Registering your design in a country or a region does not protect it abroad. If you want to protect your design in other countries, you can apply to most major countries of the world by making a separate application to each country in which you want protection.

If you apply to register your design in a country like the United Kingdom that has signed the 'International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property', you can claim 'priority' from your earliest application for the same design in another Convention country, as long as you apply within six months of the earliest filing date in that Convention country.

For instance, registering your design in the United Kingdom (UK) does not protect it elsewhere. You can protect your design in other countries by applying in each country. You can use your UK design application to claim priority abroad within 6 months of your UK application date. This means that your later application is treated as if you applied on the same date as in the UK. You may receive some automatic protection for your design through copyright laws.

Design protection in Europe

Registering your design in the United Kingdom (UK) does not protect it elsewhere in the European Community (EC).

To protect your design throughout the EC, you can apply for a Registered Community Design (RCD) at the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM). Application details are available on their website. To get protection in individual EC countries, you must make a separate application to each country.

For instance, you can use your UK design application to claim priority when applying in the EC within 6 months of your UK application date. This means that your later application is treated as if you applied on the same date as in the UK. Your design may have some automatic protection in the EC through Community Unregistered Design right and national copyright laws.

Your European application will cover the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia , Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Registered Community Designs are protected for a period of five years. They can be then renewed four times giving a maximum life of 25 years of protection. You can file your application for a Registered Community Design with the UK Patent Office, or you can file it direct with OHIM in Alicante, Spain.