UK announces plans to reform design rights protection

The UK government has announced reforms to design protection, including measures aimed at independent designers and small businesses. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) press release, “Designers to get stronger and simpler protection in major reforms”, published on GOV.UK on 4 November 2026, presents the measures as its response to the consultation that closed in November 2025. Changes requiring legislation will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows. The press release gives no commencement date or wording of future legislative provisions, so their legislative detail remains to be verified.

According to the press release, the government intends to give the IPO powers to examine novelty and individual character before registering designs, addressing the use of registrations to obstruct competitors. A possible specific power to refuse applications made in bad faith remains subject to further work on its definition and the evidence required. Plans also include opening the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court’s Small Claims Track to registered design disputes, with compensation claims capped at GBP 10,000. Designers would also be able to defer publication of their designs for up to 30 months.

The press release envisages legislative clarification that designs incorporating animation, movement or transitions can qualify for registration, alongside filing options for moving image files. For unregistered protection, it announces alignment of qualification rules and duration, and an extension of supplementary protection to designs first disclosed anywhere in the world. The government rules out new criminal offences for unregistered design infringement, citing insufficient evidence of their proportionality and effectiveness. The existing framework for computer-generated designs will remain in place while monitoring of AI use and international discussions continue.