How to file a Design Application in India – Registration and Protection of Industrial Designs in India – Design Patent Registration in India

Design Registration in India

Design Registration in India is governed under the provisions of the Designs Act, 2000 and Designs Rules, 2008 (As Amended), wherein aesthetic aspects of products can be registered as industrial design in India. In use, such aesthetic aspects cover the outer looks of an article for which design patent is to be registered, i.e. the way product is perceived by the consumer. Industrial design registration in India for innovative designs of products protects marketing related Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and further prevents infringement of design patents in India.

The scope of design registration in India includes 2D Patterns, Lines, Compositions, Colors, 3D Shapes, Combination of 2D and 3D aspects, and the like.

Importance of Design registration in India

Design registration in India is a statutory right and when it comes to enforcement of design rights by owners of registered designs in India, design registration is territorial in nature and occurs only on registration of the design in India. Consequently, after registration of design, design owner obtains right to prevent others from producing, importing, selling or distributing infringing products Infringing products. For the purposes of determining infringement of design patents, infringing products are those having identical appearance or fraudulent or obvious limitation of the articles protected by way of registered designs in India.

Eligibility for Design Registration in India

In accordance with provisions of the design laws in India, any product can be registered as industrial design in India if the product is a finished article, and, the article is new and original, not published previously, or, not publicly known, not a technical or useful function of a product, and all the aspects of the product appeals to and are judged solely by the eye.

Requirements for Design Registration in India

As per sections of the Indian Designs Act, to comply with the registration requirements, the industrial design should be significantly distinguishable from known designs or combination of known designs, and the design should not include scandalous or obscene matter. Additionally, the design not be a mere mechanical contrivance and the design should be applied to an article as well as should appeal to the eye. Also, the design should not be contrary to public order or morality and the design should not be prejudicial to the security of India.

Exclusions from Design Registration in India

The design laws in India also include certain exclusions defining exclusions for design registration in India, wherein said inclusions include designs that are primarily literary or artistic character are not eligible for protection under the Indian Designs Act. Such exclusions specifically include, Books, calendars, certificates, forms-and other documents, dressmaking patterns, greeting cards, leaflets, maps and plan cards, postcards, stamps, medals, labels, tokens, cards, cartoons, any principle or mode of construction of an article, mere mechanical contrivance, buildings and structures, parts of articles not manufactured and sold separately, variations commonly used in the trade, mere workshop alterations of components of an assembly, mere change in size of article, flags, emblems or signs of any country, and layout designs of integrated circuits.

Design Patent Search – Prior Art Search

It is a common practice to retain services of a patent attorney to get a prior art search or design patent search conducted that covers international patent databases and non-patent literature sources to determine the novelty and subsequent eligibility of the product to be registered as industrial designs or design patents in India. While conducting a patent search, published patent applications and granted patents are searched to determine if similar designs exist prior to filing of industrial design patent application. The patent search report is compiled using the patent search strategy that is formulated to focus specifically on design patents. The patent search strategy includes creation and usage of patent search key strings along with logical operators (AND, OR, NOT) and relevant patent classifications are used to determine relevant search results. In use, design patent search requires comparison of patent drawings and figures to ascertain the novelty of the invention.

Industrial Design Registration Services in India are provided by Indian Law firm capable of handling Industrial Design Registration Services in India. Patent attorneys with expertise in patent registration in India and industrial design registration in India are the right source of reference to answer frequently asked questions and also provide answers for design registration in India.

Design owners seeking services of patent lawyers regularly seek clarifications as to how can industrial designs be differentiated on the basis that they can be registered or not in India before the Indian Patent Office. It is advisable for design owners to contact expert team of Indian design lawyers and industrial design attorneys for design registration in India.

Industrial design registration in India before the Indian Patent Office is a process involving requirements for registration of an industrial design application through the design or patent lawyer in India.

• What is an Industrial Design?

As it is well known, an industrial design is a type of an intellectual property right that is aimed at protecting the visual design only and not the functional part of the object or the article for which design registration is sought. In use, the industrial design comprises a shape, configuration, ornamentation or composition of any pattern or color in form (2-dimensional or 3- dimensional), and the design can be made by hand, or by any tool or machine, or by combination also. Moreover, the design has to be judged merely by eye, without the help of any other mechanical device.

• What does the Indian Designs Act, 2000 and The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2008 signify?

The Designs Act, 2000, and The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2008, govern the design laws in India. The Designs Act, 2000 along with The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2008 are the amendment of old design registration laws in India because of the tremendous change in science and technology. The Designs Act and The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2008 were also amended due to the fact of providing more specified protection to the designs than before.

