Design rights protect the appearance of products. Registered protection lasts up to 25 years in the UK and the EU, 20 years in the UAE and 15 years from grant for US design patents, while the UK also has automatic unregistered rights. The EU reformed its design system from 1 May 2025 with new names and fees. International registration through the Hague Agreement covers the UK, Singapore and, since April 2025, Saudi Arabia.
Registered and unregistered protection
A UK registered design must be new; registration costs from GBP 60 for one design to GBP 185 for up to 50, lasts five years and can be renewed to a maximum of 25 years. UK unregistered design right protects the shape and configuration of 3-dimensional objects automatically for up to 10 years from first marketing or 15 years from creation. In the EU, the reform effective 1 May 2025 introduced the registered EU design, a single filing fee of EUR 350 plus EUR 125 per additional design, and higher renewal fees, with protection up to 25 years.
A US design patent lasts 15 years from grant. UAE industrial design protection lasts 20 years from application under the 2021 federal law. India governs designs under the Designs Act 2000.12345678
International filing under the Hague Agreement
The Hague Agreement lets one international application cover several members. The UK has been a member since June 2018, Singapore since 2005 and Saudi Arabia since 7 April 2025. Membership of India and the UAE was not confirmed, so national filings may be needed there.91011
| Market | Maximum term | Official fee where stated | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (registered) | 25 years in 5-year periods | GBP 60 for one design to GBP 185 for up to 50 | GOV.UK |
| United Kingdom (unregistered) | 10 years from marketing or 15 from creation | None | GOV.UK |
| EU (registered EU design) | 25 years in 5-year periods | EUR 350; EUR 125 per additional design | Attorney summary of the 2025 reform |
| United States (federal) | 15 years from grant | Not researched | 35 U.S.C. 173 |
| UAE (federal) | 20 years from application | Not researched | Federal Law 11 of 2021 |
Decisions to make
- Is the product's appearance a main reason customers buy it?15Registered designs are cheap relative to patents and protect appearance for up to 25 years.
- Can the business rely on unregistered rights?2UK unregistered design right covers shape and configuration only and is shorter.
- Do the target markets belong to the Hague system?91110Hague can cover the UK, Singapore and Saudi Arabia in one filing; other markets may need national filings.
Documents usually needed
- Representations (drawings or photographs) of each design
- Evidence of first disclosure date
- Designer and contractor agreements
- Renewal diary for five-year renewals
Common mistakes
- Disclosing a design long before filing
- Using pre-2025 EU fee schedules
- Assuming US design protection runs from filing rather than grant
- Forgetting five-year renewals
Questions businesses ask
What changed for EU designs in 2025?
From 1 May 2025 Community designs became EU designs, the first-design fee became a single EUR 350 fee, and renewal fees rose.345
Is there automatic design protection in the UK?
Yes for shape and configuration of 3-dimensional objects, for up to 10 or 15 years depending on dates.2
What this guide does not yet confirm
These points need checking with a qualified local professional before you rely on them.
- EU design reform points come from a patent attorney summary; EUIPO pages and Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 could not yet be checked, and unregistered EU design terms were not confirmed.
- India's design term and fees, and Saudi and UAE design fees, were not confirmed.
- Hague membership of India and the UAE was not confirmed.
Sources and review status
Each statement is numbered to the source it was checked against. We use official sources where we can, and each statement says whether it was checked against an official or a secondary source. Sources last checked on 19 October 2026. None of it has been professionally reviewed yet: it is research checked against official and secondary sources by WONE Global, not legal or tax advice.
A UK registered design must be new; registration costs from £60 for one design to £185 for up to 50 designs, lasts 5 years and can be renewed every 5 years up to a maximum of 25 years. Covers shape, configuration, decoration, colour or pattern; functionality, offensive material, flags and official emblems cannot be registered.
Reused from gb-ip-g17.
UK unregistered design right automatically protects the shape and configuration of 3-dimensional objects for 10 years from the end of the year first made available for sale or 15 years from the end of the year of creation, whichever is earlier; supplementary unregistered design protects a product's appearance for 3 years from first disclosure. During the final 5 years of design right, anyone is entitled to a licence of right on request.
Reused from gb-ip-g18.
From 1 May 2025 the EU design reform renamed the Community design the EU design, and registered designs are now registered EU designs. EU-wide; first phase of the reform.
Secondary source; the EUIPO fee pages and the text of Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 could not yet be checked.
Since 1 May 2025 a registered EU design application costs a single fee of EUR 350 for the first design and EUR 125 for each additional design in a multiple application of up to 50 designs. EUIPO fees; the single fee replaced separate registration and publication fees.
Secondary source; the EUIPO fee pages and the text of Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 could not yet be checked.
A registered EU design can be protected for up to 25 years from the filing date, renewed every 5 years, with renewal fees per design of EUR 150, EUR 250, EUR 400 and EUR 700 for the first to fourth renewals. Renewal fees from 1 May 2025; late renewal fee 25% of the renewal fee.
Secondary source; the EUIPO fee pages and the text of Regulation (EU) 2024/2822 could not yet be checked.
A US design patent lasts 15 years from the date of grant. Federal; 35 U.S.C. 173 as amended in 2012 (previously 14 years).
Under the UAE federal industrial property law of 2021, industrial design protection lasts 20 years from the application date. Federal.
Independent check 19 Oct 2026: the article text matches; the law number shown in the official PDF title is blank, so the number is not stated here. Reused from ae-ip-007.
Industrial designs are governed by the Designs Act 2000 (Act No. 16 of 2000), in force since 11 May 2001. Central law.
Later amendments to the Designs Act were not shown on the profile. Reused from in-ip-008.
The United Kingdom acceded to the Hague Agreement for international design registration on 13 March 2018, with effect from 13 June 2018.
Reached from WIPO's Hague System page link to the list of the Hague System's contracting parties; the listing heading identifying the specific Act (understood to be the Geneva Act 1999) was not recorded. Reused from gb-ip-g19.
Singapore is party to the Paris Convention and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (in force for Singapore 23 February 1995), the Berne Convention (21 December 1998), the Madrid Protocol (31 October 2000) and the Hague Agreement on industrial designs (17 April 2005). Also party to the Budapest Treaty, WCT, WPPT, Marrakesh Treaty and Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks.
Reused from sg-ip-013.
The Hague Agreement on the international registration of industrial designs has been in force for Saudi Arabia since 7 April 2025.
Reused from sa-ip-005.
Questions on this topic
11 statements on designs
