Berwick is first council in the country to copyright taxi plates

Release date: 05.11.07
Ref: BBC/PR/L&D/35/07

Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council is the first Council in the country to register the design of its new licence plates.

The new plates for taxis and private hire vehicle retain the existing colour and design features that make the licence plates highly distinctive, even for people with visual impairment, literacy problems or people who do not speak English as their first language.

Senior Licensing Officer David Wilson said:
“The Council recognised that its vehicle plate designs were probably unique; and have since successfully registered the designs with the UK Intellectual Property Office.

“We are the first Council in the UK to do this - which means that anyone who uses the plates without our permission is liable to prosecution and upon conviction in the magistrates court could face to up to six months imprisonment and/ or a fine of up to £5,000.

“Taxi or private hire vehicles which also fail to re-licence when their licence expires are also liable for prosecution for unauthorised use of a registered design in addition to any offences they may commit in relation to taxi/ private hire licensing legislation,” he said.

The new style licence plates were designed by Judith Garbutt of Largo Creative Design and Advertising who said:
“I regularly undertake design work for the Council who are committed to promoting equality and diversity by ensuring that it fully complies with the legal requirements regarding disability and other forms of discrimination. The re-styled licence plates have been re-designed to emphasise the different shaped white areas, which distinguish the types of licensed vehicles.”

Managing Director of Mogo UK David Hughes said:
“As the country’s leading supplier of vehicle display systems, supplying vehicle licence plates to around 210 local authorities, we know how difficult it is for Councils to design plates that comply with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1998, whilst presenting all the information they wish to have on the licence plates. Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council and their designers, Largo Creative, should be congratulated in producing such a simple and clear solution to this problem.”