Statutory guidance

Registered Designs Act and Rules

The Registered Designs Act 1949 is the current law for the registration of designs and the protection of registered designs in the UK

From:
Intellectual Property Office
Published
13 March 2013
Last updated
22 April 2022 — See all updates

Documents

Unofficial consolidated version of the Act

PDF, 574 KB, 76 pages

Unofficial consolidated version of the rules

PDF, 262 KB, 31 pages

Details

The Registered Designs Act

The unofficial consolidated version of the Act incorporates changes made since the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 came into force. The most recent amendments, which came into force on 1 January 2021, include those made by:

  • The Intellectual Property (Exhaustion of Rights) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
  • The Trade Marks (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
  • The Design and International Trade Marks (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, and
  • The Intellectual Property (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

The Registered Designs Rules

The unofficial consolidated version of the Rules incorporates changes made since the Registered Designs Rules 2006 came into force. The most recent amendments came into force on 1 January 2021 and include those made by EU Exit related regulations.

Published 13 March 2013
Last updated 22 April 2022 + show all updates

  1. Updated both documents to fix formatting issues and reflect consequential amendments made by other Acts and regulations.

  2. Updated with changes made by legislation which came into force at the end of the transition period and 1 January 2021.

  3. Unofficial Consolidation Design Rules Document updated.

  4. Updated version of the Registered Designs Act 1949.

  5. Updated version of the Registered Designs Act 1949.

  6. First published.

Related content