Registered Design FAQ’s

A registered design can be the particular look, shape, configuration or ornamentation of a product(s).

This depends on if you have something unique that you would like to protect. A registered design may become essential to your business in the future and save a lot of headaches down the road. If you are unsure regarding anything to do with registered designs our expert team with over 30 years’ brand protection experience are on hand to advise. Call us on 0800 069 9090 or drop us an email to mitch@start.biz to find out more.

No, a registered design will not be accepted if it is not distinctive enough. We will advise in our report ways in which you can make your design more distinctive and help you with your application.

No, a registered design is only effective in the country where the design is registered. However, there are several International Conventions that exist which assists clients who wish to register a design in more than one country with one single application which are more cost effective than obtaining separate national registrations.

Registered design novelty searches are particularly important as they are the first step to determining whether the design you wish to use, and register is available to do so. We strongly recommend that, to avoid any potential conflict between your proposed design and any existing confusingly similar designs, that you instruct us to carry out a comprehensive registered design search on your behalf.

No, once an application has been submitted it cannot be altered except for the owner’s name and address. It is important your application is as accurate as possible.

The initial registration process takes around 2-3 months to complete.

A registered design is renewable every 5 years for a maximum registration period of 25 years.

The application fee is dependent on the number of designs included in one application. For example, it is possible to file a multi-design application in the United Kingdom. A UK design application containing one design costs £300; a UK multi-design application containing up to 10 designs costs £550 and UK multi-design application containing up to 20 designs costs £750.