Unregistered Design Rights: EU and UK Compared
Why an unregistered right matters to product sellers
Registered designs are easy to find because they live in public registers. Unregistered rights arise from the act of disclosing a product to the market — a trade show, a launch, a listing going live — and never appear in any register you can search. A competitor screening only official databases can therefore miss a live right entirely.
The rights side by side
| Right | What it covers | Term | Starts when | Searchable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU unregistered Community design | Appearance of a product | 3 years | First disclosure in the EU | No |
| UK unregistered design right | Shape and configuration (not surface decoration) | 15 years, or 10 years from first marketing if marketed within 5 years | First recorded in a design document or first article made | No |
| UK supplementary unregistered design right | Appearance, including 2D features such as patterns | 3 years | First disclosure in the UK | No |
Two consequences that catch people out
Protection is against copying, not similarity
Registered design rights can be enforced against a similar-looking product regardless of how it came about. Unregistered rights generally protect against copying. That makes the paper trail matter: dated drawings, photographs, catalogues and invoices are the evidence that the design existed, when it was disclosed, and that someone had the opportunity to see it.
Disclosure can cut both ways
The same act that creates an unregistered right can damage your chances of registering later, because novelty is assessed against what is already public. In the UK, if you first disclose in the EU you may still register in the UK within 12 months — but the disclosure itself can affect novelty. Timing your launch against your filing plans is a real decision, not an afterthought.
Post-Brexit: two jurisdictions, not one
Since the end of the transition period, a new EU unregistered Community design no longer covers the UK, and the UK's supplementary unregistered design right was introduced to fill that gap. Existing EU rights in force at the end of the transition period were carried over as comparable UK rights. If you sell in both markets, you are dealing with two regimes, not one.
How to screen when the register is incomplete
You cannot search these rights, but you can narrow the risk:
- Search the EU and UK registered databases first — registered rights are the ones that generate most complaints.
- Look at the market, not just the registers: recent trade-show catalogues and marketplace launches reveal products disclosed within the last three years, which is exactly the window an unregistered right covers.
- Record your own disclosure dates as you go, so you can rely on a right rather than only defend against one.
- Treat a recently launched, visually similar product as a live risk even when no registration exists.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an unregistered design right last?
In the EU, three years from first disclosure in the EU. In the UK, the unregistered design right lasts 15 years from creation or 10 years from first marketing if that happens within five years, while the supplementary unregistered design right lasts three years from first disclosure in the UK.
Can I find an unregistered design by searching a database?
No. Unregistered rights are not recorded in public registers, so they cannot be found by searching. They have to be inferred from what is on the market and when it appeared.
Do I still need a registered design if I have an unregistered right?
They serve different purposes. Registration gives you a longer, stronger, easier-to-prove right; the unregistered right is automatic but short and requires proof of copying.
Sources
- GOV.UK — How your unregistered designs are protected
- Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 216 (duration of design right)
- GOV.UK — Changes to unregistered designs