Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 13 October (HL Deb, col. 1830) on intellectual property reform, (1) what representations they have made to the Intellectual Property Office regarding the impact on the creative industries and design sectors that a shift to an International Exhaustion Regime would have, and (2) what changes they are considering to the UK's design systems to address the lack of reciprocal recognition by the EU for unregistered design rights.

The Government has recently held a consultation on the UK’s future exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime. The Intellectual Property Office held constructive discussions with stakeholders across multiple business sectors, including representatives from the creative industries and design sectors. The Government is currently assessing the options and will make a decision in due course.

The UK sought an agreement with the EU on reciprocal disclosure for unregistered designs. This would have been beneficial to UK design businesses. However, the EU decided to pass up the opportunity to conclude such mutually beneficial text, which is disappointing. The Government recognises that this an important issue for UK designers and will consider it in future work on the UK designs system.