The UK government has launched a major consultation aimed at modernising the UK designs system, making it simpler, more effective, and supportive of the modern digital landscape.
Following a survey earlier this year and a Call for Views in 2022, it’s recognised that measures need to be taken to combat design theft, provide clearer guidance for designers, and improve access to justice. Speaking of the consultation, Feryal Clark MP, the Minister for Intellectual Property, said:
“From Mini to Burberry and the London Underground map, British design is renowned worldwide for its creativity and innovation. It contributes almost £100 billion to our economy – supporting the growth which is powering this government’s Plan for Change.
These reforms will help remove barriers and make it easier for designers of all shapes and sizes to protect their creations – cementing our position as one of the world’s leading destinations for design investment and innovation.”
The consultation is likely to result in the most significant changes to the UK design system in decades, and stakeholders are being called on to help shape its future – ensuring that it maintains the speed and accessibility of design protection whilst improving the validity and enforceability of design rights.
A wide range of issues are being considered under the consultation, including:
Search and examination procedure
Under UK design law, a design must be new and have individual character in order to be registrable. As it stands, the UK office does not examine an application on these points, and it is therefore easy to obtain a registration for a design that does not meet these requirements.
Aside from this resulting in a high number of invalid designs on the register, it breeds bad faith and anti-competitive behaviour in the form of applicants illegitimately registering designs and using them to file take-down notices on online selling platforms.
New measures under consideration include optional searching for suspect applications (at the discretion of the UK IPO) and a two-tier system whereby design applications are processed without examination of novelty and individual character and are “partially registered”. In this instance, a prior art search must be requested and paid for before a design can become “fully registered” and enforced.
Opposition
Whilst it is possible to apply to invalidate a design registration once registered under the current system, there is no mechanism to oppose a design.
Various options are being considered, however it is recognised that the introduction of a pre-registration opposition period is likely to be problematic for two reasons.
First, the potential impact on overseas filings from a novelty perspective, and second, a post-opposition period is effectively the same as the current option to invalidate, only with a set time limit.
Deferment
Consideration is being given to the introduction of a formal deferment provision, with 18 months being the proposed length of time as a middle ground to the current 12 month period and the 30 months available in the EU.
GUI’s, animated designs and computer-generated designs
Whilst the current legal definitions of “design” and “product” already cover graphical user interfaces and animated designs, it is likely the definitions will be updated to make it clearer that these types of designs fall within the scope of design protection, in alignment with the recent changes in the EU.
There is also a proposal to allow users of the design registration system to file moving and animated designs in various file formats, and to include an additional description.
The consultation will also consider the protection of AI-generated designs without human authors. The government’s preferred option is to remove the protection currently available.
Unregistered design right
A simpler unregistered design right system is sought to replace the current patchwork of overlapping rights, and some of the possible options under consideration would fundamentally affect the scope of protection and duration of unregistered design rights in the UK.
The complicated and overlapping relationship between design and copyright, and whether there is a need for reform or guidance, is also being considered.
Disclosure
There is currently uncertainty about disclosure requirements, particularly around simultaneous disclosure.
Following Brexit, a design which is first disclosed in the UK will be protected as a supplementary unregistered design, and a design which is first disclosed in the EU will be protected as an unregistered community design.
A single disclosure does not give rise to protection in both territories (though there is a degree of uncertainty around whether disclosure outside the UK gives rise to supplementary unregistered design). The consultation considers a number of options to provide greater legal certainty to businesses who want to protect designs in both the UK and the EU.
Enforcement
Evidence is sought to assess the suitability of the small claims track in IPEC for design cases, which have previously been considered too complex for this forum. Providing access to the small claims track would provide low-cost access to justice for designers, potentially lifting barriers to enforcement.
Criminal sanctions for unregistered design infringement
The consultation calls for evidence to assess the effectiveness of the existing criminal sanctions for registered designs, and whether consideration should be given to extending criminal sanctions to unregistered designs. However, it is recognised that the bar for introducing new criminal offences is high, and the practicalities of introducing such a provision would be complex.
The consultation closes on 27 November 2025, with a bill expected to be presented to Parliament in late 2026/early 2027.
We will share additional updates as they arise, but please feel free to get in touch with our Designs Team for further information or assistance.
