---
title: "UK intellectual property: six rights, which need registering"
description: "Copyright is automatic, trade marks need registering, and a patent is lost if disclosed early. Six UK IP rights and the filing windows after a first filing."
url: "https://staging.khoi.co.uk/en/blog/so-huu-tri-tue-khi-ra-nuoc-ngoai"
lang: en-GB
author: "Lê Quốc Khôi"
date: 2026-11-03
updated: 2026-11-03
topics: ["Ethics & corporate governance"]
tags: ["Intellectual property", "Trade marks", "Patents", "Geographical indications", "Trade secrets", "International expansion"]
---

# Intellectual property abroad: which of the six UK rights arise on their own?

## Key takeaways

- Copyright arises automatically: literary, dramatic and musical works must be recorded (section 3(2)), and a work needs a qualifying author or place of first publication (section 153) (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, c. 48, 1988). Trade marks differ: the UK bars infringement proceedings for an unregistered mark "as such" (section 2(2)) (Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26, 1994).
- IP rights are territorial and "only give protection in the countries where they are granted or registered" (Intellectual Property Office, 2023). A UK patent is infringed only by acts "in the United Kingdom" (section 60(1)) (Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977).
- A first filing in a Paris Convention state gives 6 months (trade marks, designs) or 12 months (patents) to file elsewhere with the same priority date; the UK and Viet Nam are both members (WIPO, n.d.; WIPO, 2025).
- A trade secret needs no registration but needs "reasonable steps" to keep it secret (The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/597, 2018); a patent is lost if the invention was disclosed "whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere" before the priority date (section 2(2)) (Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977).
- Registered geographical indications such as Phú Quốc sit on the UK register, and nobody owns the name (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2024; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2021).

A bottled-sauce workshop in Cần Thơ is about to sell to UK customers online. The brand name has only been used in Viet Nam and has been filed nowhere. Section 2(2) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 says no proceedings lie "to prevent or recover damages for the infringement of an unregistered trade mark as such" (Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26, 1994). So what protects the name, the label artwork, the bottle shape and the recipe, and which of those protections need an application?

"Bếp Hậu Giang" is a hypothetical I made up; every detail is invented. The post covers UK law as read from the documents named at the end, as of 3 November 2026. It is information, not legal advice.

## Which of the six rights arise automatically, and which must be registered?

Copyright, unregistered design rights and trade secrets need no registration. Trade marks (if you want to sue for infringement), patents, registered designs and geographical indications exist only once registered or granted. "Automatic" still carries conditions about who made the thing or where it was first disclosed.

> **Figure:** [Map of six intellectual property rights](https://staging.khoi.co.uk/en/framework/ip-rights-map) The six rights in the site's library. The table splits designs in two because UK law has both an automatic right and a registered one.

| Right | Automatic or registered | Main condition | Term |
|:--|:--|:--|:--|
| Copyright | Automatic; literary, dramatic and musical works must be recorded (s 3(2)) (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, c. 48, 1988) | Original work (s 1(1)(a)); qualifying author or place of publication (s 153) | 70 years from the end of the year the author dies, for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works (s 12(2)) |
| Trade mark | Registration needed to sue for infringement (s 2) (Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26, 1994) | Registration may be revoked after 5 years without genuine use in the UK (s 46(1)(a), (b)) | 10 years, renewable in 10-year steps (s 42) |
| Patent | Must be granted | New, inventive step, industrial application (s 1(1)) (Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977) | 20 years from filing (s 25(1)) |
| Registered design | Must be registered (Registered Designs Act 1949, 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6, c. 88, 1949) | New, individual character (s 1B(1)) | 5 years, four renewals, 25 years at most (s 8) |
| Unregistered design | Automatic, no fee (GOV.UK, n.d.) | Shape or configuration, excluding surface decoration (CDPA s 213); a supplementary right covers appearance (Intellectual Property Office, 2020) | Design right: 15 years from the end of the year of creation, or 10 years from first sale if sold within the first 5 years (s 216(1)); supplementary right 3 years |
| Trade secret | No register (The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/597, 2018) | Secret, valuable because secret, "reasonable steps" taken (reg 2) | No fixed term in the texts I read |
| Geographical indication | Registered on the UK register | Name tied to a place, with a product specification | Nobody owns it; removed if the specification is not followed or not produced for 7 years (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2024) |

No right protects an idea. Business.gov.uk says you "cannot use intellectual property protections to protect an idea", only your expression of it (Business Growth Service, n.d.). And automatic does not mean easy to prove: for an unregistered design you will need evidence of when you created it (GOV.UK, n.d.).

