FAQs on Design
The object is to protect the appearance of articles that are produced by an industrial process.
Yes, they can be considered provided they have a new shape, configuration or surface pattern.
When an application for registration of a Design is in order, it is accepted and registered and then a certificate of registration is issued to the applicant. However, a separate request needs to be made to the Controller for obtaining a certified copy of the certificate for use in legal proceedings or for registrations abroad.
The Register of Designs is a document maintained by the Patent Office, Kolkata, as a statutory requirement. It contains the design number, class number, date of filing (in India), reciprocity date (if any), name and address of proprietor and other such information as would affect the validity of proprietorship of the Design.
Yes, the Register of Designs is open for public inspection on payment of the prescribed fee. An extract from the Register may also be obtained on request along with the prescribed fee.
The registration of a Design confers upon the registered proprietor 'Copyright' in the design for the period of registration. Copyright means the exclusive right to apply a Design to the article belonging to the class in which it is registered.
The term is 15 years from the date of registration of the Design.
Normally, the date of making the application for registration is the date of registration of the Design. In other words, the Design right starts from the date of making the application. However, in the cases of a Design application claiming priority from a previously filed application in a convention country, the date of filing the application in the convention country is the date of registration of the Design.
No, once the term of the Design expires, it falls into the public domain and cannot be renewed.
For ascertaining whether registration subsists in respect of a Design, a request needs to be made to the Patent Office, Kolkata. If the serial number of the registered Design is known, the request should be made on Form 6, otherwise on Form 7, together with the prescribed fee.
No, it is not compulsory but if the article is not marked, the Design-holder is not likely to receive damages in an infringement case.
No it is not mandatory. Applications can be made even for concepts such as a computer-rendered concept or drawing as long as the concept can be reproduced on the article by an industrial process eventually.
First-to-file rule is applicable for registrability of Design. If two or more applications relating to an identical or similar design are filed on different dates, only the first application will be granted registration. Secondly, the delay to file may also increase the chances of loss of novelty through publication.
Yes, the same applicant can apply again since no publication of the abandoned application is made by the Patent Office (and provided the applicant does not publish the said design in the meanwhile).
Registered Designs are published every Friday in the Patent Journal. In addition, it is now possible to conduct searches through the Register of Designs to ascertain whether a particular design is registered or not.
Yes, it is possible. Transfer takes place by means of an assignment deed which must be in writing. The request for transfer must be made within 2 months from the date of the assignment.
India is a party to the Paris Convention. If an application is first filed in another convention country on a particular date, and then subsequently filed in India within 6 months, the Indian application will be treated as if it was filed on the same date as in the other convention country.
Yes, all these particulars can be altered in the Register of Designs.
If a registered Design is exploited in an unauthorised manner, such exploitation can be stopped in a court of law (not the Patent Office) by a civil suit. The Design-holder may also ask for damages to the extent of INR 50,000 for each case of Design infringement.
Artistic works that are not capable of being applied on an article by an industrial process are not considered as subject matter of a Design registration.
All articles have been classified in the Indian Design Act into various classes for the convenience of both the applicants and the Design Office for the purpose of Design registration. Applications for Design registration have to be made in a particular class. One cannot apply for the same Design in more than one class.