What is UK design right?

UK unregistered design right (also referred to as UK design right) covers the shape or configuration of an object, but does not protect surface decoration.  It is an automatic right, meaning that no registration is required.

To be protected by UK design right, a design must be original. This means that the designer must have designed the design independently and the design must not be “commonplace” in the design field in question. “Commonplace” means that the design must not be widely known in the design field in question in the UK, the EU or any one of a number of other qualifying countries mentioned below. (more…)