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Leaving the EU has provided the impetus for the UK Government to review the current UK design system. This is part of a broader initiative to ensure that the UK intellectual property system is best in class to enable innovation and creativity.
The UK Intellectual Property Office ("UK IPO") is calling for views on the current design system from designers, design-led businesses, and manufacturers, which will inform the Government on whether any reforms are required.
Specifically, the UK IPO is interested in finding out:
Responses are requested before 25 March 2022 via the online survey: The survey can be completed here: Reviewing the designs framework: Call for views – Intellectual Property Office – Citizen Space. This precedes a further call up for more in depth views.
It has been reported that back in 2012, Mr David Cameron, the prime minister at the time, commented that design law had been neglected. Critics point to the fact that design law often only protects three dimensional designs rather than two. Interestingly, it is a criminal offence to copy a two-dimensional design but not a three-dimensional design.
This is a good opportunity for designers to put forward their thoughts and to help modernise the design system. Hopefully, there will be more engagement on this survey than other recent IP surveys.
Chandni Jobanputra, Associate