(a) General.

(1) This section specifies the methods of affixation and placement of the design notice required by 17 U.S.C. 1306. Sections 1306 and 1307 govern the circumstances under which a design notice must be used and the effect of omission of a design notice. A notice deemed acceptable under this part shall be considered to satisfy the requirements of section 1306 that it be so located and applied as to give reasonable notice of design protection while the useful article embodying the design is passing through its normal channels of commerce. As provided in that section, the examples specified in this part shall not be considered exhaustive of the methods of affixation and locations giving reasonable notice of the claim of protection in the design.

(2) The acceptability of a design notice under these regulations shall depend upon its being legible under normal conditions of use, and affixed in such a manner and position that, when affixed, it may be viewed upon reasonable examination. There is no requirement that a design notice be permanently embossed or engraved into a vessel hull or deck, but it should be affixed in such a manner that, under normal conditions of use, it is not likely to become unattached or illegible.

(b) Elements of a design notice. If the design has been registered, the registration number may be included in the design notice in place of the year of the date on which protection for the design commenced and the name of the owner, an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally accepted alternative designation of the owner. The elements of a design notice shall consist of:

(1) The words “Protected Design”, the abbreviation “Prot'd Des.”, or the letter “D” within a circle, or the symbol *D*;

(2) The year of the date on which protection for the design commenced; and

(3) The name of the owner, an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally accepted alternative designation of the owner.

(c) Distinctive identification. Any distinctive identification of an owner may be used for purposes of paragraph (b)(3) of this section if it has been recorded by the Register of Copyrights pursuant to §212.5 before the design marked with such identification is registered.

(d) Acceptable locations of notice. The following are acceptable means of affixing and placement of a design notice:

(1) In close proximity to the identification number required by 33 CFR 181.23;

(2) In close proximity to the driver's console such that it is in plain view from the console;

(3) If the vessel is twenty feet in length or less and is governed by 33 CFR 183.21, in close proximity to the capacity marking; and

(4) In close proximity to the make and/or model designation of the vessel.

[64 FR 36578, July 7, 1999, as amended at 82 FR 9366, Feb. 6, 2017]