Registered designs are initially valid for five years. After that, you can pay renewal fees to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to extend the period of protection in additional five-year increments, up to a maximum term of 25 years.

If you do not renew your registration, your design will cease.

You should renew your design registration on its fifth anniversary. If you renew up to six months before, or within one month after the renewal date, you will only have to pay the renewal fee.

Design registration renewal fees

To renew your registration, fill in and send a design registration renewal form and a fee sheet for the correct amount. You can pay online, by cheque, bank transfer or deposit account. See how to pay the IPO.

When they receive your form and payment, the IPO will confirm your renewal.

Late renewal

If you miss the deadline for renewing your design registration, you can make a 'late renewal' within the six months of the renewal date. Late renewal will incur additional feels - £24 for each complete month that has passed.

If you do not renew within this six-month period, you can apply to restore your design.

Restoring your design registration

If you miss the six-month deadline for late renewal, you have a further six months to apply to restore your design. You will have to provide an explanation why you've missed the deadline and pay a £120 fee.

The IPO will consider your request and notify you by post if they will allow you to proceed with the renewal. If they reject your application, you have two months to appeal.

Once you register your design, you will need to tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) if any details they hold in the design register are out of date.

You can:

• change the name or address of an owner of a UK design registration or application
• appoint or change an agent to manage your registered designs, or update contact details
• correct any small errors on the register by writing to the IPO with details of the error
• remove your design from the registry at any time

You don't have to pay to update the register of designs, but you do have to complete relevant forms for them to carry out your request.

Cancelling your registered design

You can cancel or invalidate your design registration free of charge at any time. This could be to avoid legal action or because a third party has applied to remove the registered design. You will need to send the IPO notice by proprietor to cancel a registration.

You must not cancel your design if this will affect anyone else, eg someone who may have purchased a license to use your design.

Licensing is a common strategy for commercialising intellectual property (IP), including registered and unregistered designs.

IP can be licensed-out or licensed-in. You can licence-out your design to someone else in return for a fee, by giving them permission to use your designs on agreed terms and conditions.

Registering a design licence

You or the licensee (ie the person receiving the licence) should register the licence, or cancellation of a licence, with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The registration is free of charge.

The IPO will keep a record of it in the register of designs. You will have to fill in and send the relevant registered design forms to the IPO to update the register.

Read more about licensing your intellectual property.

Licensing other people's designs

If you want to license-in a design belonging to someone else, you should first identify the owner and search for registered design information. The IPO can also supply either certified or uncertified copies of designs or design applications.

If the owner decides to give you a licence to use their designs, the licence agreement should clearly specify:

• when and how you can use the design
• what licence fees and royalties you will have to pay as a result of this usage

In the last five years of any unregistered design right, you must give a 'licence of right' to anybody who asks. You can ask IPO to help if you can't reach an agreement on the terms of the licence.

The design's owner may also agree to sell you their design rights. This is referred to as 'assignment'. See more on how to buy, sell or transfer your design rights.

You can buy, sell or transfer ownership of intellectual property rights, including registered and unregistered design. This is known as an 'assignment'.

Assignment of design rights

Assignment is different to licensing. When you license your designs, you give the right to someone to use your design without infringing (eg to make or sell a product that incorporates your design).

While you can generally negotiate licensing terms, design assignments normally transfer all of the design rights from the original owner (the 'assignor') to the other party (the 'assignee'). This means that the original rights' holder no longer owns the design.

A licence may be granted formally, informally or may arise by implication. However, assignment of rights:

• must always be recorded in writing
• must be signed by (or on behalf of) the person assigning the right

Key considerations in a design assignment

If you are assigning your design rights to someone else, you should think about:

• appropriate warranties as to title
• rights of action, including the right to sue for past infringements
• further assurances regarding documentation or acts needed to give effect to the transfer

Design assignment recordal

If you sell or transfer ownership of your registered design to someone else, you must tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), so that they can record the change in the register of designs. This includes any change of ownership because of company mergers. Find forms to record your assignment with the IPO.

If you believe your design has been infringed - ie that someone is using it without your permission - you can take action. Use includes manufacturing, selling, importing or exporting goods featuring the design.

How you protect against infringement depends on whether your design is registered or not.

Giving notice of your registered design rights

As an owner of a registered design, you can give notice of your rights by marking your product with the relevant registered design numbers. This could help stop accidental infringement or help you get damages if someone does infringe your right.

You can mark your product with a web address or the registered design number. If you mark with a web address, the link must lead to a webpage that is freely accessible and clearly sets out the registered design number(s) relevant to that product. Webmarking or virtual marking should make it easier for you to maintain, and for others to access, a current list of design rights pertaining to your product.

Registered design infringement

If you suspect infringement, you should first write a warning letter to the other party. They may genuinely be unaware that they are infringing, or stop once their infringement has been 'discovered' by the design owner.

If they continue to infringe, you can start civil proceedings against them, even if the infringement is unintentional. You can sue for damages or the court can order a withdrawal of the infringing product or destruction of remaining items.

Intentional copying of a UK or EU registered design, without explicit consent from the design owner, is a criminal offence. See more on registered designs.

Unregistered design infringement

Unregistered designs are trickier to defend. You may still want to send a warning letter to the person or business you suspect of copying your design. You can still take court action if they continue to infringe. However, in order to succeed, you will have to prove that you hold design right and that the alleged infringers have actually copied your design - as opposed to having merely produced an article that looks the same as your work. This can be difficult and expensive. Read about unregistered design right.

Alternatives to court action

If there is a dispute about design rights or registration, legal action should be the last resort. If you take action without prior contact with the other person, or without attempting alternative dispute resolution, the court may penalise you.

You may be able to avoid a court hearing by negotiating with the infringer or using an alternative method of dispute resolution such as intellectual property mediation.

The advantages of mediation are that it:

• enables both sides to agree on a course of action
• covers a broad range of issues - not just the design dispute
• settles disputes more quickly
• makes more efficient use of judicial resources
• can have positive results for everyone involved

You may even come to an arrangement to license the infringer to use your design, in return for payment of a fee.

Design law is complicated. Before taking any legal action, or if someone is accusing you of infringement, you should seek professional advice. Trade mark attorneys and patent attorneys specialise in this area.

It's essential that you respect design right or registered designs. If you do not, the design owner can take legal action against you and you may have to pay costs and damages in compensation. This can happen even if you did not intentionally infringe the design.

If you intentionally copy someone's design without the consent of its owner, whilst knowing or having reason to believe the design is registered, you could be committing a criminal offence.

Carry out design clearance searches

Before you use a design, you should carry out due diligence searches. You should check the existing intellectual property registers to find out if the design belongs to someone else.

You can search for:

• UK-registered designs
• EU-registered designs
• registered industrial designs worldwide

You can also ask the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to conduct the search on your behalf for £24. You will have to give them details of the product and an illustration of the design you want them to search for. Request a search of the UK design register.

Finally, trade mark and patent attorneys should be able to carry out a thorough search on your behalf.

