UK designs reform is on the way

The UK design system is set for reform, with some changes preserving distinct features of UK protection and others bringing UK law closer to EU practice.

UK designs reform has been a long time coming. Following a call for views and survey by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) in 2022 and a formal consultation in 2025 (our report on that here), the Government’s response was published on 4 November 2026. The full response can be found here.

Some initial key takeaways are:

1. Preserving unregistered design protection. The Government’s response underscores the importance of unregistered design rights. The current patchwork of unregistered rights, comprising UK unregistered design right (UDR) and supplementary unregistered design (SUD), will remain in place, preserving the UDR’s unique protection for internal features of products.

2. Introducing targeted substantive examination. The proposed introduction of selective substantive examination is a significant change, aimed at preventing clearly invalid or anti-competitive designs from reaching the register. However, searches will be targeted at a proportion of applications, particularly those raising concerns about validity or anti-competitive behaviour, rather than becoming a routine requirement. The criteria for triggering examination will therefore be important in determining the impact on costs and registration timelines. As most applications will continue to be registered without substantive examination, the changes are unlikely to provide any general assurance of validity or significantly reduce the need for invalidity challenges.

3. Extending deferment to 30 months. The Government intends to increase the maximum period of deferred registration and publication to 30 months from the earliest filing or priority date, bringing the UK into line with the EU. This will give applicants greater flexibility to keep their designs confidential until they are ready for launch, which will be particularly valuable in industries with long product development cycles, such as the automotive sector.

4. Improving access to lower-cost enforcement. The Government also intends to explore allowing straightforward, lower-value registered design infringement claims in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) small claims track. This could improve access to justice, particularly for smaller businesses, although appropriate safeguards will be needed to ensure that validity challenges and more complex disputes can be dealt with effectively.

5. Modernising protection for digital designs. Proposed changes to the definitions of a design and product will clarify protection for digital designs, including animations and transitions, bringing UK law closer to recent EU reforms. The UKIPO will also explore accepting video and 3D file formats, although these changes remain subject to further technical work.

6. No criminal sanctions for unregistered design infringement. The Government has decided not to introduce criminal sanctions for unregistered design infringement, citing a lack of robust evidence. Unregistered designs are unsuited to criminalisation because third parties cannot reliably establish whether a right subsists, who owns it, its duration or its scope. Criminal sanctions would therefore risk imposing disproportionate burdens on businesses and discouraging legitimate design activity.

7. A broad range of stakeholder input. We are pleased to see that responses came not only from the legal profession, but also from designers, alliances, multinational companies, e-commerce platforms, broadcasters and foreign IP associations. This should help ensure the reforms reflect a balanced view on system accessibility, practice, competitiveness and enforcement.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Government’s proposed changes, please get in touch with your usual contact in HLK’s Design Group.