GLOSSARY (U)

UNITED KINGDOM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE (UKIPO)

The UKIPO is the official government body, in the United Kingdom, responsible for intellectual property rights including Patents, Designs, Trade Marks and Copyright. The website is www.ipo.gov.uk.

UNITY (OF INVENTION)

The claims in a patent application must relate to a single invention, or to a group of inventions so linked as to form a single general inventive concept. More than one set of claims can be included in a patent application, but the two (or more) sets must essentially describe the same solution to a problem, that is, relate to the same single inventive concept.

UNJUSTIFIED THREATS OF INFRINGEMENT

When a claim for infringement of a granted patent is unjustified, i.e: outside the scope of the patent. An attorney can determine whether a particular product will fall within the scope of a claim.

UNREGISTERED DESIGN RIGHT (UDR)

A design right that subsists automatically on creation of a design, subject to certain qualifying rules. UK UDR and EU UDR may both be available, but the qualifying rules for each are different.

UTILITY MODEL

This is a type of intellectual property available in certain jurisdictions around the world, for example, Germany. Usually, the substantive requirements for registration are less demanding than that of a utility model, and the term (duration) is less too. There are currently no provisions for utility models under UK law.