1303.3
1303.4
1303.5
1303.6
1303.7
1303.8
1304
Make Public
A vessel 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." 17 U.S.C. § 1310(b).
Mold
A "mold" is "a matrix or form in which a substance for material is used, regardless of whether the matrix or form has an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not only to portray the appearance of the product or to convey information." 17 U.S.C. § 1301(b](6].
Original
A vessel design is "original" if "it is the result of the designer's creative endeavor that provides a distinguishable variation over prior work pertaining to similar articles which is more than trivial and has not been copied from another source." 17 U.S.C. § 13010X1].
Plug
A "plug" is "a device or model used to make a mold for the purpose of exact duplication, regardless of whether the device or model has an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not only to portray the appearance of the product or to convey information." 17 U.S.C. § 1301(b)(5).
Useful Article
A "useful article" is "a vessel hull or deck, including a plug or mold, which in normal use has an intrinsic utilitarian function that is not merely to portray the appearance of the article or to convey information. An article which normally is part of a useful article shall be deemed to be a useful article." 17 U.S.C. § 1301(b)(2).
Vessel
A vessel is "a craft that is designed and capable of independently steering a course on or through water through its own means of propulsion; and that is designed and capable of carrying and transporting one or more passengers." 17 U.S.C. § 1301(b)(3).
Protectable Vessel Designs
Chapter 13 of Title 17 protects original designs for vessels that are designed and capable of (i) independently steering a course on or through water through its own means of propulsion, and (ii) carrying and transporting one or more passengers. 17 U.S.C. § 1301. Specifically, Chapter 13 protects the original design of the shape of a vessel hull, deck, or a combination of the two, which makes the article in which the design is incorporated attractive or distinctive in appearance to the purchasing or using public. 17 U.S.C. § 1301(a)(1). This protection includes a plug or mold. 17 U.S.C. § 1301(a)(2). Designers are allowed the option of protecting the hull alone, the deck alone, or the hull and the deck in combination.
Chapter 1300 : 6
12/22/2014