What to do if you infringe design rights

If you are concerned about infringing someone else's design, seek legal advice as early as possible. If the infringement already happened and the design owner intends to sue you, you can try to reach an agreement about using their design. You may be able to license or buy the rights to use the design.

If someone sues you for infringement, but you believe that you have not infringed their design, you will have to prove so. Common defences include private use and not for commercial purposes, and use for experimental purposes.

Validity of design registration

Design applications generally don't undergo stringent examinations. A design may be invalid if it is not novel or does not have an individual character. You cannot enforce invalid design registrations so, if someone is suing you for design infringement, you may want to consider challenging the validity of their design.

Bear in mind, however, that if you lose, you will have to pay the legal costs of both sides, so seek professional advice beforehand.

If you suspect that someone is infringing your design rights, see design infringement.

If you think that someone has registered or is attempting to register a design wrongly, you have the right to object to it. You can do this in a number of ways.

Rectification of design registration

If you feel that you should be recorded as the joint proprietor of a design, you can apply to the Patents Court for the registration to be corrected. You should send a copy of your objection to the Intellectual Property Offices.

Cancellation of design registration

If a design was registered before 9 December 2001, you can apply for the registration to be cancelled if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You can apply for cancellation with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Invalidation of design registration

If the design was registered after 9 December 2001, you can apply to invalidate it if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You will need to provide a written 'statement of grounds' for invalidation. You do not need to provide evidence, but your statement must say that you have evidence.

The IPO will write to both the registered owner of the design and you, and once all of the evidence has been provided, they will ask if either of you is prepared to concede. If not, a hearing will decide the matter.

Find IPO forms and apply for cancellation or invalidation of design registration.

Registering your designs in the UK does not automatically protect them abroad. There are three ways to protect your designs outside the UK. You can:

• make a national application in individual countries
• use the Hague System to apply to a number of different countries or territories at the same time, through a single application
• apply for a registered community design (RCD) covering the European Union

Protecting your designs in Europe

If you trade in a single EU country, you may want to register your design just in that territory. This would give you exclusive rights within that country but it won't prevent anyone from copying your design in other EU countries.

If you do business in more than one EU country, it makes financial and practical sense to apply for a registered community design.

An RCD is a design registration that is valid in all European Union member states. RCDs are protected for five years and can be renewed a maximum of four times, giving a maximum of 25 years of protection. You can apply for an RCD with the EU Intellectual Property Office.

Registered designs are initially valid for five years. After that, you can pay renewal fees to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to extend the period of protection in additional five-year increments, up to a maximum term of 25 years.

If you do not renew your registration, your design will cease.

You should renew your design registration on its fifth anniversary. If you renew up to six months before, or within one month after the renewal date, you will only have to pay the renewal fee.

Design registration renewal fees

To renew your registration, fill in and send a design registration renewal form and a fee sheet for the correct amount. You can pay online, by cheque, bank transfer or deposit account. See how to pay the IPO.

When they receive your form and payment, the IPO will confirm your renewal.

Late renewal

If you miss the deadline for renewing your design registration, you can make a 'late renewal' within the six months of the renewal date. Late renewal will incur additional feels - £24 for each complete month that has passed.

If you do not renew within this six-month period, you can apply to restore your design.

Restoring your design registration

If you miss the six-month deadline for late renewal, you have a further six months to apply to restore your design. You will have to provide an explanation why you've missed the deadline and pay a £120 fee.

The IPO will consider your request and notify you by post if they will allow you to proceed with the renewal. If they reject your application, you have two months to appeal.

Once you register your design, you will need to tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) if any details they hold in the design register are out of date.

You can:

• change the name or address of an owner of a UK design registration or application
• appoint or change an agent to manage your registered designs, or update contact details
• correct any small errors on the register by writing to the IPO with details of the error
• remove your design from the registry at any time

You don't have to pay to update the register of designs, but you do have to complete relevant forms for them to carry out your request.

Cancelling your registered design

You can cancel or invalidate your design registration free of charge at any time. This could be to avoid legal action or because a third party has applied to remove the registered design. You will need to send the IPO notice by proprietor to cancel a registration.

You must not cancel your design if this will affect anyone else, eg someone who may have purchased a license to use your design.

Licensing is a common strategy for commercialising intellectual property (IP), including registered and unregistered designs.

IP can be licensed-out or licensed-in. You can licence-out your design to someone else in return for a fee, by giving them permission to use your designs on agreed terms and conditions.

Registering a design licence

You or the licensee (ie the person receiving the licence) should register the licence, or cancellation of a licence, with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The registration is free of charge.

The IPO will keep a record of it in the register of designs. You will have to fill in and send the relevant registered design forms to the IPO to update the register.

Read more about licensing your intellectual property.

Licensing other people's designs

If you want to license-in a design belonging to someone else, you should first identify the owner and search for registered design information. The IPO can also supply either certified or uncertified copies of designs or design applications.

If the owner decides to give you a licence to use their designs, the licence agreement should clearly specify:

• when and how you can use the design
• what licence fees and royalties you will have to pay as a result of this usage

In the last five years of any unregistered design right, you must give a 'licence of right' to anybody who asks. You can ask IPO to help if you can't reach an agreement on the terms of the licence.

The design's owner may also agree to sell you their design rights. This is referred to as 'assignment'. See more on how to buy, sell or transfer your design rights.

You can buy, sell or transfer ownership of intellectual property rights, including registered and unregistered design. This is known as an 'assignment'.

Assignment of design rights

Assignment is different to licensing. When you license your designs, you give the right to someone to use your design without infringing (eg to make or sell a product that incorporates your design).

While you can generally negotiate licensing terms, design assignments normally transfer all of the design rights from the original owner (the 'assignor') to the other party (the 'assignee'). This means that the original rights' holder no longer owns the design.

A licence may be granted formally, informally or may arise by implication. However, assignment of rights:

• must always be recorded in writing
• must be signed by (or on behalf of) the person assigning the right

Key considerations in a design assignment

If you are assigning your design rights to someone else, you should think about:

• appropriate warranties as to title
• rights of action, including the right to sue for past infringements
• further assurances regarding documentation or acts needed to give effect to the transfer

Design assignment recordal

If you sell or transfer ownership of your registered design to someone else, you must tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), so that they can record the change in the register of designs. This includes any change of ownership because of company mergers. Find forms to record your assignment with the IPO.

If you believe your design has been infringed - ie that someone is using it without your permission - you can take action. Use includes manufacturing, selling, importing or exporting goods featuring the design.

How you protect against infringement depends on whether your design is registered or not.

Giving notice of your registered design rights

As an owner of a registered design, you can give notice of your rights by marking your product with the relevant registered design numbers. This could help stop accidental infringement or help you get damages if someone does infringe your right.

You can mark your product with a web address or the registered design number. If you mark with a web address, the link must lead to a webpage that is freely accessible and clearly sets out the registered design number(s) relevant to that product. Webmarking or virtual marking should make it easier for you to maintain, and for others to access, a current list of design rights pertaining to your product.

