Changes to the UK Designs Framework: Consultation Response

Chris McDonald Excerpts

Wednesday 4th November 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment (Chris McDonald)]

Today, the Government are publishing and laying before both Houses of Parliament their response to the consultation on changes to the UK designs framework. This publication marks an important step forward in ensuring that the UK designs framework supports designers and is fit for the digital age.

According to a Design Council report, the UK’s “design economy” makes a significant contribution and grew at nearly twice the rate of the UK economy between 2019 and 2023. Of the £136.7 billion that the design economy contributed to the UK in 2023, digital design accounted for 59%. It is vital that the designs system is modernised to support the digital design sector.

The design sector is made up predominantly of microbusinesses, which are businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Accessible and effective design protection is essential to help designers and businesses to thrive and continue contributing to economic growth.

In the autumn of 2025, the Government published a consultation on changes to the UK designs framework. The consultation set out proposals to create a designs system fit for the future, one that is simpler, more effective, and better able to support UK creativity and innovation, in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

The consultation received responses from design businesses, legal professionals, academics, and representative and trade bodies. We have analysed each of these responses which have shaped a package of targeted reforms.

Today, the Government set out their intention to:

Modernise the designs system for effective protection of digital designs, including animated designs and graphical user interfaces.

Simplify aspects of the legal framework for unregistered designs, without reducing the breadth of protection that is a strength of the UK system.

Introduce a statutory 30-month deferment period for designers to keep their design confidential whilst making commercial preparations. This will align the UK more closely with EU and international design systems.

Allow supplementary unregistered designs to arise following global disclosure anywhere in the world.



Allow the registrar to conduct a targeted search and examination of design applications, to prevent registration of designs that are not new. This will reduce the burden on third parties to challenge invalid design registrations.

Widen access to enforcement by exploring how registered design disputes can be heard in the small claims track of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.

The Government are committed to ensuring that the UK is a world-leading environment for design and technology-driven innovation. We will continue to work closely with parliamentarians and stakeholders on implementation of these measures. Our aim is to build a designs system that protects creativity, supports growth and enables designers and businesses to make the most of their intellectual property.

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