Design right and registration
What is design right?
Design right is automatic - ie you don't have to apply for registration. It protects the design of the shape and configuration of articles or parts of articles in the UK for a maximum of 15 years. There is also a European Union (EU)-wide unregistered design right, which protects the shape, configuration, pattern and ornamentation of an object for a maximum of three years.
Your design can only be protected by design right, if the design is original and not commonplace.
However, you will have more protection if you register your design. See the page in this guide on key differences between design right and design registration.
The benefits of design right
Design right prevents deliberate copying and it comes into force when the article is first 'fixed' in a design document - eg a drawing or a computer model - or when the article is first made.
Design right can be an important piece of intellectual property for your business. To back up your claim to it you should keep a copy of all records relating to a design's initiation, such as electronic design files, emails, schematics and prototypes.
Limits of design right
Design right in itself will not normally allow you to stop anyone producing similar articles by independent creation.
UK design right doesn't apply to any surface ornamentation of an existing article. For this you need design registration - see the page in this guide: what is a registered or Community registered design?
In the UK, design right lasts for ten years after the articles designed are first marketed and up to an overall limit of 15 years from the creation of the design. For the last five years of the period of design right you're obliged to agree licensing terms with third parties. If you cannot agree the terms, they can be decided by the Intellectual Property Office. If you believe the market for your product will extend beyond ten to 15 years, you may want to check if it is eligible for design registration, which, subject to renewal, would give your design protection for up to 25 years.
Your design right also applies in the EU, but unregistered Community designs only last for three years from the design being made available to the public.
You can apply to register your product as a Registered Community Design (RCD). An RCD enables you to register your product in a single application in all the member states of the EU and in any other countries you wish to choose from the contracting parties to the Geneva Act.
Subjects covered in this guide
- Introduction
- What is design right?
- What is a registered or Community registered design?
- Key differences between design right and design registration
- How design right and registration can help your business
- How to register a design
- Defend your design against infringement
- Respect other people's designs
- Here's how a designer helped me to turn an idea into a product
Intellectual Property Office Central Enquiry Unit
08459 500 505
Actions
- Design rights information on the Intellectual Property Office website - Opens in a new window
- Download design protection guidance from the Intellectual Property Office website (PDF, 6.32MB) - Opens in a new window
- Protecting your designs abroad on the Intellectual Property Office website - Opens in a new window
- Intellectual property healthcheck tool on the Intellectual Property Office website (registration required) - Opens in a new window
- Use our interactive tool to find out the best ways to protect your intellectual property
- Manage your personal list of starting-up tasks with our Business start-up organiser