Registered design infringement

If you suspect infringement, you should first write a warning letter to the other party. They may genuinely be unaware that they are infringing, or stop once their infringement has been 'discovered' by the design owner.

If they continue to infringe, you can start civil proceedings against them, even if the infringement is unintentional. You can sue for damages or the court can order a withdrawal of the infringing product or destruction of remaining items.

Intentional copying of a UK or EU registered design, without explicit consent from the design owner, is a criminal offence. See more on registered designs.

Unregistered design infringement

Unregistered designs are trickier to defend. You may still want to send a warning letter to the person or business you suspect of copying your design. You can still take court action if they continue to infringe. However, in order to succeed, you will have to prove that you hold design right and that the alleged infringers have actually copied your design - as opposed to having merely produced an article that looks the same as your work. This can be difficult and expensive. Read about unregistered design right.

Alternatives to court action

If there is a dispute about design rights or registration, legal action should be the last resort. If you take action without prior contact with the other person, or without attempting alternative dispute resolution, the court may penalise you.

You may be able to avoid a court hearing by negotiating with the infringer or using an alternative method of dispute resolution such as intellectual property mediation.

The advantages of mediation are that it:

• enables both sides to agree on a course of action
• covers a broad range of issues - not just the design dispute
• settles disputes more quickly
• makes more efficient use of judicial resources
• can have positive results for everyone involved

You may even come to an arrangement to license the infringer to use your design, in return for payment of a fee.

Design law is complicated. Before taking any legal action, or if someone is accusing you of infringement, you should seek professional advice. Trade mark attorneys and patent attorneys specialise in this area.

It's essential that you respect design right or registered designs. If you do not, the design owner can take legal action against you and you may have to pay costs and damages in compensation. This can happen even if you did not intentionally infringe the design.

If you intentionally copy someone's design without the consent of its owner, whilst knowing or having reason to believe the design is registered, you could be committing a criminal offence.

Carry out design clearance searches

Before you use a design, you should carry out due diligence searches. You should check the existing intellectual property registers to find out if the design belongs to someone else.

You can search for:

• UK-registered designs
• EU-registered designs
• registered industrial designs worldwide

You can also ask the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to conduct the search on your behalf for £24. You will have to give them details of the product and an illustration of the design you want them to search for. Request a search of the UK design register.

Finally, trade mark and patent attorneys should be able to carry out a thorough search on your behalf.

What to do if you infringe design rights

If you are concerned about infringing someone else's design, seek legal advice as early as possible. If the infringement already happened and the design owner intends to sue you, you can try to reach an agreement about using their design. You may be able to license or buy the rights to use the design.

If someone sues you for infringement, but you believe that you have not infringed their design, you will have to prove so. Common defences include private use and not for commercial purposes, and use for experimental purposes.

Validity of design registration

Design applications generally don't undergo stringent examinations. A design may be invalid if it is not novel or does not have an individual character. You cannot enforce invalid design registrations so, if someone is suing you for design infringement, you may want to consider challenging the validity of their design.

Bear in mind, however, that if you lose, you will have to pay the legal costs of both sides, so seek professional advice beforehand.

If you suspect that someone is infringing your design rights, see design infringement.

If you think that someone has registered or is attempting to register a design wrongly, you have the right to object to it. You can do this in a number of ways.

Rectification of design registration

If you feel that you should be recorded as the joint proprietor of a design, you can apply to the Patents Court for the registration to be corrected. You should send a copy of your objection to the Intellectual Property Offices.

Cancellation of design registration

If a design was registered before 9 December 2001, you can apply for the registration to be cancelled if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You can apply for cancellation with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Invalidation of design registration

If the design was registered after 9 December 2001, you can apply to invalidate it if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You will need to provide a written 'statement of grounds' for invalidation. You do not need to provide evidence, but your statement must say that you have evidence.

The IPO will write to both the registered owner of the design and you, and once all of the evidence has been provided, they will ask if either of you is prepared to concede. If not, a hearing will decide the matter.

Find IPO forms and apply for cancellation or invalidation of design registration.

Registering your designs in the UK does not automatically protect them abroad. There are three ways to protect your designs outside the UK. You can:

• make a national application in individual countries
• use the Hague System to apply to a number of different countries or territories at the same time, through a single application
• apply for a registered community design (RCD) covering the European Union

Protecting your designs in Europe

If you trade in a single EU country, you may want to register your design just in that territory. This would give you exclusive rights within that country but it won't prevent anyone from copying your design in other EU countries.

If you do business in more than one EU country, it makes financial and practical sense to apply for a registered community design.

An RCD is a design registration that is valid in all European Union member states. RCDs are protected for five years and can be renewed a maximum of four times, giving a maximum of 25 years of protection. You can apply for an RCD with the EU Intellectual Property Office.

Registered designs are initially valid for five years. After that, you can pay renewal fees to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to extend the period of protection in additional five-year increments, up to a maximum term of 25 years.

If you do not renew your registration, your design will cease.

You should renew your design registration on its fifth anniversary. If you renew up to six months before, or within one month after the renewal date, you will only have to pay the renewal fee.

Design registration renewal fees

To renew your registration, fill in and send a design registration renewal form and a fee sheet for the correct amount. You can pay online, by cheque, bank transfer or deposit account. See how to pay the IPO.

When they receive your form and payment, the IPO will confirm your renewal.

Late renewal

If you miss the deadline for renewing your design registration, you can make a 'late renewal' within the six months of the renewal date. Late renewal will incur additional feels - £24 for each complete month that has passed.

If you do not renew within this six-month period, you can apply to restore your design.

Restoring your design registration

If you miss the six-month deadline for late renewal, you have a further six months to apply to restore your design. You will have to provide an explanation why you've missed the deadline and pay a £120 fee.

The IPO will consider your request and notify you by post if they will allow you to proceed with the renewal. If they reject your application, you have two months to appeal.

Once you register your design, you will need to tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) if any details they hold in the design register are out of date.

You can:

• change the name or address of an owner of a UK design registration or application
• appoint or change an agent to manage your registered designs, or update contact details
• correct any small errors on the register by writing to the IPO with details of the error
• remove your design from the registry at any time

You don't have to pay to update the register of designs, but you do have to complete relevant forms for them to carry out your request.

Cancelling your registered design

You can cancel or invalidate your design registration free of charge at any time. This could be to avoid legal action or because a third party has applied to remove the registered design. You will need to send the IPO notice by proprietor to cancel a registration.

You must not cancel your design if this will affect anyone else, eg someone who may have purchased a license to use your design.

Licensing is a common strategy for commercialising intellectual property (IP), including registered and unregistered designs.

IP can be licensed-out or licensed-in. You can licence-out your design to someone else in return for a fee, by giving them permission to use your designs on agreed terms and conditions.

Registering a design licence

You or the licensee (ie the person receiving the licence) should register the licence, or cancellation of a licence, with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The registration is free of charge.

The IPO will keep a record of it in the register of designs. You will have to fill in and send the relevant registered design forms to the IPO to update the register.

Read more about licensing your intellectual property.

