Design law

How we interpret it

Design legislation in the UK consists of Acts, Rules and Directives that set out the legal rights, duties and procedures relating to the protection of designs in the UK.

The main piece of legislation is the Registered Designs Act 1949 (as amended). This is based on the EU Designs Directive which provides guidelines to all Member States of the EU.

Case law from previous court decisions helps us to interpret that legislation, whilst previous tribunal decisions handled by the IPO help us to develop our practice.

Practice notices announce changes to our practice, such as how we interpret a provision of the law, or how we handle applications.

Complete information about Design Law can be found in the Professional Section of our website.