## Why does territory matter if I already hold a right in Viet Nam?

Because it does not carry over. The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) says IP rights "are territorial", and with protection in one country only, others may be allowed to use your IP elsewhere without infringing (Intellectual Property Office, 2023). The wording of the statutes shows it:

| Right | Where the territory shows |
|:--|:--|
| Patent | Infringement counts acts "in the United Kingdom" (s 60(1)) (Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977); without protection abroad "anyone can legally make, use or sell your invention overseas" (Intellectual Property Office, 2026) |
| Trade mark | The five-year clock counts "genuine use in the United Kingdom" (s 46(1)(a)) (Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26, 1994); on my reading, use in Viet Nam would not keep a UK mark alive |
| Unregistered design | The supplementary right comes from first disclosure in the UK; first disclosure in the EU creates none and may destroy novelty (Intellectual Property Office, 2020) |
| Copyright | Automatic across Berne members (WIPO, n.d.), which include the UK (since 1887) and Viet Nam (since 2004) (WIPO, 2026); yet under section 12(6), where the country of origin is not the UK and the author is not a UK national, the term is the one in the country of origin, if it is not longer than the UK term (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, c. 48, 1988) |

The Paris Convention does not merge the rights: patents granted in different countries are "independent of each other", and so are trade mark registrations (WIPO, n.d.). Territory also moves with politics: EU unregistered Community designs are no longer valid in the UK, and rights that existed before January 2021 were replaced by equivalent UK rights (Intellectual Property Office, 2020).

## I have filed in Viet Nam: how long do I have to file in the UK?

Six months for trade marks and designs, twelve for patents. That is Paris priority: a later filing within the window counts as filed on the first filing's date, and is unaffected by events in between such as publishing the invention or selling goods under the mark (WIPO, n.d.). UK law repeats the periods in section 35(1) of the Trade Marks Act, section 14(1) of the Registered Designs Act and section 5(2A)(a) of the Patents Act (Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26, 1994; Registered Designs Act 1949, 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6, c. 88, 1949; Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977).

Suppose Bếp Hậu Giang files everything first in Viet Nam on 10 March (a hypothetical date). The UK deadline for the mark and the bottle design is 10 September; for a patent, 10 March the following year. Missing it loses the priority date, not the Vietnamese right; for patents only, sections 5(2A)(b) and 5(2B) to (2C) allow a late declaration if the delay was unintentional (Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977). I did not read section 55 to check that UK law treats Viet Nam as a "Convention country"; both countries are on WIPO's Paris membership list.

Multi-country routes exist: Madrid for marks, Hague for designs, the PCT for patents (WIPO, n.d.; Intellectual Property Office, 2026; Intellectual Property Office, 2026). The IPO pages are written for UK owners going out, so I used only their description of the treaty mechanics, and I did not check whether Viet Nam belongs to Hague or the PCT.

## How are a bottle shape and label artwork protected?

A three-dimensional shape can carry unregistered design right if the designer or the first marketing qualifies (section 213(5)); the appearance can carry a three-year supplementary right if first disclosed in the UK (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, c. 48, 1988; Intellectual Property Office, 2020). For longer cover you register under the Registered Designs Act 1949 (Registered Designs Act 1949, 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6, c. 88, 1949).

Design right excludes "surface decoration" (section 213(3)(c)), so label artwork would, on my reading, rely on copyright, the supplementary right or registration (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, c. 48, 1988). Where you disclose first matters: a first disclosure in the EU still leaves 12 months to register in the UK (Intellectual Property Office, 2020), because section 1B(6)(c) disregards the designer's own disclosure in the 12 months before filing when judging novelty (Registered Designs Act 1949, 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6, c. 88, 1949). The IPO guidance says UK design right is limited to people resident in, or businesses formed under the laws of, the UK or a "qualifying country" (Intellectual Property Office, 2020). I did not check whether Viet Nam is a "qualifying country" for design right (section 217), as I did not read the Orders that list them.

## Recipe or machine: keep it secret or patent it?

A trade secret has no register. Information qualifies only if three conditions in regulation 2 hold together: it is not generally known in the circles that normally handle it, it has commercial value because it is secret, and its holder has taken "reasonable steps under the circumstances" to keep it so (The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/597, 2018). Business.gov.uk lists concrete steps: restricting access, marking confidential material, using legal agreements and keeping access records (Business Growth Service, n.d.).

