Protection of Designs in Uganda

To protect designs, Uganda has The United Kingdom Designs (Protection) Act, Chapter 218 Laws of Uganda. This Act became law in Uganda on 15^th June 1937 well before Uganda’s independence in 1962. It's really an Act to provide for the protection in Uganda of designs registered in the United Kingdom. It extends to Uganda the provisions of the UK law on designs. If anyone, even a Ugandan, wishes to register his/her/it’s design(s), the design must first be registered in The United Kingdom before bringing it to Uganda to seek registration.

Section 1 of the said Act (Cap 218) provides for the rights in Uganda of a proprietor of any design registered in United Kingdom. Subject to this Act, the registered proprietor of any design registered in the United Kingdom under the Patents and Design Acts, 1907 to 1932, or any Act of the United Kingdom amending or substituted for those Acts shall enjoy in Uganda the like privileges and rights as though the certificate of registration in The United Kingdom had been issued with an extension to Uganda.

Under section 2 of the Act an innocent infringer is not liable for damages. The registered proprietor of a design shall not be entitled to recover any damages in respect of any infringement of copyright in a design from any defendant who proves that, at the date of the infringement, he or she was not aware and had no reasonable means of making himself or herself aware of the extension of the registration of the design. However, nothing in this section shall affect any proceedings for an injunction.

Section 3 of the Act sets out the grounds upon which a court (we presume it is the High Court of Uganda) may declare that rights have not been acquired in Uganda. The court (we presume it is the High Court) shall have power, upon the application of any person who alleges that his or her interests have been prejudicially affected, to declare, upon any of the grounds upon which the United Kingdom registration might be cancelled under the law for the time being in force in the United Kingdom, that exclusive privileges and rights in a design have not been acquired in Uganda under this Act. Such grounds shall be deemed to include the publication of the design in Uganda prior to the date of registration of the design in the United Kingdom.

As of necessity this Act must be read together with the Patents and Design Acts, 1907 to 1932, or any Act of the United Kingdom amending or substituted for those Acts.