Important aspects of Design Act 2000

 

Introduction

We come across many different items in our daily lives that we may identify simply looking at their designs. The customer's attention may be immediately captured by products with artistic design. These designs may be artistic, graphic, or other in nature. These designs, such as architectural or engineering plans for any type of building, interior designs, etc., may have been produced by experts.

Any processes, such as the way an article is constructed, are not included in the definition of "design." The Design Act of 1911 predated this Act. The new statute was enacted to bring the Design Act into compliance with international law. The Design Act, 2000 now upholds design laws.

The rights relating to trademarks, copyrights, patents, designs, and geographical indications of commodities are all covered under intellectual property laws in India. The "first to file, first to get" method served as the foundation for this Act, which mandates that the creator or owner of any design submit an application to register it as soon as as in order to avoid piracy and to assert certain rights over that specific design.

Design Act 2000

The Design Act of 1911 before controlled this Act. The Design Act of 2000 was passed in order to bring the Design Act up to line with international legislation. As a result, the Design Act of 2000 now governs design laws. It is an act that amends and codifies the legal framework for the protection of designs. It was published in the Indian Gazette and went into effect on May 12, 2000. This Act is statutory in character and a comprehensive code in and of itself. It encompasses the entirety of India.

Design act 2000 definition

• It does not include any mode of construction or any trademark as defined under clause (v) of sub-section (1) of Section 2 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958. 

• It does not include ‘property mark’ as defined in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

• It does not include any artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957.

Origin and development of design act in India 

• The Design Act in India dates its beginning to the British era. The Patent and Designs Act of 1872 was the first law to provide designs rights and protection. The Governor-General of India passed the Act of 1859 to safeguard industrial designs and provide inventors rights. This Act was a complement to that Act. This Act of 1872 was repealed by the Inventions and Designs Act of 1888.

• The Designs Act of the United Kingdom was reflected in the Act of 1888.

• The Patent and Designs Act, a new law that repealed all earlier laws, was passed by the British Parliament in 1911.

        • This Act was updated in 1930, and the government made various adjustments to the registration.

Process for designs. The phrase "new and original design" was replaced with "new or original design."

       •The Patent Act was passed in 1970 to deal primarily with patent-related issues. This Act's whole patent-related section was removed, however it nevertheless dealt with industrial              designs up until the year 2000.

       •In 1995, India joined the WTO as a member state. As a result, in accordance with TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property), the Patents and Designs Act of 1911 was          abolished and a new law known as the Designs Act, 2000 was adopted.

Salient features of design act 2000

• India is a member of the World Trade Organization’s Paris Convention. It has signed the Patent Cooperation Treaty which allows all the signatories of the convention to claim priority rights.

• Under the Act of 2000, Locarno classification has been adopted in which the classification is based only on the subject matter of design. Under the previous provisions, the classification was made on the basis of the material which has been used to make that material. 

• The introduction of “Absolute Novelty” makes it possible to judge a novelty on the basis of prior publication of any article. This is applicable in other countries also.

• As per the new law, a design can be restored which was absent in the previous enactment. Now, the registration of a design can be restored.

• The Act allows the district courts to transfer cases to the high courts where the jurisdiction is present. It is possible only in cases where a person is challenging the validity of any registration. 

• Provisions regarding the avoidance of certain restrictive conditions are also there so as to regulate anti-competitive practices in contractual licenses.

What is design all about?

The term ‘Design’ under Design Act is defined as:

"Features of shape, any configuration, pattern, ornament, or composition of lines or colors which is applied to two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects, or in both cases, using any process including manual, chemical, or mechanical, separate or combined, and which, in the finished article, appeal to or are judged solely by the eye."

Neither a trademark nor a form of construction as those terms are defined in clause (v) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, are included. Even the definition of a property mark in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code and the definition of an artistic work in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957 are excluded.

Items that cannot be registered as a design under the Act

• Flags, symbols, and signs of any nation.

• Any altered article's size.

• Buildings and structures.

• Designs for integrated circuit layouts.

• Variations in trade.

• Any building method or concept used in any product, including cards, labels, tokens, cartoons, and so forth.

• Books, calendars, jackets, diplomas, forms, and other paperwork, as well as postcards, pamphlets, stamps, medals, and sewing patterns.

· A device that is mechanical.

• Modifications made to assembly components in a workshop.

• Any component of an article that is not produced and sold independently.

Conclusion

The features have undergone several alterations as a result of the Design Act of 2000. For instance, when a developer creates anything there is an expectation that my structure won't be violated if an architect creates the structure of a building. Many designs include the ability to grant the author copyrights as well.

Then neither infringement can be asserted independently. Whichever is most advantageous must be chosen by the owner. Making a design appealing to the eye and leaving a lasting impression requires high intelligence. The government has developed a fantastic strategy for safeguarding designs. Furthermore, infringement of these designs may have a detrimental effect on the company's worth. An excellent design is never forgotten.

Apr 25, 2023