A patent needs novelty, and anything made public "whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere" before the priority date is prior art (section 2(2)). Section 2(4) disregards only narrow cases: disclosure in the six months before filing through breach of confidence, or display at an international exhibition with a statement made on filing (Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977). WIPO adds that independent discovery or reverse engineering does not infringe a trade secret, and that a secret is no defensive prior art, so someone who reaches the same invention independently may patent it (WIPO, n.d.). On my reading, what is hard to reverse-engineer suits secrecy; what is exposed by showing the product publicly is hard to keep secret.

## Geographical indications: does the Phú Quốc or Buôn Ma Thuột name belong to my company?

No. Defra's guidance says an individual or business does not own a GI: any producer who follows the specification and is verified may use the name, which sets it apart from a trade mark held by one registrant (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2024).

The UK register has Vietnamese names. The Phú Quốc page records a PGI in the class fresh fish, molluscs, crustaceans and products derived from them, registered under the UK scheme on 31 December 2020 and originally with the EU on 11 October 2012 (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2021). Buôn Ma Thuột is also a PGI, registered on 31 December 2020 with the UK trade agreement as the reason (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2021). Defra says the UK GI schemes protect registered names when products are sold in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), while Northern Ireland and the EU fall under the EU schemes (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2024). Using a registered name means following the specification, being verified, and using the name and logo correctly (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2024). When I read it, the Phú Quốc page said the specification was not yet on the site, and I did not read how producers in Viet Nam are verified. Crafts and industrial goods are different: the IPO page of 26 November 2025 tells UK producers they can protect such names by registering a collective or certification trade mark (Intellectual Property Office, 2025).

## What should a small workshop do before its first UK sale?

Match each asset to its right, then set the deadline. The table is the hypothetical for Bếp Hậu Giang, and no row is legal advice.

| Asset (hypothetical) | UK right | Do before the first sale | If skipped |
|:--|:--|:--|:--|
| Name and logo | Registered trade mark; the logo may also carry copyright if it is an original work | File in Viet Nam, then within 6 months in the UK or designate the UK through Madrid | Someone else may register the name in the UK (Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26, 1994; Intellectual Property Office, 2026) |
| Bottle shape | Design right, supplementary right or registration | Choose where to disclose first; to register, count 6 months from the Vietnamese filing or 12 from your own disclosure | Disclosing in the wrong place may create no supplementary right (Intellectual Property Office, 2020) |
| Sauce recipe | Trade secret | Confidentiality agreement, restricted access | Without "reasonable steps" it stops qualifying (The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/597, 2018) |
| Home-built filling machine | Patent, if new and inventive | No showing or posting before filing | Under UK law, disclosure anywhere destroys novelty (Patents Act 1977, c. 37, 1977) |

Registering in the UK suits you if you really plan to expand, license or sell there, which is how the IPO's trade mark guidance frames the decision (Intellectual Property Office, 2026). It does not suit you if you are still testing the market, but the cost of waiting remains: without registration others may legally register or use your mark in the market you want to enter.

## Going deeper: where does the six-rights map come from, and where does it stop?

The base is the treaties. The Paris Convention (1883) covers patents, marks, designs, indications of source and unfair competition; the Berne Convention (1886) covers literary and artistic works; Madrid has an Agreement (1891) and a Protocol (1989) (WIPO, n.d.; WIPO, n.d.; WIPO, n.d.). The library's six-rights map rests on three UK Acts, covering copyright, trade marks and patents; the rest of this post draws on other sources.

Three limits. "Six" is one way of counting: designs span two regimes, and I left out database right and moral rights. Two sources frame trade secrets differently: WIPO calls them IP rights over confidential information (WIPO, n.d.), while the UK Regulations speak of unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure tied to breach of confidence (reg 3) (The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/597, 2018); I read no case law, so I cannot say whether UK law treats them as property. And guidance moves: the IPO's trade mark, patent and design pages for going abroad were re-written on 4 June 2026 (Intellectual Property Office, 2026).

What did I read? I read each cited section of the UK statutes in full on legislation.gov.uk (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; Trade Marks Act 1994; Patents Act 1977; Registered Designs Act 1949; Trade Secrets Regulations 2018) and not the rest of those texts. I read WIPO's three treaty summaries in full; the Paris and Madrid membership tables in full; for Berne only the UK and Viet Nam rows; and the opening of WIPO's trade secrets page. I read the IPO, Business.gov.uk and Defra pages in full on 3 November 2026. I did not read case law, EU law, the text of the UK-Viet Nam trade agreement, the UK GI regulations or Vietnamese law.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does one Madrid application replace separate trade mark filings in each country?

