Protecting The Appearance of Your Creations with Confidence
06 May 2026
In jewellery, the look and feel of a piece often speaks for itself. Many of us have seen how a distinctive silhouette, surface pattern, or design detail can become closely associated with a maker’s identity.
When those visual elements are part of what clients recognise and return for, ensuring they’re properly protected becomes an important part of looking after your brand and the work behind it.
What Is a Registered Design?
A registered design legally protects the visual appearance of a product and its unique characteristics form being used by others without permission
This includes elements such as:
- Appearance: The overall look and feel of the product.
- Physical Shape: The three-dimensional form that distinguishes it from others.
- Configuration: How different components are arranged or interact within the product.
- Decoration: The ornamental details, such as patterns, textures, or colours applied to the design.
Why Registered Designs Matter
- Stronger legal protection
Registration gives you an exclusive right to use that design for up to 25 years, renewable every five years.
- Clear protection that discourages copying
Once your design is registered, your rights are publicly documented and legally enforceable. This visibility and certainty make competitors think twice before imitating your work.
- Ability to enforce your rights
Registration makes enforcement more straightforward. You can take legal action against anyone who produces, sells, imports, or distributes an item matching your registered design without permission.
- Valuable commercial asset
Registered designs can be licensed or sold, creating additional revenue streams and adding value to your business.
Requirements for Registration
To qualify, a design must be:
✔ New: The design must be new and not identical (or differing only in immaterial details) from any design already made available to the public, aside from disclosures made by the designer within the UK’s 12‑month grace period.
✔ Have individual character: The overall impression must differ from designs already on the market or published
✔ Public Policy Compliance: The design must not contain offensive, inappropriate or prohibited content.
Unregistered vs. Registered Design Rights
Registered Designs
✔ Provide up to 25 years of protection, renewed every five years
✔ Offers stronger legal protection with a formal registration proving ownership and scope.
✔ Cover both intentional and unintentional infringement, independent creation is not a defence
✔ Recognised commercial asset that can be used to leverage finance.
✔ Straightforward to license and assign, adding value to your business.
Unregistered Designs
✖ Shorter protection, lasts up to10 years from first marketing of the product (or 15 years from creation, whichever ends earlier).
✖ Harder to enforce, you must prove the design was copied from you.
✖ Independent creation is a valid defence,
✖ Limited commercial value, making it difficult to leverage finance against.
✖ Licensing is theoretically possible but often is not viable
International Protection Options
If you sell or plan to sell internationally, you may wish to extend protection through:
- Hague System (international filing route allowing you to protect a design in multiple countries through a single application)
- EU Community Registered Designs providing protection across all EU member states.
- Applications in individual territories, useful when you only need protection in specific key markets.
Each option helps ensure your designs are safeguarded in the territories where your work is seen or sold.
Best Practices for NAJ Members
- Register new collections before public release when possible to maximise protection.
- Keep sketches, prototypes, CAD files, and dated records.
- Protect your hero pieces individually, relying on unregistered rights alone leaves gaps, especially across a collection.
- Monitor the market for potential infringement, and act quickly if something concerns you
- Seek professional IP advice if unsure.
Don’t forget: NAJ Members have free access to the Copywatch design deposit scheme
Copywatch is a copyright deposit scheme administered by the NAJ. Members can submit an unlimited number of designs for free offering firm evidence of their design’s existence on a specific date, along with details on when it was initially available for purchase. Whilst not a legal document, this deposit system provides an audit trail that can aid you in pursuing legal action related to your design.
Submit your Designs
*For NAJ members only
Conclusion
In a sector where craftsmanship and creativity define value, registered designs offer a powerful way to defend originality. Whether you’re an independent designer-maker or an established brand, securing your visual identity is essential to preserving both your artistic integrity and your commercial success.
If you’d like support with registered designs, you can contact National business Register on 0800 069 9090 or by emailing info@nbrg.co.uk.
View National Buiness Register
Source: National Business Register