainly for CV purposes, to protect myself from despicable individuals and there are a lot of devious people out in this world unfortunately.
If you calculate the cost of my materials for a inexpensive product then there isn't much profit to be made or I may just break even; online sale fees, PayPal fees, site fees, internet security fees, accountant fees, income tax (once you go over personal allowance limit of £12,570), NI deductions (they go towards state benefits and pension, should you need them but it is better to optionally pay this, around 9% of earnings, you'll find the rich only has to pay 2% and 0% if below personal allowance limit).
Every 5 years you will have to renew the registered design for more money than initially paid and gets steeper every year, a total of 25 years. This government really knows how to rip you off. Registering a design is a much better advantage, if your design is an invention and no one has come up with this idea, it will set you back £4,000 per product as a patent.
If you want to read more information on design rights https://www.gov.uk/register-a-design
For more information of image sizing for the design right Intellectual Property Image Sizing
For more information of patenting Intellectual Property Patenting
Now I just need to work out how to produce the plastics myself, since some of the components are no longer sold. I'm learning 3D printing, it's mind boggling as it's a whole different board game, it seems like a useful skill to learn. I'll have to start saving up for a 3D printer. I'm already still learning to produce my own embroidery designs on my new sewing machine (I have 5, this will be my last sewing machine I promise) and graphics using two pieces of software that I'm fairly new to, both of which will help me brand my products for sale at a reasonable price. Professional printing is so expensive!
I now have a new and improved design which is also registered with the government, it's also cheaper to produce, as I have found a couple of wholesalers who produce exactly what I need. I will still need to 3D design a vital component and not use the one initially thought I would.