Licensing other people's designs

If you want to license-in a design belonging to someone else, you should first identify the owner and search for registered design information. The IPO can also supply either certified or uncertified copies of designs or design applications.

If the owner decides to give you a licence to use their designs, the licence agreement should clearly specify:

• when and how you can use the design
• what licence fees and royalties you will have to pay as a result of this usage

In the last five years of any unregistered design right, you must give a 'licence of right' to anybody who asks. You can ask IPO to help if you can't reach an agreement on the terms of the licence.

The design's owner may also agree to sell you their design rights. This is referred to as 'assignment'. See more on how to buy, sell or transfer your design rights.

You can buy, sell or transfer ownership of intellectual property rights, including registered and unregistered design. This is known as an 'assignment'.

Assignment of design rights

Assignment is different to licensing. When you license your designs, you give the right to someone to use your design without infringing (eg to make or sell a product that incorporates your design).

While you can generally negotiate licensing terms, design assignments normally transfer all of the design rights from the original owner (the 'assignor') to the other party (the 'assignee'). This means that the original rights' holder no longer owns the design.

A licence may be granted formally, informally or may arise by implication. However, assignment of rights:

• must always be recorded in writing
• must be signed by (or on behalf of) the person assigning the right

Key considerations in a design assignment

If you are assigning your design rights to someone else, you should think about:

• appropriate warranties as to title
• rights of action, including the right to sue for past infringements
• further assurances regarding documentation or acts needed to give effect to the transfer

Design assignment recordal

If you sell or transfer ownership of your registered design to someone else, you must tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), so that they can record the change in the register of designs. This includes any change of ownership because of company mergers. Find forms to record your assignment with the IPO.

If you believe your design has been infringed - ie that someone is using it without your permission - you can take action. Use includes manufacturing, selling, importing or exporting goods featuring the design.

How you protect against infringement depends on whether your design is registered or not.

Giving notice of your registered design rights

As an owner of a registered design, you can give notice of your rights by marking your product with the relevant registered design numbers. This could help stop accidental infringement or help you get damages if someone does infringe your right.

You can mark your product with a web address or the registered design number. If you mark with a web address, the link must lead to a webpage that is freely accessible and clearly sets out the registered design number(s) relevant to that product. Webmarking or virtual marking should make it easier for you to maintain, and for others to access, a current list of design rights pertaining to your product.

Registered design infringement

If you suspect infringement, you should first write a warning letter to the other party. They may genuinely be unaware that they are infringing, or stop once their infringement has been 'discovered' by the design owner.

If they continue to infringe, you can start civil proceedings against them, even if the infringement is unintentional. You can sue for damages or the court can order a withdrawal of the infringing product or destruction of remaining items.

Intentional copying of a UK or EU registered design, without explicit consent from the design owner, is a criminal offence. See more on registered designs.

Unregistered design infringement

Unregistered designs are trickier to defend. You may still want to send a warning letter to the person or business you suspect of copying your design. You can still take court action if they continue to infringe. However, in order to succeed, you will have to prove that you hold design right and that the alleged infringers have actually copied your design - as opposed to having merely produced an article that looks the same as your work. This can be difficult and expensive. Read about unregistered design right.

Alternatives to court action

If there is a dispute about design rights or registration, legal action should be the last resort. If you take action without prior contact with the other person, or without attempting alternative dispute resolution, the court may penalise you.

You may be able to avoid a court hearing by negotiating with the infringer or using an alternative method of dispute resolution such as intellectual property mediation.

The advantages of mediation are that it:

• enables both sides to agree on a course of action
• covers a broad range of issues - not just the design dispute
• settles disputes more quickly
• makes more efficient use of judicial resources
• can have positive results for everyone involved

You may even come to an arrangement to license the infringer to use your design, in return for payment of a fee.

Design law is complicated. Before taking any legal action, or if someone is accusing you of infringement, you should seek professional advice. Trade mark attorneys and patent attorneys specialise in this area.

It's essential that you respect design right or registered designs. If you do not, the design owner can take legal action against you and you may have to pay costs and damages in compensation. This can happen even if you did not intentionally infringe the design.

If you intentionally copy someone's design without the consent of its owner, whilst knowing or having reason to believe the design is registered, you could be committing a criminal offence.

Carry out design clearance searches

Before you use a design, you should carry out due diligence searches. You should check the existing intellectual property registers to find out if the design belongs to someone else.

You can search for:

• UK-registered designs
• EU-registered designs
• registered industrial designs worldwide

You can also ask the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to conduct the search on your behalf for £24. You will have to give them details of the product and an illustration of the design you want them to search for. Request a search of the UK design register.

Finally, trade mark and patent attorneys should be able to carry out a thorough search on your behalf.

What to do if you infringe design rights

If you are concerned about infringing someone else's design, seek legal advice as early as possible. If the infringement already happened and the design owner intends to sue you, you can try to reach an agreement about using their design. You may be able to license or buy the rights to use the design.

If someone sues you for infringement, but you believe that you have not infringed their design, you will have to prove so. Common defences include private use and not for commercial purposes, and use for experimental purposes.

Validity of design registration

Design applications generally don't undergo stringent examinations. A design may be invalid if it is not novel or does not have an individual character. You cannot enforce invalid design registrations so, if someone is suing you for design infringement, you may want to consider challenging the validity of their design.

Bear in mind, however, that if you lose, you will have to pay the legal costs of both sides, so seek professional advice beforehand.

If you suspect that someone is infringing your design rights, see design infringement.

If you think that someone has registered or is attempting to register a design wrongly, you have the right to object to it. You can do this in a number of ways.

Rectification of design registration

If you feel that you should be recorded as the joint proprietor of a design, you can apply to the Patents Court for the registration to be corrected. You should send a copy of your objection to the Intellectual Property Offices.

Cancellation of design registration

If a design was registered before 9 December 2001, you can apply for the registration to be cancelled if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You can apply for cancellation with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Invalidation of design registration

If the design was registered after 9 December 2001, you can apply to invalidate it if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You will need to provide a written 'statement of grounds' for invalidation. You do not need to provide evidence, but your statement must say that you have evidence.

The IPO will write to both the registered owner of the design and you, and once all of the evidence has been provided, they will ask if either of you is prepared to concede. If not, a hearing will decide the matter.

Find IPO forms and apply for cancellation or invalidation of design registration.

Registering your designs in the UK does not automatically protect them abroad. There are three ways to protect your designs outside the UK. You can:

• make a national application in individual countries
• use the Hague System to apply to a number of different countries or territories at the same time, through a single application
• apply for a registered community design (RCD) covering the European Union

Protecting your designs in Europe

If you trade in a single EU country, you may want to register your design just in that territory. This would give you exclusive rights within that country but it won't prevent anyone from copying your design in other EU countries.

If you do business in more than one EU country, it makes financial and practical sense to apply for a registered community design.

An RCD is a design registration that is valid in all European Union member states. RCDs are protected for five years and can be renewed a maximum of four times, giving a maximum of 25 years of protection. You can apply for an RCD with the EU Intellectual Property Office.

