UKIPO Designs Practice – Products Consisting Of Multiple Components

There has long been a debate as to the extent to which UK registered design law can protect a product formed of multiple separate items. Under UK law, a registered design protects "the appearance of the whole or a part of a product", which is generally interpreted to mean that the registered design must show a single product. It is, however, acceptable for the single product to consist of multiple components. As one can imagine, this frequently results in a debate as to whether a multi-item product is a product with multiple components or two products.

The UKIPO have recently published a Designs Practice Note (DPN) 01/24 outlining their approach to determining when a design application shows a single product having multiple components (which is allowable) and when it shows multiple products (which is not allowable). The DPN will significantly help design applicants because it makes public the longstanding approach of the UKIPO to the issue. However, it does