Partly. WIPO describes Madrid as one application filed through the office of origin that designates several countries, but each designated office still decides substance under its own law, including refusal (WIPO, n.d.). The UK has been a Protocol member since 1 December 1995 and Viet Nam since 11 July 2006 (WIPO, 2026). I did not read the UK office's examination practice, so I cannot give refusal rates.

### If I have used a name in the UK for years without registering it, can I sue a copycat?

Section 2(2) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 bars infringement proceedings for an unregistered trade mark "as such", but adds that the law of passing off is unaffected (Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26, 1994). The elements of passing off sit in case law, which I did not read, so I cannot say whether your name would qualify.

### Do I need to register copyright in the UK or add a © symbol?

The IPO's guidance says Berne gives automatic protection with no formality, the © symbol is optional (you may add it with the owner's name and year), and registration is not a condition of copyright in any Berne or TRIPS member (Intellectual Property Office, 2023). I did not look at whether the symbol helps as evidence.

### Is this advice, and does it cover Vietnamese law?

It is information, not legal advice, and it covers UK law and international treaties as of 3 November 2026. I used no source on Vietnamese IP law. The IPO itself suggests considering a trade mark attorney or other IP professional when protecting abroad (Intellectual Property Office, 2026).

## References

- *Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, c. 48* (1988). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents (Accessed: 3 November 2026).
- *Patents Act 1977, c. 37* (1977). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1977/37/contents (Accessed: 3 November 2026).
- *Registered Designs Act 1949, 12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6, c. 88* (1949). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/88/contents (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- *The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/597* (2018). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/597/contents (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- *Trade Marks Act 1994, c. 26* (1994). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/26/contents (Accessed: 3 November 2026).
- Business Growth Service (n.d.) *Protecting your ideas, products and information*. Business.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.business.gov.uk/support/intellectual-property/protect-ideas-products-information/ (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2021) *Buôn Ma Thuột (protected geographical food and drink names register entry)*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/buon-ma-thuot (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2021) *Phú Quốc (protected geographical food and drink names register entry)*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/phu-quoc (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (2024) *Protected geographical food and drink names: UK GI schemes*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-geographical-food-and-drink-names-uk-gi-schemes (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- GOV.UK (n.d.) *How your unregistered designs are protected*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/unregistered-designs (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Intellectual Property Office (2020) *Changes to unregistered designs*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-unregistered-designs (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Intellectual Property Office (2023) *Protecting your copyright abroad*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protecting-your-copyright-abroad (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Intellectual Property Office (2023) *Protecting your UK intellectual property abroad*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/protecting-your-uk-intellectual-property-abroad (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Intellectual Property Office (2025) *Non-agricultural geographical indications (NAGIs)*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-agricultural-geographical-indications-nagis/non-agricultural-geographical-indications-nagis (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Intellectual Property Office (2026) *Protecting your design abroad*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protecting-your-design-abroad (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Intellectual Property Office (2026) *Protecting your patent abroad*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protecting-your-patent-abroad (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- Intellectual Property Office (2026) *Protecting your trade mark abroad*. GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protecting-your-trade-mark-abroad (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- WIPO (2025) *Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property: status on May 15, 2025*. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO-administered treaties). Available at: https://www.wipo.int/documents/d/treaties/docs-en-paris.pdf (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- WIPO (2026) *Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works: status on August 4, 2026*. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO-administered treaties). Available at: https://www.wipo.int/documents/d/treaties/docs-en-berne.pdf (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- WIPO (2026) *Madrid Agreement and Protocol: status on July 8, 2026*. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO-administered treaties). Available at: https://www.wipo.int/documents/d/treaties/docs-en-madrid_marks.pdf (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- WIPO (n.d.) *Summary of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886)*. WIPO-administered treaties. Available at: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/treaties/ip/berne/summary_berne (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- WIPO (n.d.) *Summary of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1891) and the Protocol Relating to that Agreement (1989)*. WIPO-administered treaties. Available at: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/treaties/registration/madrid/summary_madrid_marks (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- WIPO (n.d.) *Summary of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883)*. WIPO-administered treaties. Available at: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/treaties/ip/paris/summary_paris (Accessed: 2026-11-03).
- WIPO (n.d.) *Trade secrets*. WIPO. Available at: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/trade-secrets (Accessed: 2026-11-03).

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