Registered designs are initially valid for five years. After that, you can pay renewal fees to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to extend the period of protection in additional five-year increments, up to a maximum term of 25 years.

If you do not renew your registration, your design will cease.

You should renew your design registration on its fifth anniversary. If you renew up to six months before, or within one month after the renewal date, you will only have to pay the renewal fee.

Design registration renewal fees

To renew your registration, fill in and send a design registration renewal form and a fee sheet for the correct amount. You can pay online, by cheque, bank transfer or deposit account. See how to pay the IPO.

When they receive your form and payment, the IPO will confirm your renewal.

Late renewal

If you miss the deadline for renewing your design registration, you can make a 'late renewal' within the six months of the renewal date. Late renewal will incur additional feels - £24 for each complete month that has passed.

If you do not renew within this six-month period, you can apply to restore your design.

Restoring your design registration

If you miss the six-month deadline for late renewal, you have a further six months to apply to restore your design. You will have to provide an explanation why you've missed the deadline and pay a £120 fee.

The IPO will consider your request and notify you by post if they will allow you to proceed with the renewal. If they reject your application, you have two months to appeal.

Once you register your design, you will need to tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) if any details they hold in the design register are out of date.

You can:

• change the name or address of an owner of a UK design registration or application
• appoint or change an agent to manage your registered designs, or update contact details
• correct any small errors on the register by writing to the IPO with details of the error
• remove your design from the registry at any time

You don't have to pay to update the register of designs, but you do have to complete relevant forms for them to carry out your request.

Cancelling your registered design

You can cancel or invalidate your design registration free of charge at any time. This could be to avoid legal action or because a third party has applied to remove the registered design. You will need to send the IPO notice by proprietor to cancel a registration.

You must not cancel your design if this will affect anyone else, eg someone who may have purchased a license to use your design.

Licensing is a common strategy for commercialising intellectual property (IP), including registered and unregistered designs.

IP can be licensed-out or licensed-in. You can licence-out your design to someone else in return for a fee, by giving them permission to use your designs on agreed terms and conditions.

Registering a design licence

You or the licensee (ie the person receiving the licence) should register the licence, or cancellation of a licence, with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The registration is free of charge.

The IPO will keep a record of it in the register of designs. You will have to fill in and send the relevant registered design forms to the IPO to update the register.

Read more about licensing your intellectual property.

Licensing other people's designs

If you want to license-in a design belonging to someone else, you should first identify the owner and search for registered design information. The IPO can also supply either certified or uncertified copies of designs or design applications.

If the owner decides to give you a licence to use their designs, the licence agreement should clearly specify:

• when and how you can use the design
• what licence fees and royalties you will have to pay as a result of this usage

In the last five years of any unregistered design right, you must give a 'licence of right' to anybody who asks. You can ask IPO to help if you can't reach an agreement on the terms of the licence.

The design's owner may also agree to sell you their design rights. This is referred to as 'assignment'. See more on how to buy, sell or transfer your design rights.

You can buy, sell or transfer ownership of intellectual property rights, including registered and unregistered design. This is known as an 'assignment'.

Assignment of design rights

Assignment is different to licensing. When you license your designs, you give the right to someone to use your design without infringing (eg to make or sell a product that incorporates your design).

While you can generally negotiate licensing terms, design assignments normally transfer all of the design rights from the original owner (the 'assignor') to the other party (the 'assignee'). This means that the original rights' holder no longer owns the design.

A licence may be granted formally, informally or may arise by implication. However, assignment of rights:

• must always be recorded in writing
• must be signed by (or on behalf of) the person assigning the right

Key considerations in a design assignment

If you are assigning your design rights to someone else, you should think about:

• appropriate warranties as to title
• rights of action, including the right to sue for past infringements
• further assurances regarding documentation or acts needed to give effect to the transfer

Design assignment recordal

If you sell or transfer ownership of your registered design to someone else, you must tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), so that they can record the change in the register of designs. This includes any change of ownership because of company mergers. Find forms to record your assignment with the IPO.

If you believe your design has been infringed - ie that someone is using it without your permission - you can take action. Use includes manufacturing, selling, importing or exporting goods featuring the design.

How you protect against infringement depends on whether your design is registered or not.

Giving notice of your registered design rights

As an owner of a registered design, you can give notice of your rights by marking your product with the relevant registered design numbers. This could help stop accidental infringement or help you get damages if someone does infringe your right.

You can mark your product with a web address or the registered design number. If you mark with a web address, the link must lead to a webpage that is freely accessible and clearly sets out the registered design number(s) relevant to that product. Webmarking or virtual marking should make it easier for you to maintain, and for others to access, a current list of design rights pertaining to your product.

Registered design infringement

If you suspect infringement, you should first write a warning letter to the other party. They may genuinely be unaware that they are infringing, or stop once their infringement has been 'discovered' by the design owner.

If they continue to infringe, you can start civil proceedings against them, even if the infringement is unintentional. You can sue for damages or the court can order a withdrawal of the infringing product or destruction of remaining items.

Intentional copying of a UK or EU registered design, without explicit consent from the design owner, is a criminal offence. See more on registered designs.

Unregistered design infringement

Unregistered designs are trickier to defend. You may still want to send a warning letter to the person or business you suspect of copying your design. You can still take court action if they continue to infringe. However, in order to succeed, you will have to prove that you hold design right and that the alleged infringers have actually copied your design - as opposed to having merely produced an article that looks the same as your work. This can be difficult and expensive. Read about unregistered design right.

Alternatives to court action

If there is a dispute about design rights or registration, legal action should be the last resort. If you take action without prior contact with the other person, or without attempting alternative dispute resolution, the court may penalise you.

You may be able to avoid a court hearing by negotiating with the infringer or using an alternative method of dispute resolution such as intellectual property mediation.

The advantages of mediation are that it:

• enables both sides to agree on a course of action
• covers a broad range of issues - not just the design dispute
• settles disputes more quickly
• makes more efficient use of judicial resources
• can have positive results for everyone involved

You may even come to an arrangement to license the infringer to use your design, in return for payment of a fee.

Design law is complicated. Before taking any legal action, or if someone is accusing you of infringement, you should seek professional advice. Trade mark attorneys and patent attorneys specialise in this area.

It's essential that you respect design right or registered designs. If you do not, the design owner can take legal action against you and you may have to pay costs and damages in compensation. This can happen even if you did not intentionally infringe the design.

If you intentionally copy someone's design without the consent of its owner, whilst knowing or having reason to believe the design is registered, you could be committing a criminal offence.

Carry out design clearance searches

Before you use a design, you should carry out due diligence searches. You should check the existing intellectual property registers to find out if the design belongs to someone else.

You can search for:

• UK-registered designs
• EU-registered designs
• registered industrial designs worldwide

You can also ask the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to conduct the search on your behalf for £24. You will have to give them details of the product and an illustration of the design you want them to search for. Request a search of the UK design register.

Finally, trade mark and patent attorneys should be able to carry out a thorough search on your behalf.

