According to a media release from the UK Intellectual Property Office, UK designers will no longer have to include a design number on products to be confident they can recover damages for infringement, if a new proposal gathers traction. Right now, providing notice of registered intellectual property rights by marking a product is optional but allows the rights holder to highlight that the design is registered. This means that infringers cannot claim that they could not have known that the design was protected. But now:

"Government is seeking views on proposals to help designers enforce these rights. The proposed measures will enable designers to mark their products with a web link, instead of having to stamp the product or attach a label with the registered design numbers. The web link would notify third parties of the relevant registered design rights and keep information up-to-date as IP rights change.

Making a false claim that a design is registered can result in a fine, so this proposed change would simplify the system for design owners and users".

If you are interested -- and of course you are -- there are more details of the call for evidence here.