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Registered Design

Home » Intellectual Property » Registered Design

A registered design protects the visual appearance of a product or item that gives you exclusive rights for that appearance, providing a legal right to stop an unauthorised party from producing or using your design.

A Registered design protects:

Shapes: The shape, contours and angles of a product can be protected
Surface decoration: Patterns or graphic designs like wall papers can be protected
Packaging: the product packaging style can be protected.
Physical appearance: How a product looks can be protected.

A registered design Cannot protect:

How a product function.
Material a product is made from.
How a product is made
A form or appearance of the product dictated by its function. E.G the shape or appearance of a Key.

Designs that are unregistered can also receive protection.

An older lady with glasses looking at the camera

UK registered design:

Application is made to the intellectual Property Office (IPO).
Protection lasts for 25 years.
In case of legal issues, the other party must prove they have not infringed rights.
Certificate is issued by IPO.
Business retains exclusive rights.
Criminal sanctions can be meted on infringing party
2d and 3d protection.

Design Rights

Young man looking at the camera on blue background

UK Unregistered design:

Automatic right (no application needed)
Protection Last between 10 – 15 years
In legal cases, the business has to prove it is being copied or infringed on
Business must always show evidence of existence of rights.
Rights are automatically granted to other parties in the last 5 years of protection
No criminal sanctions would be meted on infringing party
Only protects 3d – shapes.

Design Rights

Before applying for a design protection, search our design register to make sure a similar design has not been registered. In the UK, you don’t have to keep your design a secret before applying for protection if you apply within 12 months from when it was made public. Application can be done by individuals or with the help of an IP attorney.

To Apply:

Provide the right image of your product. Make sure the image is identical to the product that would be put out in the marketplace. Clear photographs of the product are recommended.
Fill out the application on-line or send by post. Applying on-line is cheaper.
You can register a single design or a collection of designs in one application.
A designer examiner will check that your application meets the required criteria.
In about 2 months, if successful, you will get a report and a design certificate.

Your design cannot:

Be Offensive
Make use of protected emblems (Olympic rings or royal crown)
Be an invention
Be a description of how a product works.

Designs are territorial and would provide protection only in the countries where applications are made and granted. A registered design can be sold as an asset with financial value or licensed. It would be difficult to sell an unregistered design to potential buyers. In addition, Registered designs provide tax incentives. A business can claim research & development tax credits on the cost invested in developing new products.