What does it cost and how much cover do you get?
The cost depends on your annual turnover. The table below shows the premiums payable. In return and subject to the terms and conditions of the policy, the insurers would make available to you a potential fighting fund up to the figure specified in the table below.
Turnover Fighting Fund Cost (incl VAT)
£0-50,000 £25,000 £193.50
£50,001-£100,000 £50,000 £275.63
£100,001-£250,000 £50,000 £357.75
£250,001-£500,000 £100,000 £467.25
£500,001-£750,000 £100,000 £604.13
£750,001-£1,000,000 £100,000 £741.00
Turnovers in excess of £1 million are referred to the insurer for a premium figure.
How long does it last?
The premium is annual.
Is there an excess or other contribution?
As long as there is no claim under the policy there would be no other costs. If there is a claim, then in common with many insurance products, the insurers expect some sort of contribution from the insured to ensure that they act reasonably. If you use Briffa there is no excess you have to pay first before benefiting from the insurance.
However, there is a co-insurance proportion which means that: the insurers would cover up to 90% of the legal bills (excluding VAT if you can recover this) up to the limit of the fighting fund set out in the table above; and the insured would cover the remainder (the exact proportion depending on a number of factors including how many previous claims have been brought in the year). You should also bear in mind that the fighting fund is limited and we cannot guarantee that it will be sufficient to cover your costs and your opponents will also be incurring costs.
Normally the successful party in a legal action recovers most of its costs from the unsuccessful party. In the event that an insured is successful and recovers costs those costs are used to reimburse the insurer. In the event that an insured is successful and recovers a sum which does not differentiate between costs and damages or just specifies damages a fair and reasonable proportion of that sum will be deemed costs and paid to reimburse the insurer. If you do not use Briffa see below.
How do I get the insurance?
Simply complete and return a short proposal form indicating your annual turnover and pay the premium amount due as detailed on Briffa’s invoice and we will request the insurance from the insurer. When the insurer agrees the cover we will send you a copy of the policy and schedule confirming the insurance and cover will commence.
Is anything excluded?
The policy covers legal costs for good cases in the UK that an insured member of DesignProtect finds out about after the insurance is in place and within the insured year. It, obviously, would not cover copying which a designer is or should be aware of prior to taking out the insurance nor copying which may have begun before the expiry of the insurance but which a designer only finds out about after the insurance has expired. It does not cover costs incurred obtaining and maintaining your rights, or in criminal actions nor fines, damages etc.
In addition to the above, there are the usual exclusions. Many are unlikely to arise however, exclusions to note are:
- where a designer has acted recklessly in allowing the copying to happen; or
- where a designer (were he paying himself) would not take or continue the action, for example where a reasonable offer has been made; or
- in relation to disputes between two persons who jointly own the design and fall out; and
- in relation to a designer’s (employee’s etc) own time and expenses in bringing the action.
Is there anything I can do to help avoid being copied?
Yes, make sure people know your work is protected by copyright and you are a member of DesignProtect which helps. Where possible use the notation © [YOUR NAME][YEAR OF CREATION] for copyright works and unregistered designs or for registered designs put the registered design number.
Also DesignProtect members are free to use the DesignProtect logo when exhibiting their work. When your insurance is confirmed you will receive notes on copyright as well as stickers for use on drawings and an exhibition stand notice. The logo can also be supplied in jpeg format for your website. The logo is a powerful notice that you have the financial backing to bring action against infringers. It does not however, transfer any intellectual property rights in the logo or name, DesignProtect, to you: these remain with Briffa who has the right to demand that you stop using them.
