The Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”) has invited “designers, design businesses, legal professionals and anyone interested in design” to contribute to a survey on what principles should shape the future of the UK designs system.

The IPO has identified five principles that it thinks are important to users and invites views on which are most important and why.

The five principles are as follows:

• Cost – the system should offer value for money;
• Validity – the system should provide appropriate level of validity and clarity about existence of IP rights of rights;
• Speed – design protection should be quick to obtain and enforce;
• Choice – the system should provide choice for designers; and
• Simplicity – the system should be as simple as possible.

The IPO also adds that it wants to know whether “the definition of a design in intellectual property law meets the needs of designers and consumers in the digital age”.

Commenting on the survey, Chris Mill, Director of Rights Policy at the IPO, said “the IPO is reviewing the UK’s designs framework to make sure it is fit for the future and supports designs businesses of all sizes”, adding that the insights from the survey will “help us ensure our designs framework remains modern, accessible and fit for the digital age”.

The survey closes on 1 April 2025 and comes ahead of a formal consultation that will be published later this year.

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