The Riyadh Design Law Treaty: what is it and what does it mean for registered designs?

In the UK and EU, registered designs are a form of intellectual property which can often be quick and relatively cheap to secure. However, the same hasn’t always been true in the rest of the world and jurisdictions such as the US and China interpret these rights very differently, often with strict novelty requirements and stringent examination procedures.

The Riyadh Design Law Treaty (“RDLT”) aims to fix this, at least in respect of the signatories, by making the process of securing designs internationally less complex and more predictable.

Who are the current signatories to the RDLT?

The UK became a signatory to the treaty on 11 July 2025. At the time of writing, the other signatories are:

· Bosnia and Herzegovina

· Central African Republic

· Congo

· Costa Rica

· Côte d’Ivoire

· Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

· Gambia

· Ghana

· Lebanon

· Morocco

· Paraguay

· Philippines

· Republic of Moldova

· Sao Tome and Principe

· Saudi Arabia

· Sudan

· Uruguay

· Uzbekistan

· Zimbabwe

Key elements of the RDLT

This treaty simplifies many of the rules around securing registered design protection. For example, applicants are permitted to choose how best to represent their design, with the freedom to use photographs, line drawings, CAD drawings and other visual representations. How best to illustrate your design is a key consideration when making any filing and often turns on the nature of the design itself.

In addition, under the treaty, designers can benefit from a harmonized 12-month grace period from first disclosure of the design, meaning that novelty isn’t lost immediately and designers have time to test the market before committing to an application.

The treaty also allows for significant cost savings by allowing applicants to submit several designs in one application. Typically designs have different iterations and so rather than having to file multiple applications, designers can now roll several versions of their design into a single application, thereby reducing the application fees.

Fortunately all of the above allowances will be familiar to UK designers as they are already in line with the UKIPO’s examination practices.

Briffa comment

Whilst this is certainly a welcome progression in international design law, for UK designers to properly benefit, more signatories will be required. Major jurisdictions such as the US and China are notably absent from the list and yet they represent two of the most common foreign jurisdictions in which UK designers seek to secure their rights. Hopefully, with the UK now signed up, more countries will follow.

Should you require any assistance in securing registered designs, both at home and abroad, contact Briffa on info@briffa.com.