Do all designs qualify for unregistered Design Right?
No. The design must be any aspect of the shape or configuration of the whole or part of an article, that is, its three-dimensional shape and arrangement. Design Right does not protect the article itself.
Two-dimensional designs such as graphics and textile or wallpaper designs will not qualify, but they may be covered by copyright. Protection for two-dimensional designs may, however, also be sought by applying for a Registered Design.
Designs
that are commonplace, everyday or ordinary 
are unlikely to be protected by Design
Right. To assess whether
a design is commonplace, everyday or ordinary, the Court will look at similarities with the types of
products already available in the relevant design field, and the readiness of availability of the type
of product.
Designs that are commonplace, everyday or ordinary are unlikely to be protected by Design Right. To assess whether a design is commonplace, everyday or ordinary, the Court will look at similarities with the types of products already available in the relevant design field, and the readiness of availability of the type of product.
Semiconductor chips
Designs for semiconductor chips may get Design Right protection subject to the usual requirement
that a design is
original and not commonplace. However, in order to comply with a European Community Directive, the exclusive
rights in semiconductor chip designs will last for the full 10 years, so unlike Design Right for other
products, licences of right to copy will not be available during the last five years of the term.
Are there any exceptions to Design Right?
Yes. Design features enabling one product to be functionally fitted or aesthetically matched to another are excluded from protection. These so-called 'must-fit' and 'must-match' exceptions are influenced by the need to ensure that third party providers of spare parts should not be unfairly prevented from competing within the spare parts market.
Competitors cannot be stopped from copying any features of a protected design that enables their own design to be connected to or matched with existing equipment designed by someone else. However, competitors will infringe design right if they copy features of a protected design where there is no need to do so.