§ 1310. — Application for registration.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 17USC1310]
TITLE 17--COPYRIGHTS
CHAPTER 13--PROTECTION OF ORIGINAL DESIGNS
Sec. 1310. Application for registration
(a) Time Limit for Application for Registration.--Protection under
this chapter shall be lost if application for registration of the design
is not made within 2 years after the date on which the design is first
made public.
(b) When Design is Made Public.--A design is made public when an
existing useful article embodying the design is anywhere publicly
exhibited, publicly distributed, or offered for sale or sold to the
public by the owner of the design or with the owner's consent.
(c) Application by Owner of Design.--Application for registration
may be made by the owner of the design.
(d) Contents of Application.--The application for registration shall
be made to the Administrator and shall state--
(1) the name and address of the designer or designers of the
design;
(2) the name and address of the owner if different from the
designer;
(3) the specific name of the useful article embodying the
design;
(4) the date, if any, that the design was first made public, if
such date was earlier than the date of the application;
(5) affirmation that the design has been fixed in a useful
article; and
(6) such other information as may be required by the
Administrator.
The application for registration may include a description setting forth
the salient features of the design, but the absence of such a
description shall not prevent registration under this chapter.
(e) Sworn Statement.--The application for registration shall be
accompanied by a statement under oath by the applicant or the
applicant's duly authorized agent or representative, setting forth, to
the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief--
(1) that the design is original and was created by the designer
or designers named in the application;
(2) that the design has not previously been registered on behalf
of the applicant or the applicant's predecessor in title; and
(3) that the applicant is the person entitled to protection and
to registration under this chapter.
If the design has been made public with the design notice prescribed in
section 1306, the statement shall also describe the exact form and
position of the design notice.
(f) Effect of Errors.--(1) Error in any statement or assertion as to
the utility of the useful article named in the application under this
section, the design of which is sought to be registered, shall not
affect the protection secured under this chapter.
(2) Errors in omitting a joint designer or in naming an alleged
joint designer shall not affect the validity of the registration, or the
actual ownership or the protection of the design, unless it is shown
that the error occurred with deceptive intent.
(g) Design Made in Scope of Employment.--In a case in which the
design was made within the regular scope of the designer's employment
and individual authorship of the design is difficult or impossible to
ascribe and the application so states, the name and address of the
employer for whom the design was made may be stated instead of that of
the individual designer.
(h) Pictorial Representation of Design.--The application for
registration shall be accompanied by two copies of a drawing or other
pictorial representation of the useful article embodying the design,
having one or more views, adequate to show the design, in a form and
style suitable for reproduction, which shall be deemed a part of the
application.
(i) Design in More Than One Useful Article.--If the distinguishing
elements of a design are in substantially the same form in different
useful articles, the design shall be protected as to all such useful
articles when protected as to one of them, but not more than one
registration shall be required for the design.
(j) Application for More Than One Design.--More than one design may
be included in the same application under such conditions as may be
prescribed by the Administrator. For each design included in an
application the fee prescribed for a single design shall be paid.
(Added Pub. L. 105-304, title V, Sec. 502, Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat.
2909.)
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1304, 1306, 1313, 1332 of
this title.
