The UK design sector is valued at £100 billion and plays a role in driving innovation and competitiveness. Design rights form the legal foundation that enables individual and businesses to protect their creative output and maintain a fair marketplace.
To ensure the system remains fit for purpose, the UK Government launched a consultation on September 4th, 2025, seeking input from the design community on proposed reforms aimed at strengthening and simplifying the UK’s design protection regime.
The main areas of focus for the consultation includes:
For nearly 20 years the UK, in line with Europe, has not conducted substantive searches on design applications. The Government is now considering reintroducing a system of search and examination prior to enforcement, a practice already in place in many jurisdictions.
Under the proposals, the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) could be granted greater powers to examine and reject designs that lack novelty or are filed in bath faith. Three options are under review:
Immediate publication of a design upon registration can create commercial challenges for businesses with long production development cycles. While UK applicants can currently delay registration and publication for up to 12 months, there is no explicit statutory provision for deferment.
The government is proposing changes to formalise and extend this process. Under the current system deferment can be up to 12 months from the filing date. The proposed reforms discuss how long the deferment period should be, and at which point deferment should commence from. Key options under consideration include:
Length of deferment:
Commencement of deferment:
The UK currently operates under a complex patchwork of overlapping protections, including:
Each of these rights varies in scope, duration, and commencement, making the system challenging to navigate and complicating efforts to determine what a designer has protected. To simplify this framework, the government is considering the following options:
Since Brexit, a design first disclosed in the UK qualifies for protection as a SUD, while a design first disclosed in the EU is protected as an unregistered community design. Unlike the pre-Brexit system, a single disclosure no longer provides the same protection in both territories. This new system has introduced additional complexity for businesses, especially those operating across the UK and EU. To address these challenges, the consultation is exploring several options, including:
A proposed small claims track within the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC), specifically for design disputes, could make it easier and more affordable for small businesses to enforce their design rights.
The consultation explores how the UK design system can better accommodate technological advancements, particularly in relation to digital design formats and artificial intelligence. The UK proposals include providing further guidance on what can be protected as a design and amending legislation to clarify what is eligible subject matter.
To reflect the increasing use of digital tools in design, the Government is exploring options to expand the formats accepted for design registration. These options are not intended to be mutually exclusive and could be implemented in combination:
The consultation also addresses the growing role of artificial intelligence in the creative process and whether designs generated without human authorship should be eligible for protection:
Whether you are a designer or a brand owner these proposed reforms could significantly impact how you protect and enforce your design rights in the UK. For example:
Stakeholders should assess how the proposed changes may affect their current and future design strategies, particularly in relation to disclosure, enforcement, and the use of emerging technologies. Wilson Gunn is actively advising major design clients on their responses to the consultation and contributing to the response of The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA).
The consultation closes on November 27th, 2025. Feedback received will inform future policy decisions, with the aim of modernising UK design law and reinforcing the UK’s position as a global leader in design innovation.
Wilson Gunn would be happy to provide advice on how these changes could affect your design rights. If you would like to seek advice, please contact our team.