Guidance and notes on the directions
Published 17 February 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directions-hours-of-business-and-excluded-days/guidance-and-notes-on-the-directions
(a) These notes are not part of the directions. They are intended to provide background and additional information.
(b) The Interpretation Act 1978 applies to these directions. Therefore, all the definitions set out in the Registered Designs Act 1949 (“the Act”) apply to these directions. Further, amongst other things, generally any words importing the masculine gender include the feminine and words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular.
(c) Section 39(1) of the Act allows the registrar to give directions specifying the hours during which the office is closed for the transaction of business under the Act, and the days that are excluded for any such purposes.
(d) Until now, rules 45 and 46 of the Registered Designs Rules 2006 defined the hours of business and excluded days under the Act, however these rules are no longer in force. In accordance with section 12(8) of the Intellectual Property Act 2014, rules 45 and 46 of the Registered Designs Rules 2006 cease to be in force from the date these directions take effect.
(e) The hours of business have been changed to allow the office to be open at all times for the filing of new applications, except for new applications made by virtue of section 14 of the Act.