Procedures for registering designs under the 2000 Design Act

The Designs Rules, 2001 and the Design Act, 2000, which went into effect on May 11, 2001, respectively, regulate the registration of designs in India. The Act states that the application of shape, pattern, ornamentation, or composition of lines or colours to the items is protected by design registration. Since a design registration aims to preserve solely the design's aesthetic appeal, it excludes any elements that are merely mechanical devices, modes of construction, creative creations protected by the Copyright Act, and trademarks protected by the Trademarks Act.

Importance of registration of designs

We frequently come across items and things that may be identified just by glancing at their designs. People are drawn to distinctive designs, and they frequently identify products largely by their form, shape, or structure. Design refers to characteristics of form, pattern, configuration, ornament, or composition of colours or lines applied in three dimensions or two dimensions or both using any process, whether manual, chemical, mechanical, separate, or combined, that in the finished article appeal to or are entirely judged by the eye.

Fundamentally, industrial design is the distinctiveness of a product that makes it fashionable, alluring, and attractive, making it stand out and facilitating its potential in any sector as well as raising the commercial worth of that product or piece. The Design Act of 2000 should be used to safeguard designs for a variety of good reasons. First and foremost, industrial design protection promotes fair competition in the sector by fostering innovation, creativity, and uniqueness. A certain product's design boosts both its marketability and its monetary worth. When a design is registered, the owner gains exclusivity, and the buyer can quickly tell that a product is associated with a certain brand. Registered designs may be offered for sale or utilized to make payments.

The primary advantage and goal of a registered design is to provide you the right to sue anybody who violates it, both for the loss of sales and for harm to your goodwill in the marketplace. A design's owner is granted the only right to prevent unlawful duplication or replication of the design by third parties when the design is registered. Another advantage is that if the owner needs money or has limited manufacturing capacity, he or she may sell or license the design.

Applications for design registration must be submitted to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks in Kolkata. If the application complies with all of the formal and substantive standards outlined in the Designs Act, this agency performs an inquiry and authorises the registration. Basic requirements of design registration.

In order for the design to be registered and protected under the Design Act, 2000, it needs to fulfil the following essential elements.

 

Novelty aspect
Novelty denotes freshness. A product's design can only be registered if it features a novelty element. A combination of registered designs may also be taken into consideration, but only if the result is fresh visuals.

 

No prior publication of design and the design must be unique
The design must be original and must not have been used, published in advance, or otherwise made available to the public in India or anywhere else in the globe.

 

Making application of design to an article
The article itself should include the design. A design cannot be registered without an article.

 

Design should not be contrary to public order, morality or security of India
The government or any other authorised entity shouldn't forbid the design. It must be eligible for registration under Design Act of 2000 Section 5. The public morals or the feelings of the people may prohibit the registration of a design.

 

Documents required for design registration

Following are the documents required to register a document in India:

 

1. Name and detail address of the applicant
    
2. Nature/legal status of the applicant i.e. whether the applicant is a natural person or company etc.
    
3. For start-ups, the applicant should provide a certificate of registration.
    
4. The applicant is also required to file the description of the ‘article’ along with the identification of the class as per the classification.
    
5. Minimum 4 images/drawings of the article from every angle is to be filed along with the application.
   
    

Steps involved in design registration under the Design Act, 2000

 

Prior art work
The applicant will perform a search to see if a comparable design has already been registered or not. There are several paid and free databases available to aid the applicant in their search, including WIPO's Global Design Database and IP India's online public design search portal. If the applicant is unable to locate the number of a comparable design, Form No. 7 and Rs. 1000 are submitted instead.

 

Representation and classification of designs
Based on the purpose of the article, the applicant must identify the precise type of design from the Locarno classification. Additionally, a depiction or diagram that clearly identifies the design and applicant must be created on white A4-sized paper. The site won't accept it if the applicant doesn't prepare it in A4 size, which may cause the application to be delayed. The name, address, and name of the item on which the design has been placed would be the applicant's information. If the applicant is a foreigner, they must provide an Indian address in order to get services there.

Statement of novelty
The key component of an application is the Statement of Novelty. Below the representation sheet, it will be stated. This will make it possible to examine the design and registration process more quickly. The applicant may create the following statement in accordance with the statement of uniqueness provided below: The originality is found in the 'XYZ design’s form and arrangement, as shown.

Disclaimer
The article's design is frequently mistaken for a trademark. Therefore, a disclaimer is necessary to make it clear that no claim of use of any trademark is being made under this registration. It is crucial to mention whether any powers of attorney exist. The sample disclaimer draught is as follows: No right to the exclusive use of the words, letters, or trademarks featured in the depiction is claimed by virtue of this registration.

Claim a priority date
The applicant may assert an Indian priority date if the application is submitted in a conventional nation or a nation that is a member of an intergovernmental organization. This is the date the application was submitted in any such nation (provided the application must be made within 6 months in India.)

Payment of fees
Fees may be paid in cash or in cashier's check or draught made payable to the Kolkata head office. Registration applications cost Rs. 1000, and renewal applications cost Rs. 2000.

In other initial processing of the application
When an application is submitted together with all required paperwork and payments, the applicant is then given a registration number. The application may be submitted at any of its Delhi, Mumbai, or Chennai locations, the Design Office in Kolkata, or both. The examination officer conducts a subsequent substantive examination after which the report is delivered within two months.

Facing objections
An applicant is given the chance to revise any formal objections by submitting a written answer if any are raised. There will be a chance for a hearing if the examination officer is not pleased with the written response. The applicant is still unsuccessful, and the design is ruled unregistrable. All of this must be completed within six months of the filing date.

Final stage of registration and publication
The application will be registered and published in the patent office and a certificate of registration will be granted if the applicant successfully completes all procedures. The validity of a design registration is 10 years, renewable for an additional 5 years. This entire procedure will be finished in 8 to 12 months.

Conclusion

Intellectual property rights are fundamentally about preserving creativity. Under the Design Act of 2000, it is not necessary to register an industrial design in India before using it. However, it becomes very necessary for the product's increased economic worth, attracting new clients, and global brand promotion. Some items or things are particularly dynamic and constantly changing in nature, and their owners should be given legal protection. Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to industrially control the design registering procedure.

However, as it is not required in India to register intellectual properties, individuals still frequently disregard the need of doing so in 2021. The majority of small and medium-sized businesses are ignorant of how registering their industrial designs may increase the economic worth of their goods and help them advertise their brand. People should contact a lawyer with a strong IP understanding for effective registration of numerous IPs as it may assist them avoid IP infringement issues.