Having considered the feedback, the response sets out the planned reforms, including proposals that will not be taken forward and areas requiring further consideration. We discuss the key points below.

Search and examination 

The changes to search and examination include:

1.    Discretionary search and examination powers

The government intends to give the Registrar discretionary powers to search and examine design applications on the grounds of novelty and individual character in certain circumstances. In practice, only a proportion of applications would be searched and examined, based on criteria set out in guidance for examiners.

The aim is to strike a balance between tackling bad faith and anti-competitive design applications (which the government notes have increased under the current system, where searches are not routinely carried out) and maintaining the speed and low cost of the existing registration process.

Concerns were raised about potential additional costs and delays, the risk of inconsistent decisions depending on the knowledge and judgement of individual examiners, and uncertainty arising from some applications being searched but not others. Despite these concerns, the government considers that some intervention is needed to address anti-competitive design registrations and that discretionary search and examination powers offer the best way forward.

2.    Removing the ‘DF21’ search obligation

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) is currently legally obliged to carry out searches of the UK designs register upon request through the DF21 service (and payment of £30 fee), although the scope is fairly limited, covering only UK registered designs in specified classes. Given the relatively low number of requests, the UKIPO sought views on the usefulness of the service before deciding whether to retain the obligation.

The consultation revealed that awareness of the service was low, with only a handful of respondents having used the service previously, and none reporting having used the service within the last five years. In light of these findings, the government has decided to remove the UKIPO’s obligation to provide DF21 searches.

Deferment

Deferment allows applicants to delay publication of their designs while preparing for commercialisation, making longer periods particularly attractive. Deferment can also be essential when considering foreign protection where a published design can form part of the design corpus. However, this benefit must be balanced against the interests of third parties who may unknowingly infringe a registered design during the deferment period.

With this in mind, the government has decided to introduce the following changes:

1.    Introducing a 30-month deferment period

Although the government initially favoured extending the current 12-month period to 18 months, respondents largely supported introducing a statutory 30-month period. This would bring the UK into line with the EU and Hague international design systems, simplify filing strategies across jurisdictions and give businesses more time to bring products to market. While some concerns were raised about the increased risk of inadvertent infringement, relatively few respondents shared these concerns, and the government has therefore decided to proceed with the longer period.

2.    Calculating the deferment period from the earliest relevant date

Currently, deferment runs from the filing date. Under the new approach, the period would instead run from the earlier of the filing date or priority date. This would bring the UK into line with the EU and Hague systems (as well as the UK patent system) and prevent applicants from gaining additional time by delaying their UK filing until the end of the priority period.

3.    Publishing details of deferred applications

Currently, no information about deferred applications is published, allowing applicants to maintain complete confidentiality until registration and publication. Under the new approach, basic details would be made public, including the names and addresses of the applicant and representative, the filing date and any priority date. This would alert third parties to the existence of an application without revealing the design itself.

4.    Extending prior use rights to deferred designs

The existing prior use provisions under section 7B of the Registered Designs Act 1949 (RDA) offer limited protection to third parties acting in good faith but do not extend to deferred designs. With the deferment period increasing to 30 months, the government considers that third parties should also be protected against innocent use during this longer period, even though extending such protection could make deferment less attractive to applicants.

Animated designs and graphical user interfaces (GUIs)

With digital designs becoming increasingly common, the government is keen to ensure that the UK designs system keeps pace with technological developments, particularly when protecting animations and GUIs. The changes outlined include:

1.    Extending protection for animated designs

Most respondents considered that the current definitions of “design” and “product” under the RDA do not adequately reflect modern digital designs, particularly as movement and transitions are not expressly covered. Recognising the need for greater clarity, and to bring UK law closer to the EU framework, the government has decided to amend both definitions to expressly cover animations and transitions.

The government also intends to extend the rights conferred by a registered design to prohibit the creation, downloading, sharing or distribution of media or software recording the protected design.

2.    Exploring video and 3D file formats

There was strong support for allowing additional file formats, particularly where movement or transitions are integral to a design and cannot easily be captured through static images. Although some respondents raised concerns about increased complexity and the potential for narrower protection, the government has agreed to explore technical solutions for accepting video and 3D files as part of the UK IPO's digital transformation programme. This would bring the UK closer to other jurisdictions that already accept a wider range of formats.

