Description of Business Function
The function of managing the organisation’s public affairs and corporate identity and brands.
Basis of Retention and Disposition
Records are held (e.g. for 6 years) in case of any potential legal action / challenge relating to a marketing message or contract with a third party or handling of a relevant event. The basis for this is under tort or time limit for actions on a simple contract within the Limitation Act 1980.
There is the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the organisation.
Keep one copy / artefact of all physical merchandising or publications indefinitely; multiple copies need only be kept if there are ongoing business uses.
The indefinite retention of product specifications exceeds the period for limitation of legal action for product liability with the need to keeping supplier records as evidence to defined product liability under Consumer Protection Act 1987, c 43, Schedule I, Part I, 11A (3), i.e. the need to evidence component sourcing and product supply in order defend liability with relation to product safety. This also exceeds various Directives and Regulations on manufacturing to keep records for 10-15 years from end of product life.
Retention Rules Per Record Type
| Record Type | Minimum Retention Period | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Crisis Management | Indefinite | Based on evidence and precedent |
| Clipping and Press Monitoring | Indefinite | Based on evidence and heritage |
| Advertising | Activity Completed + 6 years | In case of any potential legal action / challenge relating to a marketing message or contract with a third party under the Limitation act 1980 |
| Corporate Social Responsibility | Activity Completed + 6 years | In case of any potential legal action / challenge relating to a marketing message or contract with a third party under the Limitation act 1980 |
| Event Management | Activity Completed + 6 years | In case of any potential legal action / challenge relating to a marketing message or contract with a third party under the Limitation act 1980 |
| Marketing Campaigns | Activity Completed + 6 years | In case of any potential legal action / challenge relating to a marketing message or contract with a third party under the Limitation act 1980 |
| Public Relations | Activity Completed + 6 years | In case of any potential legal action / challenge relating to a marketing message or contract with a third party under the Limitation act 1980 |
| Sponsorship Management | Activity Completed + 6 years | In case of any potential legal action / challenge relating to a marketing message or contract with a third party under the Limitation act 1980 |
| Domain names | Indefinite | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company |
| Logos | Indefinite | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company |
| Patents | Indefinite | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company |
| Product and company collateral | Indefinite | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company |
| Product pricing | Indefinite | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company. Under The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, s.14, the Time limit for prosecution is: (a)the end of the period of three years beginning with the date of the commission of the offence, or (b)the end of the period of one year beginning with the date of discovery of the offence by the prosecutor, whichever is earlier. Records should probably be kept for at least this period. |
| Product specifications | Indefinite | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company; also evidence for product liability under Consumer Protection Act 1987 |
| Publications and merchandise produced | Indefinite – Keep one copy or artefact of all physical merchandising or publications indefinitely; multiple copies need only be kept if there are ongoing business uses | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company |
| Trade and service marks | Indefinite | Based on the need to preserve branding material indefinitely for heritage and reference, as well as evidencing and protecting of the intellectual property of the company |
Citations
Please also see Press and public relations records retention and disposal schedule published by The National Archives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/sched_press.pdf
The Intellectual Property Office’s Retention and Disposal Policy for Patent Related Records is found here http://www.ipo.gov.uk/p-retentiondisposal.pdf
Limitation Act 1980, s. 5, Time limit for actions founded on simple contract, “An action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued”
Limitation Act 1980, s. 2, Actions founded on tort, “An action founded on tort shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued”
Consumer Protection Act 1987, c 43, Schedule I, Part I, 11A (3), Actions in respect of defective products, “(3)An action to which this section applies shall not be brought after the expiration of the period of ten years from the relevant time, within the meaning of section 4 of the said Act of 1987; and this subsection shall operate to extinguish a right of action and shall do so whether or not that right of action had accrued, or time under the following provisions of this Act had begun to run, at the end of the said period of ten years.”
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1277/made
Patents Act 1977, c. 37 s. 25, Term of patent, “1) A patent granted under this Act shall be treated for the purposes of the following provisions of this Act as having been granted, and shall take effect, on the date on which notice of its grant is published in the journal and, subject to subsection (3) below, shall continue in force until the end of the period of 20 years beginning with the date of filing the application for the patent or with such other date as may be prescribed. (3)A patent shall cease to have effect at the end of the period prescribed for the payment of any renewal fee if it is not paid within that period.”
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Part I, Ch. I, Subsistence, Ownership and Duration of Copyright. Summary: Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, cable programmes and typographical arrangements. Copyright also protects computer programs and computer source code. Act states at least 50 years in most circumstances although typographical arrangement of a published edition is 25 years. However, general rule is the life of the author plus 70 years
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 269, Amendments of the Registered Designs Act 1949, Duration of right in registered design. “For section 8 of the [1949 c. 88.] Registered Designs Act 1949 (period of right) substitute: (1) The right in a registered design subsists in the first instance for a period of five years from the date of the registration of the design. (2) The period for which the right subsists may be extended for a second, third, fourth and fifth period of five years, by applying to the registrar for an extension and paying the prescribed renewal fee.”
Trade Marks Act 1994 as amended Ch. 26, s. 42, Duration of registration, “(1) A trade mark shall be registered for a period of ten years from the date of registration. (2) Registration may be renewed in accordance with section 43 for further periods of ten years.” [NB. Renewable every 10 years on payment of renewal fees, with no maximum time limit]
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