UK Design Patent Search (UKIPO)

Since leaving the European Union, the UK maintains its own system for protecting product appearance through registered designs filed at the UKIPO (UK Intellectual Property Office). A UK registered design protects the look of a product — its shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation.

Key facts about UK registered designs

• Protected for 5 years at a time, renewable up to a maximum of 25 years.
• Granted relatively quickly, since — like the EU system — there is no substantive examination of novelty.
• Uses the Locarno Classification for organising searches.

How to search UK designs

1. Choose a keyword — search by product name, description or Locarno class.
2. Check the register — the UKIPO publishes its registered designs database, which is the authoritative source.
3. Verify visually — because the register is not examined for novelty, the safest check is to compare your product's appearance against the registered representations, which is exactly what an image search does.

Why search the UK separately

A European RCD no longer automatically covers the UK, so a product sold in both markets needs a UK design search in addition to an EU search. If you intend to sell on Amazon.co.uk or any UK marketplace, checking the UK register is an important step before listing.

Cross-region searching

PatPulse lets you search US, EU and UK design patents from one place using both text and reverse image search, so one product image can be checked against all three registers.