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UKIPO proposes examinations and AI-generated design ban in registered designs overhaul; benefits for validity and bad-faith control versus cost and delay concerns for SMEs and access to enforcement

Published on: 16 September 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter
Legal News
Article summary

The country's design system is ready for reform

but reviews of this sort may cause needless hold-ups for parties seeking to enforce their intellectual property rights in practice for users across the system in the UK. Likewise, outlawing computer-generated designs could be a knee‑jerk reaction to a supposed surge of AI applications that is not arriving. According to Max Thoma, a partner at Mathys & Squire LLP, alterations along these lines would fundamentally alter how users interact with the registered design system. The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has unveiled a comprehensive plan to review Britain’s design protection framework and is inviting expert responses on its preferred proposals to reform the current regime. This UKIPO consultation is the latest step in the government’s ongoing drive to overhaul the design system, following a striking 1154.9% rise in design applications since 2015. Since 2022, the government has opened a call for views on the system, carried out a public survey for non‑IP experts about designs, and in 2025 ran a survey for designers and legal professionals. The message from this work was clear: the UK design system is overall complex and also causes problems...

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