What to do if you infringe design rights

If you are concerned about infringing someone else's design, seek legal advice as early as possible. If the infringement already happened and the design owner intends to sue you, you can try to reach an agreement about using their design. You may be able to license or buy the rights to use the design.

If someone sues you for infringement, but you believe that you have not infringed their design, you will have to prove so. Common defences include private use and not for commercial purposes, and use for experimental purposes.

Validity of design registration

Design applications generally don't undergo stringent examinations. A design may be invalid if it is not novel or does not have an individual character. You cannot enforce invalid design registrations so, if someone is suing you for design infringement, you may want to consider challenging the validity of their design.

Bear in mind, however, that if you lose, you will have to pay the legal costs of both sides, so seek professional advice beforehand.

If you suspect that someone is infringing your design rights, see design infringement.

If you think that someone has registered or is attempting to register a design wrongly, you have the right to object to it. You can do this in a number of ways.

Rectification of design registration

If you feel that you should be recorded as the joint proprietor of a design, you can apply to the Patents Court for the registration to be corrected. You should send a copy of your objection to the Intellectual Property Offices.

Cancellation of design registration

If a design was registered before 9 December 2001, you can apply for the registration to be cancelled if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You can apply for cancellation with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Invalidation of design registration

If the design was registered after 9 December 2001, you can apply to invalidate it if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You will need to provide a written 'statement of grounds' for invalidation. You do not need to provide evidence, but your statement must say that you have evidence.

The IPO will write to both the registered owner of the design and you, and once all of the evidence has been provided, they will ask if either of you is prepared to concede. If not, a hearing will decide the matter.

Find IPO forms and apply for cancellation or invalidation of design registration.

Registering your designs in the UK does not automatically protect them abroad. There are three ways to protect your designs outside the UK. You can:

• make a national application in individual countries
• use the Hague System to apply to a number of different countries or territories at the same time, through a single application
• apply for a registered community design (RCD) covering the European Union

Protecting your designs in Europe

If you trade in a single EU country, you may want to register your design just in that territory. This would give you exclusive rights within that country but it won't prevent anyone from copying your design in other EU countries.

If you do business in more than one EU country, it makes financial and practical sense to apply for a registered community design.

An RCD is a design registration that is valid in all European Union member states. RCDs are protected for five years and can be renewed a maximum of four times, giving a maximum of 25 years of protection. You can apply for an RCD with the EU Intellectual Property Office.

Registered designs are initially valid for five years. After that, you can pay renewal fees to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to extend the period of protection in additional five-year increments, up to a maximum term of 25 years.

If you do not renew your registration, your design will cease.

You should renew your design registration on its fifth anniversary. If you renew up to six months before, or within one month after the renewal date, you will only have to pay the renewal fee.

Design registration renewal fees

To renew your registration, fill in and send a design registration renewal form and a fee sheet for the correct amount. You can pay online, by cheque, bank transfer or deposit account. See how to pay the IPO.

When they receive your form and payment, the IPO will confirm your renewal.

Late renewal

If you miss the deadline for renewing your design registration, you can make a 'late renewal' within the six months of the renewal date. Late renewal will incur additional feels - £24 for each complete month that has passed.

If you do not renew within this six-month period, you can apply to restore your design.

Restoring your design registration

If you miss the six-month deadline for late renewal, you have a further six months to apply to restore your design. You will have to provide an explanation why you've missed the deadline and pay a £120 fee.

The IPO will consider your request and notify you by post if they will allow you to proceed with the renewal. If they reject your application, you have two months to appeal.

Once you register your design, you will need to tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) if any details they hold in the design register are out of date.

You can:

• change the name or address of an owner of a UK design registration or application
• appoint or change an agent to manage your registered designs, or update contact details
• correct any small errors on the register by writing to the IPO with details of the error
• remove your design from the registry at any time

You don't have to pay to update the register of designs, but you do have to complete relevant forms for them to carry out your request.

Cancelling your registered design

You can cancel or invalidate your design registration free of charge at any time. This could be to avoid legal action or because a third party has applied to remove the registered design. You will need to send the IPO notice by proprietor to cancel a registration.

You must not cancel your design if this will affect anyone else, eg someone who may have purchased a license to use your design.

Licensing is a common strategy for commercialising intellectual property (IP), including registered and unregistered designs.

IP can be licensed-out or licensed-in. You can licence-out your design to someone else in return for a fee, by giving them permission to use your designs on agreed terms and conditions.

Registering a design licence

You or the licensee (ie the person receiving the licence) should register the licence, or cancellation of a licence, with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The registration is free of charge.

The IPO will keep a record of it in the register of designs. You will have to fill in and send the relevant registered design forms to the IPO to update the register.

Read more about licensing your intellectual property.

Licensing other people's designs

If you want to license-in a design belonging to someone else, you should first identify the owner and search for registered design information. The IPO can also supply either certified or uncertified copies of designs or design applications.

If the owner decides to give you a licence to use their designs, the licence agreement should clearly specify:

• when and how you can use the design
• what licence fees and royalties you will have to pay as a result of this usage

In the last five years of any unregistered design right, you must give a 'licence of right' to anybody who asks. You can ask IPO to help if you can't reach an agreement on the terms of the licence.

The design's owner may also agree to sell you their design rights. This is referred to as 'assignment'. See more on how to buy, sell or transfer your design rights.

You can buy, sell or transfer ownership of intellectual property rights, including registered and unregistered design. This is known as an 'assignment'.

Assignment of design rights

Assignment is different to licensing. When you license your designs, you give the right to someone to use your design without infringing (eg to make or sell a product that incorporates your design).

While you can generally negotiate licensing terms, design assignments normally transfer all of the design rights from the original owner (the 'assignor') to the other party (the 'assignee'). This means that the original rights' holder no longer owns the design.

A licence may be granted formally, informally or may arise by implication. However, assignment of rights:

• must always be recorded in writing
• must be signed by (or on behalf of) the person assigning the right

Key considerations in a design assignment

If you are assigning your design rights to someone else, you should think about:

• appropriate warranties as to title
• rights of action, including the right to sue for past infringements
• further assurances regarding documentation or acts needed to give effect to the transfer

Design assignment recordal

If you sell or transfer ownership of your registered design to someone else, you must tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), so that they can record the change in the register of designs. This includes any change of ownership because of company mergers. Find forms to record your assignment with the IPO.

If you believe your design has been infringed - ie that someone is using it without your permission - you can take action. Use includes manufacturing, selling, importing or exporting goods featuring the design.

How you protect against infringement depends on whether your design is registered or not.

Giving notice of your registered design rights

As an owner of a registered design, you can give notice of your rights by marking your product with the relevant registered design numbers. This could help stop accidental infringement or help you get damages if someone does infringe your right.

You can mark your product with a web address or the registered design number. If you mark with a web address, the link must lead to a webpage that is freely accessible and clearly sets out the registered design number(s) relevant to that product. Webmarking or virtual marking should make it easier for you to maintain, and for others to access, a current list of design rights pertaining to your product.

Registered design infringement

If you suspect infringement, you should first write a warning letter to the other party. They may genuinely be unaware that they are infringing, or stop once their infringement has been 'discovered' by the design owner.