3.    Publishing optional descriptions online

Currently, applicants can file an optional description to accompany their design representations, but such descriptions are not published online and must be requested separately. Respondents generally supported allowing descriptions to explain animations or transitions and making such information publicly available to help clarify the scope of protection.

The government has therefore agreed to take this forward as part of the UKIPO's digital transformation programme. In the meantime, the UKIPO has published guidance on designs incorporating animation or movement, including how disclaimers can be used to explain transitions between representations.

Supplementary unregistered design (SUD) protection

To give businesses greater flexibility when launching products internationally, the government has decided to introduce the following change:

1.    SUD protection following simultaneous UK and overseas disclosure

Under the reform, simultaneous disclosure of a design in the UK and another country would give rise to SUD protection. For example, a fashion show held overseas and livestreamed to audiences in the UK could qualify for SUD protection. The government considers that this approach would give businesses greater flexibility when deciding where to launch their products, without the added concern of losing UK unregistered design protection, and would be particularly beneficial for businesses operating internationally.

The government is also considering whether to introduce a grace period, although no decision has yet been reached.

2.    Other unregistered design updates

The government further confirmed that UK unregistered design right (UDR) will be retained alongside SUD. Although a simplification of the unregistered design system is desirable it will not be at the expense of providing valuable protection. The government will therefore continue to consider the options for simplification, including harmonising SUD and UDR qualification requirements and length of protection.

Miscellaneous changes

Other, largely administrative, changes include:

1. Allowing the Registrar to object to prohibited matter in design applications and share applications with relevant bodies for the purposes of carrying out statutory duties.
2. Removing the option to file physical specimens and clarifying that the Registrar does not guarantee the validity of registered designs, while limiting the liability of the Registrar and officials.
3. Allowing substantive and formalities objections to be raised in the same examination report, with a standard two-month response period.
4. Giving the Registrar powers to rectify the designs register (subject to possible limitations) and greater flexibility to prescribe forms, while clarifying the availability of current design information online and historical information in the journal.
5. Requiring priority claim details in all cases, with further consideration of whether priority documents should be mandatory following the UKIPO's accession to WIPO's Digital Access Service for designs. Priority documents would also be required where a search raises questions about the validity of a priority claim.

Further consideration: Bad faith, computer-generated designs, unregistered design rights and enforcement

The government's work is not finished just yet, with several areas identified for further consideration. In particular, the government plans to:

1. Explore what would constitute bad faith in design applications and the appropriate evidential threshold, before deciding whether to introduce a specific bad faith provision into UK designs law.
2. Continue developing its approach to computer-generated designs.
3. Explore ways to simplify the unregistered designs framework.
4. Consider expanding the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court’s (IPEC's) Small Claims Track to cover straightforward, lower-value registered design cases.

Proposals not being taken forward

Finally, for those who had concerns about some of the proposals put forward during the consultation, there is some welcome news. The government has decided not to take forward a number of the proposals, including:

1. The introduction of a two-stage registration system, under which designs would initially be registered without a search but would need to be examined before enforcement.
2. The introduction of an observation period and opposition procedure for registered designs.
3. Giving the Registrar the power to raise late objections to design registrations.
4. Retaining SUD protection while abolishing UK unregistered design right (UK UDR), as briefly discussed above.
5. Reforming the overlap between design rights and copyright, with the government instead preferring to allow further clarity to develop through case law.
6. Introducing criminal offences for infringement of unregistered designs, given the lack of evidence supporting such a change.

The government has also decided to retain the current practice of deferring both registration and publication.

What happens next

Rest assured, the planned reforms are still some way off, as many will require changes to primary legislation. The earliest opportunity for such legislative changes is expected to arise in May 2027, with implementation likely to follow considerably later.

For now, the government's response gives us a clearer picture of what lies ahead, providing some welcome reassurance on proposals that raised concerns during the consultation, while giving designers, legal professionals and businesses time to consider how the planned reforms could affect design protection in practice.

With further work continuing in several areas, there is still more to come, and we look forward to seeing how the UK designs framework develops over the coming years. Watch this space!

Useful links

• Government response to the consultation on changes to the UK designs framework (04 November 2026): https://dycip.com/uk-designs-gov-response  
• Designs Practice Notice (DPN) 01/26: Practice in respect of graphic symbols/icons, graphical/web user interfaces and animated designs: https://dycip.com/gov-designs-gui 

Related articles

• Potential changes to the UK design system: September 2025 consultation (30 September 2025)  
• Government consultation on possible reform to UK design law – have your say! (12 January 2022)