Can I keep a UK design application confidential?
Yes. You can file a UK design application and defer registration and publication for up to 12 months while testing samples. Complete registration before the deadline or the IPO will cancel the application. The design is not protected while deferred. Sampling coordination can be handled by Cambridge China Bridge.
Choose deferment when you apply
IPO guidance expressly describes applying while keeping a design confidential during testing: apply now and choose to defer registration. You can defer for up to 12 months. This gives you a confidential application period while you assess samples.
Keep the application acknowledgement, submitted illustrations and filing date together. Identify who will manage the application and who can authorise publication. For the wider sourcing precautions, see protecting your IP and tooling.
Make the completion deadline part of sampling
If you deferred registration when applying, IPO guidance gives you up to 12 months to register the design before it cancels your application. Treat this as an application deadline, rather than a date that moves whenever a factory revises a sample.
Record the deadline alongside your sample review plan and set an earlier internal decision date. If testing remains unfinished, ask your design adviser what to do before the deadline. Use managing design revisions to keep the filed appearance and subsequent sample changes traceable.
Complete registration when ready
To complete deferred registration, send the deferred design registration form and the required fee for each design to the IPO. The application guidance identifies this form as the step needed to publish the design. It also states that your design is registered from the date you submitted your application.
Before sending the form, compare the submitted illustrations with the sample you intend to approve. If the appearance has changed, ask your design adviser whether the application still matches what you want to protect. Keep the submitted form, payment record and IPO correspondence in the project file.
Do not treat deferment as current protection
IPO guidance states that your design is not protected while your application is deferred. The registration date described above does not mean you already have registered-design protection during sampling. If copying is suspected, ask a design adviser to assess your position rather than relying on the filing acknowledgement.
Agree who may receive drawings, sample photographs and physical prototypes. Ask the factory to keep them out of catalogues, social media and customer demonstrations, and to refer requests from subcontractors back to you. Keep a record of what was shared and with whom.
Give the factory a controlled sampling brief
Separate permission to make and test samples from permission to publicise them. Put the approved drawing version, intended recipients and photograph-sharing instructions in the sampling brief. Ask the factory to flag proposed appearance changes before making a revised sample.
For sample approval and tooling arrangements, see MOQ and sampling. Cambridge China Bridge can use its staff in China to coordinate sample handling and factory instructions, while you and your design adviser manage the application and publication decision.
Frequently asked questions
Can I file a UK design before sampling is finished?
Yes. IPO guidance describes applying and choosing deferred registration while testing a confidential design. Keep the filed illustrations and sample revisions together for review.
How long can I defer UK design registration?
Up to 12 months. IPO guidance says you must register within that period before it cancels your application. Put the deadline in your sampling plan.
Is my design protected during deferment?
IPO guidance says it is not protected while the application is deferred. Do not treat the filing acknowledgement as current registered-design protection.
How do I publish a deferred UK design?
Send the deferred design registration form and the required fee for each design to the IPO. Check the filed illustrations against your approved sample before proceeding.