Design Registration

Design registration is a type of intellectual property protection It allows for the protection against copying of a newly produced design applied to a product made using an industrial process. With this registration, the owner is given permission to use the Design for ten years, with the option of an additional five-year extension. The procedure for design registration in India is described in this article.

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Definition of a Design

According to Section 2(d) of the Designs Act of 2001, a design is only those characteristics of a shape, pattern, configuration, composition, or ornament of lines or colors that are applied to any article that is two dimensional, three dimensional, or both by an industrial process or any means whether mechanical, manual, or chemical, separated or combined, and which in the finished article are judged solely by the eye. However, the principle of construction is not taken into consideration.

Also read MSME Innovative Scheme (Incubation, Design, and IPR)

Advantages of Design Registration in India

Following are some advantages that an owner can avail after getting registration of a design in India:

• Exclusive rights over the new and original design
• An asset of the proprietor/owner
• Can initiate a legal proceeding in case of infringement by a third-party
• Serve as a prima facie evidence in an infringement suit
• Right to sell, transfer and license the design with ease

Essentials Requirements

The following conditions must be met in accordance with the Design Act of 2000 in order for a design to be registered and protected under the Act:

• A design should be Original and new design. This means that it should not have been used or published previously in any country before the date of application of registration.
• A design should be significantly distinguishable from known designs or a combination of known designs
• A design should not comprise or contain scandalous or obscene matter
• A design should not be a mere mechanical contrivance
• A design should be applied to an article and should appeal to the eye
• A design should not be contrary to public order or morality

Eligibility Criteria

• Anyone may submit a separate or combined application for registration, along with their legal representative or assignee.
• The term "person" encompasses a company, partnership, minor entity, and a body corporate.
• An NRI must submit a design registration application through his agent or legal representative.

Documents Required for Design Registration

The following documents are to be submitted to get design registration:

• A certified copy of the original or certified copies of extracts from the disclaimer
• Affidavits
• Declaration
• Other public documents can be made available on payment of a fee.

The affidavit should be written in paragraph form and include a statement of veracity and truth. The fourth schedule, however, allows the controller to adjust the expense associated with design registration.

Protection Given to Design Registration

When a design is registered, copyright is granted to that design for a 10-year period that may be extended by a further five years. As a result, the owner has a monopoly on the design's usage in the class for which it has been registered.

What is excluded from the scope of a Design Registration?

The design registration does not provide copyright protection, thus it does not cover any literary or artistic creations like books, calendars, stamps, tokens, buildings and structures, or maps. Additionally, it is prohibited to submit an entry for artwork that is similar to any nation's flag, emblem, or sign.

Validity of Design Registration

A design registration is valid for ten years and may be prolonged for an additional five years by paying the required costs. If the extension is not completed by the deadline, the design will expire but can be reinstated as follows:

Only in the event that the extension fees were not paid, Form 4 must be used to submit the application for restoration within one year of the design's expiration date. Payment of the required extension fees is required following approval of the restoration application.

Process for Design Registration

The first thing to be noted is that the application to register a design may be applied to five different authorities:

• Controller Designs Patent Office in Kolkata
• The patent office in Delhi
• The patent office in Ahmedabad
• Patent Office in Mumbai
• The patent office in Chennai

The application for design registration must be filed with Form-1 along with the following details:

• Name of applicant
• Address of the applicant
• Nationality of the applicant
• In the case of a company, information regarding the place of incorporation and the legal status of the entity
• The required fee is applicable
• The class and the sub-class of the article under the Locarno Classification, of the article embodying the design
• The name of the article to which the design is applied upon
• Representation of the design

• In the case where the design is two-dimensional, two copies of the design are to be submitted.
• In the case where the design is three-dimensional, two copies of the design from the viewpoint of the front, back, top, bottom, and the two sides must be submitted.
• Further, the applicant must also highlight the unique features of the design that sets it apart from any other existing designs.

Each registration class must have a separate application if the application wants to register the design in more than one class.

• Statement of disclaimer or novelty must be attached to each representation with respect to mechanical processes, trademark, numbers, letters, etc. it should also be endorsed and duly signed and dated on each representation by the applicant or the authorized person on behalf of the applicant.

Following application submission, the patent office will review the application and, if necessary, raise objections. The patent office shall give the design a copyright certificate after resolving or eliminating all objections.

Cancellation of Design Registration

Under the provisions of Section 10 of the Design Act, 2000, registration can be canceled if:

• The design is unoriginal and if similar designs already exist
• The design has already been registered in India
• The design has already been published in another country prior to the date of registration
• Does not comply with the characteristics of a design as mentioned under the Design Act.