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Consultation on reforms to the UK designs framework

Consultation on reforms to the UK designs framework

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has launched a consultation on reforms to the UK designs system.

Acknowledging the UK’s design sector as leading force in creativity and innovation, the aim is to create a designs regime that is simple, effective and capable of adapting to the challenges of the digital future. The IPO is inviting responses by 27 November 2025.

For businesses involved in design, the outcome of the consultation could have far reaching consequences.

Key points covered in the consultation

  • Whether registered designs should be subject to searching and substantive examination. The government’s preferred option is a two-stage system under which designs would first receive partial registration, with full registration and enforceable rights only granted following a search.
  • Whether the current unregistered design regime is too complex, including the overlap with copyright. While the government’s stated preference is to retain the existing multiplicity of rights to protect both aesthetic and functional designs, it is also canvassing views on the potential consolidation of these rights into a single system and reconsidering the duration of protection.
  • Whether copyright protection for works of artistic craftsmanship should be abolished, with the government’s preference being to retain this protection, ensuring genuinely artistic and handcrafted works remain safeguarded.
  • How to clarify the registered designs system so that it covers animated designs and graphical interfaces more effectively, perhaps by allowing video files to be included in application.
  • With the rise of AI generated designs in mind, whether the existing protection for computer generated designs remains suitable, and how it interfaces with the requirement for originality.
  • Whether UK disclosure rules for unregistered designs should be adjusted to address the lack of mutual recognition with the EU and reduce complexity for businesses seeking protection in both territories.
  • Whether criminal sanctions for design infringement should be introduced.

The outcome of the consultation could have very significant implications for design-led businesses, especially as some of the proposed options could strip away valuable design protections which offer flexibility as enforcement tools.

AUTHORS

Shireen Peermohamed Partner

Shireen is a partner and head of our intellectual property and publishing practices.

Shireen is a partner and head of our intellectual property and publishing practices.

Shireen advises on all types of intellectual property, with a particular emphasis on pragmatic and cost effective disputes and strategic advice. She also provides advice on the protection of IP, IP audits, the exploitation and disposal of IP and the management and enforcement programmes. Her 30 years’ experience means that she is a trusted adviser to many leading businesses and has deep and strong experience in a number of sectors and issues.

Shireen works with clients in a wide range of sectors, including FMCG, retail, fashion, film, TV and theatre, publishing, music, video games and travel. She has a particular interest in the publishing industry (advising a number of leading publishers, authors, literary estates and content platforms) and in cutting edge issues such as the intersection between AI and IP.

Shireen has been listed as both a recommended IP lawyer and a recommended publishing lawyer by Chambers and The Legal 500 for many years. She has been ranked by IP Stars as a 'Top 250 Women in IP 2025', 'Trade mark star 2025', and 'Transactions Star 2025'.

Shireen was a council member of the Advertising Standards Authority, adjudicating on advertising complaints, for six years. She currently sits on the Portman Group Independent Complaints Panel and the Games Rating Authority Appeals Panel.

Marissa Beatty Senior Associate

Marissa advises on a wide variety of IP disputes in relation to trade marks, passing off, design rights, copyright and database rights.

Marissa advises on a wide variety of IP disputes in relation to trade marks, passing off, design rights, copyright and database rights.

Her experience also includes advising on data protection disputes and technology and media related disputes, including contractual disputes and domain name recovery. Marissa advises clients across a range of sectors, including theatre, publishing, film, tv, music, games, technology and retail, on the management of their global trade mark portfolios and the enforcement of their soft IP rights. She has experience advising on all phases of a dispute, from pre-action correspondence through to trial, in UKIPO, IPEC, High Court and Court of Appeal proceedings.

Marissa has a particular interest in the intersection between artificial intelligence, the creative industries and intellectual property law, and has advised a number of clients on cutting edge copyright issues arising from generative AI.

Prior to working in law, she co-founded and produced a number of national tours for an award-winning theatre company. Marissa has since advised a number of notable theatre and publishing clients on a range of industry-specific and time-sensitive IP issues, and has been recognised as a "Key Lawyer" for these industries in the The Legal 500 2024 guide. Marissa holds a Postgraduate Diploma in IP Law and Practice from the University of Oxford.