Your App's Look and Feel Is About to Be Protected: Australia's Designs Law Overhaul

If you've ever copied the look and feel of someone else's app, product, or website — or worried that someone might copy yours — this is the story you need to read.

Australia is about to get the biggest overhaul of its designs law in decades. The reforms will:

Protect app interfaces and user interfaces (GUIs) — something that's not currently possible
Allow protection of individual design elements instead of whole products
Protect virtual and digital products for the first time
Make it easier to protect design updates as products evolve

Draft legislation is expected in 2026, and when it passes, it will transform how businesses protect the visual appearance of their products and services.

Let's break down what's changing and why it matters.

What Are "Designs" in Australia?

First, a quick refresher. In Australia, a design is the visual appearance of a product — its shape, configuration, pattern, and ornamentation.

Think of it this way:

Patents protect how something works (function)
Copyright protects original creative expression (art, literature, software code)
Trade marks protect brand identifiers (logos, names, slogans)
Designs protect how something looks (visual appearance)

To get design protection in Australia, you need to register your design with IP Australia. Unlike copyright (which is automatic), designs protection requires registration.

The Problem: Designs Law Is Stuck in the Past

Australia's current designs law (the Designs Act 2003) was designed for a world of physical products. It works fine for protecting the look of a chair, a car, or a pair of shoes.

But it doesn't work for:

App interfaces (GUIs) — because an app isn't a "product"
Individual design elements — because you have to protect the whole product
Virtual products — because they don't exist in the physical world
Iterative updates — because there's no way to link design updates to the original registration

This is a problem because product differentiation increasingly happens on screens, not in showrooms. Your app's interface, your website's layout, your digital product's visual design — these are critical competitive advantages. And right now, they're largely unprotected.

The Reforms: What's Coming

1. Protection for Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs)

The change: GUIs will become protectable designs for the first time.

What this means for your business:

If you've designed an app interface, dashboard, or user experience that's distinctive and attractive, you'll soon be able to register it as a design. This means:

Copycat apps become harder to launch. If a competitor copies your app's look and feel, you can enforce your design registration against them.
Your UX investment is protected. The time and money you've spent designing your interface now has legal protection.
You have a new competitive weapon. Design registrations are relatively quick and inexpensive to obtain compared to patents.

What can be protected:

App icons and splash screens
Dashboard layouts and navigation patterns
Button styles, colour schemes, and typography
Animation sequences and transitions
Virtual product displays

What can't be protected:

Functional aspects (how the app works)
Underlying code or algorithms
Ideas or concepts (only the visual appearance)

2. Protection for Partial Designs

The change: You'll be able to register a design for a specific element of a product, not just the whole product.

What this means for your business:

Currently, if you want design protection, you have to register the entire product. If your innovation is just the shape of a handle, the pattern on a fabric, or the layout of buttons on a device, you're out of luck.

With partial design protection:

Protect just the novel part. If your innovation is a specific design element, you can protect that element without registering the whole product.
More precise protection. You can target exactly what makes your product distinctive.
Better for component markets. If you sell components that have distinctive designs, you can protect those components separately.

Examples:

A distinctive handle shape on a tool
A unique button layout on a remote control
A specific pattern on a fabric or surface
A distinctive logo integration into a product shape

3. Protection for Virtual Designs

The change: Virtual and digital products will be covered by designs law.

What this means for your business:

This is particularly relevant for businesses operating in digital spaces:

Gaming companies can protect the visual design of game environments, characters, and interfaces
AR/VR companies can protect the look of virtual products and experiences
Metaverse businesses can protect digital assets and virtual product designs
E-commerce companies can protect the visual layout of online stores

What can be protected:

Virtual product designs
Digital-only product appearances
AR/VR experience visuals
Metaverse asset designs

4. Post-Registration Linking

The change: You'll be able to link updated designs to an original registration.

What this means for your business:

Most products don't stay the same forever. Software gets updated. Products get redesigned. Fashion collections evolve. Under the current system, every update requires a separate registration — which is expensive and administratively burdensome.