• What are the requirements for registration of an industrial design application in India?

As disclosed in the design patent laws in India, certain crucial points are to be kept in mind before applying for the registration of the industrial design application in India. Such crucial points include ensuring that the industrial design should be new, novel and has never been used before. As disclosed hereinabove, the industrial design should not have been published in any country before the date of registration provided by Indian Patent Office. Additionally, as per legal requirements in India, the industrial design should relate to the article and its functionality, and the industrial design should have artistic value.

• What are the benefits of filing a design registration application in India?

There are multiple benefits of registration and filing of industrial design applications in India, such as, for example, but not limited to, the proprietor having exclusive rights on the industrial design application in India, and, the proprietor obtaining rights to sue for design patent infringement, if required. Moreover, after the filing and registration process is completed, a design registration certificate is issued by the Indian Patent Office and the industrial design becomes an intellectual property, whereby such registered design may further be sold by the proprietor of the registered industrial design, similar to other Intellectual Property Rights, like patents, trademarks, and the like. Consequently, since design patents or industrial designs pertain to marketing related intellectual property rights, after thorough completion of registration process, the popularity of the registered industrial design is helpful in promoting the popularity of the business entity that holds the ownership of registered designs in India.

• How can industrial designs be differentiated on the basis that they can be registered or not in India before the Indian Patent Office?

A review of design registration procedure in India reveals that for an industrial design to be registrable in India before the Indian Patent Office, such article pertaining to design registration application shall be an industrial design that is novel and original, and it has not been registered in India before. In addition, the Indian Patent Office requires that the industrial design should be relatable to the article or the ornament, and the industrial design should have been applied to the article by way of any industrial process. Additional requirements also state that the industrial design should have an aesthetic value.

Brand protection is strengthened with design patent registration in India as industrial design. Research and development (R&D) efforts result in eye catching design for the consumer, and design of a product includes ornamental look and pattern of the product.

Design patent search can be conducted to determine novelty of the product design, wherein design patent search strategy is formulated to coin patent search strings to locate relevant prior art, including granted patents and patent applications. Patentability analysis can be performed to compare features of the product design with the illustrations of the prior art, i.e. patent figures or patent drawings.

Advocate Rahul Dev is a Patent Attorney & International Business Lawyer practicing Technology, Intellectual Property & Corporate Laws. He is reachable at rd (at) patentbusinesslawyer (dot) com & @rdpatentlawyer on Twitter

Quoted in and contributed to 50+ national & international publications (Bloomberg, FirstPost, SwissInfo, Outlook Money, Yahoo News, Times of India, Economic Times, Business Standard, Quartz, Global Legal Post, International Bar Association, LawAsia, BioSpectrum Asia, Digital News Asia, e27, Leaders Speak, Entrepreneur India, VCCircle, AutoTech)

Regularly invited to speak at international & national platforms (conferences, TV channels, seminars, corporate trainings, government workshops) on technology, patents, business strategy, legal developments, leadership & management

Design Patent Attorney: Law Office of Rahul Dev is a niche technology and research based Law Firm in Gurgaon focusing on next generation business and legal issues faced in India and outside India during international business and cross-border technology transactions, specifically with Patent Attorneys in Asia, US and Europe.

We, as Patent Lawyer in India assist our clients in close collaboration with our associates and counsels within India and outside by providing custom engagement models to address our client’s needs. Practice areas include drafting and filing patent applications, patent prior art searches, patent prosecution, patent filing in India, PCT national phase entry in India, PCT international applications with WIPO, freedom to operate searches, patentability analysis and patent strategy to create a valuable patent portfolio. Patent attorney Rahul Dev works with clients providing expert legal services in the field of computers, mobile applications, software, Internet of Things (IoT), mechanical, electrical, medical, chemical, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, semiconductor processing, semiconductor production, semiconductor testing, semiconductor inspection, computer processors (architecture, general purpose processors, digital signal processors, graphics processors, network processors, computing system architecture and design), chipsets (memory, controllers, interfaces, I/O devices, networking system architecture and design), Digital Analog Circuit design, tools, Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Software, Big Data Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Social Networks, Wireless technology including, LAN, WAN, Broadband, Cellular etc.

We are licensed Patent Attorneys and Technology Lawyers in India, who work closely with USPTO licensed patent attorneys to assist clients with patent reexaminations, patent prosecution, drafting USPTO office action responses, patent infringement litigation, patent claim mapping and patent licensing. For international patent filings, we have an established network of global patent attorneys to provide reliable and cost effective services to our clients.