If they continue to infringe, you can start civil proceedings against them, even if the infringement is unintentional. You can sue for damages or the court can order a withdrawal of the infringing product or destruction of remaining items.

Intentional copying of a UK or EU registered design, without explicit consent from the design owner, is a criminal offence. See more on registered designs.

Unregistered design infringement

Unregistered designs are trickier to defend. You may still want to send a warning letter to the person or business you suspect of copying your design. You can still take court action if they continue to infringe. However, in order to succeed, you will have to prove that you hold design right and that the alleged infringers have actually copied your design - as opposed to having merely produced an article that looks the same as your work. This can be difficult and expensive. Read about unregistered design right.

Alternatives to court action

If there is a dispute about design rights or registration, legal action should be the last resort. If you take action without prior contact with the other person, or without attempting alternative dispute resolution, the court may penalise you.

You may be able to avoid a court hearing by negotiating with the infringer or using an alternative method of dispute resolution such as intellectual property mediation.

The advantages of mediation are that it:

• enables both sides to agree on a course of action
• covers a broad range of issues - not just the design dispute
• settles disputes more quickly
• makes more efficient use of judicial resources
• can have positive results for everyone involved

You may even come to an arrangement to license the infringer to use your design, in return for payment of a fee.

Design law is complicated. Before taking any legal action, or if someone is accusing you of infringement, you should seek professional advice. Trade mark attorneys and patent attorneys specialise in this area.

It's essential that you respect design right or registered designs. If you do not, the design owner can take legal action against you and you may have to pay costs and damages in compensation. This can happen even if you did not intentionally infringe the design.

If you intentionally copy someone's design without the consent of its owner, whilst knowing or having reason to believe the design is registered, you could be committing a criminal offence.

Carry out design clearance searches

Before you use a design, you should carry out due diligence searches. You should check the existing intellectual property registers to find out if the design belongs to someone else.

You can search for:

• UK-registered designs
• EU-registered designs
• registered industrial designs worldwide

You can also ask the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to conduct the search on your behalf for £24. You will have to give them details of the product and an illustration of the design you want them to search for. Request a search of the UK design register.

Finally, trade mark and patent attorneys should be able to carry out a thorough search on your behalf.

What to do if you infringe design rights

If you are concerned about infringing someone else's design, seek legal advice as early as possible. If the infringement already happened and the design owner intends to sue you, you can try to reach an agreement about using their design. You may be able to license or buy the rights to use the design.

If someone sues you for infringement, but you believe that you have not infringed their design, you will have to prove so. Common defences include private use and not for commercial purposes, and use for experimental purposes.

Validity of design registration

Design applications generally don't undergo stringent examinations. A design may be invalid if it is not novel or does not have an individual character. You cannot enforce invalid design registrations so, if someone is suing you for design infringement, you may want to consider challenging the validity of their design.

Bear in mind, however, that if you lose, you will have to pay the legal costs of both sides, so seek professional advice beforehand.

If you suspect that someone is infringing your design rights, see design infringement.

If you think that someone has registered or is attempting to register a design wrongly, you have the right to object to it. You can do this in a number of ways.

Rectification of design registration

If you feel that you should be recorded as the joint proprietor of a design, you can apply to the Patents Court for the registration to be corrected. You should send a copy of your objection to the Intellectual Property Offices.

Cancellation of design registration

If a design was registered before 9 December 2001, you can apply for the registration to be cancelled if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You can apply for cancellation with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Invalidation of design registration

If the design was registered after 9 December 2001, you can apply to invalidate it if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You will need to provide a written 'statement of grounds' for invalidation. You do not need to provide evidence, but your statement must say that you have evidence.

The IPO will write to both the registered owner of the design and you, and once all of the evidence has been provided, they will ask if either of you is prepared to concede. If not, a hearing will decide the matter.

Find IPO forms and apply for cancellation or invalidation of design registration.

Registering your designs in the UK does not automatically protect them abroad. There are three ways to protect your designs outside the UK. You can:

• make a national application in individual countries
• use the Hague System to apply to a number of different countries or territories at the same time, through a single application
• apply for a registered community design (RCD) covering the European Union

Protecting your designs in Europe

If you trade in a single EU country, you may want to register your design just in that territory. This would give you exclusive rights within that country but it won't prevent anyone from copying your design in other EU countries.

If you do business in more than one EU country, it makes financial and practical sense to apply for a registered community design.

An RCD is a design registration that is valid in all European Union member states. RCDs are protected for five years and can be renewed a maximum of four times, giving a maximum of 25 years of protection. You can apply for an RCD with the EU Intellectual Property Office.

Registered designs are initially valid for five years. After that, you can pay renewal fees to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to extend the period of protection in additional five-year increments, up to a maximum term of 25 years.

If you do not renew your registration, your design will cease.

You should renew your design registration on its fifth anniversary. If you renew up to six months before, or within one month after the renewal date, you will only have to pay the renewal fee.

Design registration renewal fees

To renew your registration, fill in and send a design registration renewal form and a fee sheet for the correct amount. You can pay online, by cheque, bank transfer or deposit account. See how to pay the IPO.

When they receive your form and payment, the IPO will confirm your renewal.

Late renewal

If you miss the deadline for renewing your design registration, you can make a 'late renewal' within the six months of the renewal date. Late renewal will incur additional feels - £24 for each complete month that has passed.

If you do not renew within this six-month period, you can apply to restore your design.

Restoring your design registration

If you miss the six-month deadline for late renewal, you have a further six months to apply to restore your design. You will have to provide an explanation why you've missed the deadline and pay a £120 fee.

The IPO will consider your request and notify you by post if they will allow you to proceed with the renewal. If they reject your application, you have two months to appeal.

Once you register your design, you will need to tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) if any details they hold in the design register are out of date.

You can:

• change the name or address of an owner of a UK design registration or application
• appoint or change an agent to manage your registered designs, or update contact details
• correct any small errors on the register by writing to the IPO with details of the error
• remove your design from the registry at any time

You don't have to pay to update the register of designs, but you do have to complete relevant forms for them to carry out your request.

Cancelling your registered design

You can cancel or invalidate your design registration free of charge at any time. This could be to avoid legal action or because a third party has applied to remove the registered design. You will need to send the IPO notice by proprietor to cancel a registration.

You must not cancel your design if this will affect anyone else, eg someone who may have purchased a license to use your design.

Licensing is a common strategy for commercialising intellectual property (IP), including registered and unregistered designs.

IP can be licensed-out or licensed-in. You can licence-out your design to someone else in return for a fee, by giving them permission to use your designs on agreed terms and conditions.

Registering a design licence

You or the licensee (ie the person receiving the licence) should register the licence, or cancellation of a licence, with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). The registration is free of charge.

The IPO will keep a record of it in the register of designs. You will have to fill in and send the relevant registered design forms to the IPO to update the register.

Read more about licensing your intellectual property.

Licensing other people's designs

If you want to license-in a design belonging to someone else, you should first identify the owner and search for registered design information. The IPO can also supply either certified or uncertified copies of designs or design applications.

