Video games feature various visual elements, interfaces, virtual environments, and digital objects. These components often possess unique or creative designs that creators wish to safeguard against copying. Although the aesthetic qualities and layout arrangements of these elements cannot be protected by patents, they can, in many cases, be protected by other intellectual property rights, such as design rights.

In the UK, the provisions of the Registered Designs Act (hereinafter referred to as the RDA) have provided a solid foundation of protection for many visual, spatial, and graphical elements in games. Although the definition of a "product" under the UK RDA has not yet been explicitly expanded to include non-physical or digital items in the same manner as in the EU, UK law has recognized that "graphic symbols" and "typographic typefaces" fall within the scope of the definition of a product. Many game assets (including icons, tool overlays, user interface indicators, pointers, aiming reticles, gesture icons, and graphical user interfaces (GUIs)) are considered to belong to the category of "graphic symbols" and are thus graphic works suitable for design registration in the UK.

However, until recently, limitations in the scope of application under EU law made it difficult for visual elements in game design to obtain registration and protection. Taking graphic representations as an example, design applications previously enforced upper limits on both the types and the number of graphic representations permissible for a given element. This severely restricted the scope of protection that creators could seek from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) regarding the visual aspects of their game designs.

It is welcome that amendments to the EU Design Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 6/2002), which entered into force on 1 May 2025, have strengthened the protection for various assets in gaming environments.

Specifically, this revision of the Design Regulation modernized the definition of the term "product," which now encompasses non-physical and digital objects, such as GUIs, virtual products, and virtual spatial arrangements of items within a gaming environment. The explicit inclusion of non-physical and digital objects within the definition of "product" makes it easier for applicants to protect various elements in their gaming environments under design law.

The EU Design Implementing Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2026/138) entered into force on 1 July 2026. This regulation removed the strict limitation that previously restricted EU design applications to a maximum of seven static graphic or photographic views to represent a design. The former restriction severely hampered applicants' ability to accurately represent dynamic and/or animated designs. The EUIPO now accepts up to 10 static representations, granting applicants greater freedom and flexibility to accurately depict their designs using static graphic or photographic views.

Furthermore, the EUIPO now accepts other file types to depict designs. EU design applications can now be submitted using video files or computer-modeled visual effects (such as CAD files). This increased flexibility enables animated and dynamic content to be submitted and presented more effectively and accurately. Previously, rendering movement and transition effects, while technically possible, was extremely difficult; the new implementing rules allow dynamic representations to match the inherent interactivity of video games.

Which aspects of games can now be protected more easily?

As noted above, the modernized EU and UK design regimes permit the protection of non-physical and digital designs, allowing creators to secure protection for numerous elements within their gaming environments, including the following:

GUIs and HUDs (Heads-Up Displays)

Visible in-game GUIs, menus, icons, control panels, cursors, and spatial interfaces can all be protected as registered designs.

Virtual Assets and Objects

Design rights now explicitly cover virtual goods, avatars, 3D models, in-game items, and digital fashion/skins.

Spatial Environments and Arrangements

Games may feature virtual rooms, architectural layouts, training spaces, or simulated industrial environments.

The definition of "product" under the EU Regulation now includes the spatial arrangement of items constituting an indoor or outdoor environment, which explicitly covers virtual environments.

Metaverse-style virtual product arrangements are likewise explicitly eligible for protection.

Animated or Dynamic Elements

Animations used in games, such as loading sequences, transition effects, gesture special effects, and haptic feedback visuals, can all obtain protection.

The EU reforms have expanded the definition of protectable designs to include "movement, transition, and animation."

Why register design rights for these elements?

Obtaining an EU registered design is relatively fast and cost-effective, and relying on registered rights rather than unregistered EU design rights offers numerous advantages. A registered right grants the owner genuine exclusivity over the appearance of a design, which can be used to prevent all others (including third parties who independently create an identical design or concept) from using or commercializing the protected subject matter.

In contrast, unregistered design rights require the rights holder to prove copying by the other party when an infringement occurs. Therefore, a subsequently and independently created design will not infringe these prior unregistered rights, even if it reproduces the overall look and feel of the earlier design. In other words, once a design is registered, there is no need to prove copying; independent creation does not constitute a defense against the infringement of a registered design.

As a result, registered protection provides developers/creators with an effective basis to combat third parties who intentionally craft "lookalike" experiences and/or virtual assets, or those who independently (and perhaps inadvertently) create designs that reproduce the overall look and feel of the rights holder's prior designs.

Equally important, when filing takedown requests against alleged infringing games on platforms such as Steam, creators can only rely on registered design rights. Unregistered design rights are not recognized as a valid basis for requesting a takedown.

Additionally, securing registered design rights offers distinct advantages for creators compared to relying on copyright protection that might apply to in-game visual elements. While it is clear that the vast majority of aesthetic or visual elements in games can be protected through registered design rights, the scope of copyright protection is far less clear and differs between the UK and EU legal frameworks regarding what is and is not protected.

In the EU, the scope of protectable subject matter has been interpreted very broadly in recent case law, confirming that "originality" is the sole requirement for works of applied art (such as elements contained within a gaming environment) to be considered protectable under EU copyright law. In other words, as long as a work of applied art is the author's own intellectual creation and reflects the author's free and creative choices, it can, in principle, obtain protection.

In contrast, the UK's scope of protectable rights is significantly narrower. Under UK law, only subject matter explicitly enumerated in the closed list of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA) is considered protectable. This list includes artistic works, literary works, dramatic works, and musical works, as well as sound recordings and films.

Although certain elements in a gaming environment might receive protection as artistic works (for example, design drawings or static images of virtual assets and objects under Section 4(1) of the CDPA) or films (such as animation sequences under Section 5B of the CDPA), the artistic quality of other elements (such as GUIs) may not currently be recognized as protectable under UK copyright law.

Conclusion

Thanks to the introduction of the EU Design Regulation in 2025 and the EU Design Implementing Regulation in 2026, protecting in-game visual elements as EU registered designs is now easier than ever. Compared to other rights (such as unregistered design and copyright protection), these design rights offer greater legal certainty and can, in principle, be used to protect any novel aesthetic or visual element within a gaming environment.

Creators should consider which visual elements in their game designs they wish to hold exclusive rights over to prevent third-party copying, and seek legal advice on how best to protect these elements.