CLLS IP Committee response to UKIPO Consultation - 27 November 2025

The CLLS Intellectual Property Law Committee submitted its response to the UKIPO Consultation on changes to the UK designs framework.

The Committee consider that the "do nothing" option should not necessarily be discounted. The question really is whether approximately 9% of designs registrations being pre-existing (whether filed anticompetitively or where they are not new but filed in good faith) warrants a change. As noted in the consultation, "do nothing" would mean that designs would continue to be registered quickly and costs would continue to be kept low. There is something to be said for avoiding additional complications in order to encourage use of the designs registration system, particularly by individual designers and SMEs.

If the IPO is able to carry out a search, the Committee proposes that the search should be limited to novelty and should not be carried out as a matter of routine. This is so that any slowing down of the registration process and any increase in costs are minimised. The IPO will need to mindful in the context of conducting such a search that it may not be clear whether a prior disclosure identified by the IPO was made by the applicant.