If the owner decides to give you a licence to use their designs, the licence agreement should clearly specify:

• when and how you can use the design
• what licence fees and royalties you will have to pay as a result of this usage

In the last five years of any unregistered design right, you must give a 'licence of right' to anybody who asks. You can ask IPO to help if you can't reach an agreement on the terms of the licence.

The design's owner may also agree to sell you their design rights. This is referred to as 'assignment'. See more on how to buy, sell or transfer your design rights.

You can buy, sell or transfer ownership of intellectual property rights, including registered and unregistered design. This is known as an 'assignment'.

Assignment of design rights

Assignment is different to licensing. When you license your designs, you give the right to someone to use your design without infringing (eg to make or sell a product that incorporates your design).

While you can generally negotiate licensing terms, design assignments normally transfer all of the design rights from the original owner (the 'assignor') to the other party (the 'assignee'). This means that the original rights' holder no longer owns the design.

A licence may be granted formally, informally or may arise by implication. However, assignment of rights:

• must always be recorded in writing
• must be signed by (or on behalf of) the person assigning the right

Key considerations in a design assignment

If you are assigning your design rights to someone else, you should think about:

• appropriate warranties as to title
• rights of action, including the right to sue for past infringements
• further assurances regarding documentation or acts needed to give effect to the transfer

Design assignment recordal

If you sell or transfer ownership of your registered design to someone else, you must tell the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), so that they can record the change in the register of designs. This includes any change of ownership because of company mergers. Find forms to record your assignment with the IPO.

If you believe your design has been infringed - ie that someone is using it without your permission - you can take action. Use includes manufacturing, selling, importing or exporting goods featuring the design.

How you protect against infringement depends on whether your design is registered or not.

Giving notice of your registered design rights

As an owner of a registered design, you can give notice of your rights by marking your product with the relevant registered design numbers. This could help stop accidental infringement or help you get damages if someone does infringe your right.

You can mark your product with a web address or the registered design number. If you mark with a web address, the link must lead to a webpage that is freely accessible and clearly sets out the registered design number(s) relevant to that product. Webmarking or virtual marking should make it easier for you to maintain, and for others to access, a current list of design rights pertaining to your product.

Registered design infringement

If you suspect infringement, you should first write a warning letter to the other party. They may genuinely be unaware that they are infringing, or stop once their infringement has been 'discovered' by the design owner.

If they continue to infringe, you can start civil proceedings against them, even if the infringement is unintentional. You can sue for damages or the court can order a withdrawal of the infringing product or destruction of remaining items.

Intentional copying of a UK or EU registered design, without explicit consent from the design owner, is a criminal offence. See more on registered designs.

Unregistered design infringement

Unregistered designs are trickier to defend. You may still want to send a warning letter to the person or business you suspect of copying your design. You can still take court action if they continue to infringe. However, in order to succeed, you will have to prove that you hold design right and that the alleged infringers have actually copied your design - as opposed to having merely produced an article that looks the same as your work. This can be difficult and expensive. Read about unregistered design right.

Alternatives to court action

If there is a dispute about design rights or registration, legal action should be the last resort. If you take action without prior contact with the other person, or without attempting alternative dispute resolution, the court may penalise you.

You may be able to avoid a court hearing by negotiating with the infringer or using an alternative method of dispute resolution such as intellectual property mediation.

The advantages of mediation are that it:

• enables both sides to agree on a course of action
• covers a broad range of issues - not just the design dispute
• settles disputes more quickly
• makes more efficient use of judicial resources
• can have positive results for everyone involved

You may even come to an arrangement to license the infringer to use your design, in return for payment of a fee.

Design law is complicated. Before taking any legal action, or if someone is accusing you of infringement, you should seek professional advice. Trade mark attorneys and patent attorneys specialise in this area.

It's essential that you respect design right or registered designs. If you do not, the design owner can take legal action against you and you may have to pay costs and damages in compensation. This can happen even if you did not intentionally infringe the design.

If you intentionally copy someone's design without the consent of its owner, whilst knowing or having reason to believe the design is registered, you could be committing a criminal offence.

Carry out design clearance searches

Before you use a design, you should carry out due diligence searches. You should check the existing intellectual property registers to find out if the design belongs to someone else.

You can search for:

• UK-registered designs
• EU-registered designs
• registered industrial designs worldwide

You can also ask the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to conduct the search on your behalf for £24. You will have to give them details of the product and an illustration of the design you want them to search for. Request a search of the UK design register.

Finally, trade mark and patent attorneys should be able to carry out a thorough search on your behalf.

What to do if you infringe design rights

If you are concerned about infringing someone else's design, seek legal advice as early as possible. If the infringement already happened and the design owner intends to sue you, you can try to reach an agreement about using their design. You may be able to license or buy the rights to use the design.

If someone sues you for infringement, but you believe that you have not infringed their design, you will have to prove so. Common defences include private use and not for commercial purposes, and use for experimental purposes.

Validity of design registration

Design applications generally don't undergo stringent examinations. A design may be invalid if it is not novel or does not have an individual character. You cannot enforce invalid design registrations so, if someone is suing you for design infringement, you may want to consider challenging the validity of their design.

Bear in mind, however, that if you lose, you will have to pay the legal costs of both sides, so seek professional advice beforehand.

If you suspect that someone is infringing your design rights, see design infringement.

If you think that someone has registered or is attempting to register a design wrongly, you have the right to object to it. You can do this in a number of ways.

Rectification of design registration

If you feel that you should be recorded as the joint proprietor of a design, you can apply to the Patents Court for the registration to be corrected. You should send a copy of your objection to the Intellectual Property Offices.

Cancellation of design registration

If a design was registered before 9 December 2001, you can apply for the registration to be cancelled if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You can apply for cancellation with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

Invalidation of design registration

If the design was registered after 9 December 2001, you can apply to invalidate it if:

• it was not new or lacked material differences from an earlier design when it was registered
• there are other reasons for which it could have been refused registration

You will need to provide a written 'statement of grounds' for invalidation. You do not need to provide evidence, but your statement must say that you have evidence.

The IPO will write to both the registered owner of the design and you, and once all of the evidence has been provided, they will ask if either of you is prepared to concede. If not, a hearing will decide the matter.

Find IPO forms and apply for cancellation or invalidation of design registration.

Registering your designs in the UK does not automatically protect them abroad. There are three ways to protect your designs outside the UK. You can:

• make a national application in individual countries
• use the Hague System to apply to a number of different countries or territories at the same time, through a single application
• apply for a registered community design (RCD) covering the European Union

Protecting your designs in Europe

If you trade in a single EU country, you may want to register your design just in that territory. This would give you exclusive rights within that country but it won't prevent anyone from copying your design in other EU countries.

If you do business in more than one EU country, it makes financial and practical sense to apply for a registered community design.

An RCD is a design registration that is valid in all European Union member states. RCDs are protected for five years and can be renewed a maximum of four times, giving a maximum of 25 years of protection. You can apply for an RCD with the EU Intellectual Property Office.