Part III Design Right
Chapter III Exceptions to Rights of Design Right Owners
Availability of licences of right
238 Powers exercisable for protection of the public interest.
F1 (1)
Subsection (1A) applies where whatever needs to be remedied, mitigated or prevented by the Secretary of State F2 or (as the case may be) the Competition and Markets Authority under section 12(5) of the Competition Act 1980 or section 41(2), 55(2), 66(6), 75(2), 83(2), 138(2), 147(2) F3 , 147A(2) or 160(2) of, or paragraph 5(2) or 10(2) of Schedule 7 to, the Enterprise Act 2002 (powers to take remedial action following references to the F4 Competition and Markets Authority in connection with public bodies and certain other persons, mergers or market investigations etc. ) consists of or includes—
(a)
conditions in licences granted by a design right owner restricting the use of the design by the licensee or the right of the design right owner to grant other licences, or
(b)
a refusal of a design right owner to grant licences on reasonable terms.
(1A)
The powers conferred by Schedule 8 to the Enterprise Act 2002 include power to cancel or modify those conditions and, instead or in addition, to provide that licences in respect of the design right shall be available as of right.
(2)
The references to anything permitted by Schedule 8 to the Enterprise Act 2002 in section 12(5A) of the Competition Act 1980 and in sections 75(4)(a), 83(4)(a), 84(2)(a), 89(1), 160(4)(a), 161(3)(a) and 164(1) of, and paragraphs 5, 10 and 11 of Schedule 7 to, the Act of 2002 shall be construed accordingly.
(3)
The terms of a licence available by virtue of this section shall, in default of agreement, be settled by the comptroller.