With post-registration linking:

Protect iterations cost-effectively. Link design updates to your original registration instead of filing new applications.
Reflect continuous development. Show the evolution of your product design over time.
Reduce administrative burden. Fewer separate registrations to manage.

Examples:

A software app with regular UI updates
A clothing brand with seasonal design variations
A smartphone with incremental design changes each year
A furniture range with updated colourways and materials

Why Other Countries Already Have These Protections

Australia has been lagging behind other jurisdictions. Here's how they compare:

JurisdictionGUI ProtectionPartial DesignsVirtual Designs

European Union

✅ Yes

✅ Yes (limited)

United States

✅ Yes (design patents)

✅ Yes

⚠️ Limited

United Kingdom

✅ Yes

⚠️ Limited

Japan

✅ Yes

⚠️ Limited

Australia (current)

❌ No

Australia (proposed)

✅ Yes

Australia's reforms will bring it into line with international practice, which is important for businesses that operate across borders.

Who Benefits from These Reforms?

App and Software Developers

This is the biggest winner. For the first time, your app's visual design can be legally protected. Build that competitive moat.

E-Commerce and Digital Product Companies

Protect your product page layouts, checkout flows, and visual branding. Make it harder for competitors to copy your look and feel.

Gaming Industry

Protect game interfaces, HUDs, menus, and virtual product designs. The gaming industry invests heavily in visual design — now it can be protected.

Consumer Electronics Companies

Protect distinctive elements of your devices. If your product has a unique button layout, speaker grille, or port arrangement, you can now protect just that element.

Industrial and Manufacturing Designers

Protect the distinctive features of your products. Partial design protection allows you to target exactly what makes your product visually distinctive.

Startups and SMEs

Design registration is relatively inexpensive compared to patents. These reforms give smaller businesses access to powerful IP tools that were previously unavailable.

What Should Your Business Do Now?

While Waiting for Legislation

Document your design process. Keep records of your design development, including sketches, mock-ups, and iterations. This will help prove originality if you need to enforce your rights.
Consider other forms of protection. While designs protection for GUIs isn't available yet:
- Copyright may protect original artistic elements (icons, illustrations)
- Trade marks may protect distinctive visual branding (logos, colour schemes)
- Passing off may protect established brand reputation
Monitor legislative progress. Watch for the draft legislation and implementation timeline.

When the Reforms Pass

File design registrations for your GUIs and distinctive elements. Don't wait — first to file wins.
Use post-registration linking for iterative products to protect updates cost-effectively.
Review your existing design portfolio. Identify gaps where protection is now available but wasn't before.
Consider international filings. If you operate in multiple jurisdictions, file design registrations in relevant markets.
Build a design-based IP strategy. Combine designs protection with copyright, trade marks, and patents for comprehensive IP coverage.

How Much Does Design Registration Cost?

One of the advantages of design registration is that it's relatively inexpensive compared to patents:

Application fee: Approximately $250-$500 (depending on the number of designs)
Registration fee: Approximately $250-$500
Renewal fees: Every 5 years, up to a maximum of 10 years (20 years total)

Total cost for a single design registration is typically under $2,000 over its full term. Compare that to patent costs, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars.

What About Enforcement?

If someone copies your registered design, you can:

Send a cease-and-desist letter
Apply for an injunction to stop the infringing activity
Claim damages for financial loss
Claim an account of profits (the infringer's profits from the infringement)
Apply for destruction of infringing products

Design infringement cases are generally faster and cheaper than patent cases, making them accessible for smaller businesses.

The Bottom Line

Australia's designs law reforms represent a long-overdue modernisation. For the first time, the visual design of digital products — apps, interfaces, virtual experiences — will be legally protectable.

If you invest in design, you should invest in protecting it. The reforms make it easier, cheaper, and more comprehensive than ever before.

When the legislation passes (expected in 2026), be ready to file. The businesses that move first will have the strongest positions.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have questions about design registration for your products or services, consult a qualified intellectual property lawyer.