Design crime: back to the future or forwards to the past?
David C. Musker · Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice · 2014
The Intellectual Property Act 2014 has controversially created new criminal offences, and magistrates will therefore find themselves dealing with design infringements. This is not, however, the first time: the magistrates' courts also had jurisdiction over registered design piracy between 1842 and 1883, and many of the concerns recently raised during passage of the Intellectual Property Act were played out before them. This article examines some of the cases as reported through the eyes of the Victorian press.