Design Registration under the Designs Act, 2000

World Trade Organization (WTO) is an International Organization which deals with relations between/among the nations. All the member nations of WTO signed a Global Legal Agreement Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). India became a member state of WTO in 1995 and thus India enacted Designs Act in the year 2000 in compliance with TRIPS with the aim of protecting new or original Designs.

Topics Covered –

What is Design under the Designs Act, 2000?

A design can be registered under the Designs Act, 2000, if it complies the following essentials:

1. Original and Novel – Section 2(g)

A design can only be registered if such design is Original and Novel. It means that the design must originate from the mind of the author.

2. Unique

Secondly, the design must be unique that is the design must not have previously been published anywhere.

3. Legal Essentials of Design – Section 2(d)

Design has to be in compliance with the definition of Design under Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000. Section 2(d) reads as follows –

i. Design includes only the features of shape, pattern, ornament, configuration or composition of colors or lines.

ii. It must be applied on an Article.

iii. Design can be applied either in two Dimensional or three Dimensional or in both forms.

iv. Design shall be applied by any industrial process or other means (can be manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined).

v. Finished article shall be appealing to and be judged solely by the naked eye.

4. Not a Design – Section 2(d)

Design does not include the following things under the Designs Act, 2000 –

Any mode or principle of Construction or anything which is substantially a mere mechanical device.
Trademark – Section 2(1)(v) of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958
Property Mark – Section 479 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
Artistic Work – Section 2(c) of the Copyright Act, 1957

5. Significantly Distinguishable – Section 4

The Design shall be significantly distinguishable either form the known designs or from the combination of known designs.

6. Not Scandalous or Obscene – Section 4

Design shall not be Scandalous or Obscene in any manner that is against the Public Morality.

What are the benefits of Design Registration?

1. To use and commercially exploit the Design.

2. To protect the design from being copied or imitated by others for Commercial benefit.

3. It helps the author to produce, sell, export or distributing the design to others in India and outside India.

4. To get monopoly over the Design for the term of 10 Years.

5. Design becomes an asset after the registration and thus author can license the same to others.

6. The primary objective of Design Registration is to encourage the Creativity in Designs and their protection

What is the process of Design Registration?

1. Application – Form 1

The first step is to file an application in Form 1 with the Controller of Designs in Patent Office for the registration of Design.

Following persons can file an application for the registration of Design –

Individual
Firm
Legal entity
Body Corporate

Thereafter, the Registrar shall do the numbering and dating of the application.

2. Scrutiny of Application

Next, the controller shall scrutinize the application if all the documents and relevant information have been given. If yes, then he shall proceed with further steps.

3. Examination of Application

After scrutinization, the Controller shall refer the application for examination to the Examiner of Designs Application to ensure the originality and other mandatory requirements of the Design. At the time of examination, there can be following two scenarios –

A. In case of Objection

If any objection is raised then the same shall be intimated to the applicant in order to give him opportunity of being heard against such objections. Then the applicant shall file his representation against the objection. If the Examiner and controller are satisfied with the representation or hearing then the application shall be proceeded with the registration otherwise the application shall stand abandoned.

B. In case of No Objection

If No objections were filed or all the objections are settled then the Controller shall register the design under the Designs Act.

4. Registration of Design – Section 9

Lastly, the Controller shall register the Design and issue the certificate of Registration. Thus, the Controller shall make the entry of the registration in the Register of Designs along with the specifications of the design.

5. Publication of Registered Design – Section 7

Once the design is registered then the Controller shall publish the requisite particulars of the registered design for open inspection.

Apply for Design Registration

What are the Documents required for Design Registration in India?

Declaration of the Applicant that the Design belongs to the Applicant only
Affidavits
Certified Copy of the original Design or the Certified Copies of extracts from the Disclaimers
Other Public Documents (if applicable)

What is the Duration of Design Registration in India?

According to the Section 11, the registered proprietor of the design initially gets the copyright on the registered design for 10 years from the date of registration. The copyright on the design can be renewed after the expiry of 10 years for further 5 years.

An application in Form-3 along with the requisite fee has to be filed with the controller for renewal of the Design Registration.

What is the Piracy of Design Registration?

Section 22

If any person contravenes or infringes the Design Registration by applying the design to any article belonging to the same class of article for commercially exploiting the design without the authorization of Registered proprietor. It is known as Privacy of Design Registration.

What is the Penalty for Privacy of Design Registration?

Section 22(2)

If any person infringes the copyright subsists in the Design then he shall be liable to pay penalty of Rs. 25,000 to the Registered Proprietor recoverable as a Contract debt

In case of any query related to the Design Registration process then seek assistance from the IPR Experts Team of Manthan Experts for immediate assistance.