Do I need to obtain a design registration for my design?

Many of our clients at Briffa rely on a registered design right for their most popular designs.  Our clients in the fashion and furniture design industries in particular use this IP right to help increase the value of their business.

This note addresses some key aspects of design rights in the UK and how you may be able to use it to increase the value of your business.

Forms of design protection in the UK

Design protection in the UK encompasses both registered and unregistered design rights, which safeguard the shape, configuration, or appearance of the whole or part of a product or article, excluding its functional aspects. The primary aim of design law is to prevent others from producing items that replicate or create the same overall impression as the original design.

Registered design rights

UK registered designs protect the visual appearance of a product, including its lines, contours, colours, shape, texture, and material. To qualify for protection, a design must be new and possess individual character, meaning it should create a different overall impression on an informed user compared to any prior designs. Registered designs can cover both two-dimensional and three-dimensional designs and are governed by the Registered Designs Act 1949.

Deadlines for filing design applications in the UK

You must ensure your design application is filed within 12 months of your design becoming available to the public (“the grace period”). I recently wrote this blog which discusses this important point in more detail.

Unregistered design rights

UK unregistered design rights, on the other hand, protect the shape and configuration of a product but exclude ornamentation and surface decoration. These rights are automatically conferred without the need for registration and last for a maximum of 15 years from the end of the calendar year in which the design was first recorded or an article was first made to the design, whichever occurs first. If the design is marketed within the first five years, the protection period is reduced to 10 years.

Overall, design protection in the UK aims to balance the interests of designers and the public by ensuring that innovative designs are protected while preventing overly broad claims that could stifle competition and innovation.

If you need help protecting and exploiting your designs, please feel free to contact one of our specialist intellectual property lawyers.

Daniel Crate – Associate