Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

What does register mean? In legal practice, a register is an official list or record kept by a court or public authority to capture information with legal effect. In magistrates’ courts in England and Wales, “the register” refers to the formal record of proceedings, orders, convictions and fines kept by the designated officer; entries evidence the court’s decisions, are used to calculate appeal or variation time limits, and support enforcement. Across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, usage is broadly consistent, but each register’s scope, keeper, procedure and access are set by specific legislation or court rules. Common examples include land and property...

UK design law after Brexit: registered and unregistered rights (including SUDs/CUDs and re-registered EU designs) - scope, subsistence, filing, validity, infringement, duration, ownership and forthcoming reforms

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Practice notes

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What design protection is available in the UK?

design rights safeguard the shape, configuration or appearance of the whole or any part of a product or article, rather than its functional features. The purpose of design law is to specifically deter others from making products that closely follow the design or otherwise produce the very same overall impression as the original design.

The design rights currently available in the UK are as follows: namely

UK registered designs (including re-registered designs and re-registered international designs)
UK unregistered design right (also known as design right)
Supplementary unregistered design right (SUD)

Each of these rights differs in qualifying criteria, scope and the duration of protection. For more information, see Practice Note: Comparison tables for design protection available in the UK.

Before Brexit, the UK designs regime was substantially harmonised with the EU regime then. The Designs Directive (Directive 98/71/EC) harmonised the requirements for national registered design protection across the EU. It was implemented into UK law through amendments to the Registered Designs Act 1949 (RDA 1949), which governs UK registered designs. However, UK unregistered design rights operate under a separate regime under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). Regulation (EC)...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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