'Design’ refers only the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament or composition of lines or colour or combination thereof applied to any article whether two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. Protection for the aesthetic appeal of a product can be obtained by registering a design with the Designs Office in India by filing an application online or with any one of the IP Offices. Once filed the application is examined within 2 months and consequently the entire procedure takes about a year. The process for the registration of designs is the fastest of all the streams of intellectual property in India. A design registration is valid for a period of 10 years and can be renewed only once for a period of 5 years. This presentation briefs the entire procedure and requirements on how to file a design application in India.

1. Protection of Designs in India
Where, What, Who and How to file a Design Application
Pooja Shree
pooja@selvamandselvam.in
www.selvamandselvam.com

2. Protection of Designs
• The aesthetic appeal of a product is protected in India
under the Designs Act, 2000.
• A design can be registered with the Designs Office in
India by filing an application online or with any one of
the IP Offices (Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata or Delhi).
• The entire design filing-registration process takes
around 8-12 months.
• Once registered, a design is valid for a period of 10
years from the date of the application and protection
can be extended for a period of 5 years additionally.

3. Protection of Designs
• A design registration cannot be renewed more than
once.
• A design once registered can be rectified or cancelled
from the designs register by an interested party by
filing a petition to cancel the registered design.
• The process for the registration of designs is the
fastest of all the streams of intellectual property in
India.

4. Filing a Design Application
Where to apply?
• A design application can be filed with any of the four
Patent Offices located in Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata
and Delhi.
• All four patent offices take in design applications but
all subsequent actions like responses and hearings are
done only in Kolkata.

5. Who can apply?
• Anyone who claims to be the proprietor of any new or
original design may apply.
• A proprietor may be an author of the design, or
someone who has acquired it or a person for whom
the design has been developed or someone on whom
the design has devolved.

6. What can be protected as
a Design?
A Design according to Section 2 (d) of Designs Act, 2000
is defined as:
• Features of shape, configuration, Pattern, Ornament,
Composition of lines or colours or combination;
• Which can be applied to an article;
• In either 2D or 3D forms;
• By any industrial process (it could be manual,
mechanical or chemical or any of the processes
combined);
• Which should be appealing and judged solely by the
eye;
• And should not be a trademark or an artistic work
under the law of copyright.

7. How to apply?
• An application can be made along with the prescribed fee of INR
1000 stating the full name, address, nationality, name of the article,
class number and address for service in India.
• Foreign applicants are compulsorily required to give an address for
service in India, else the application will not be processed and only a
registered patent agent or legal practitioner can be appointed as an
authorized agent in such cases.
Types of Design Applications:
• Ordinary application – No priority claims;
• Priority application - Being a signatory of the Paris Convention for
the Protection of Industrial Property, one can file convention
applications claiming priority in India. An applicant from any of these
contracting states can file an application in India within 6 months
from the earliest date of priority on the basis of the International
Application filed under the Paris Convention. A certified copy of the
priority document is necessary for claiming priority.

8. Search
• To find out whether any registration already exists for
the design you intend to protect, a request needs to
be made to the Designs Office in the following
manner;
• a) if the registration number is known, an application
along with INR 500 needs to be filed;
• b) if you don’t know the number of the similar design
you can submit an image of your design along with an
official fee of INR 1000

9. Representation Sheet
• Representation means the exact representation of the
article for which registration is sought which includes
drawings, photographs, and tracings including
computer graphics or specimens of design.
• In general it’s best to include photographic
representations.
• The photographic representations have to be of
various views of the product taken from above, below,
the left, the right and a perspective view.

10. Class/Classification
• The Indian Designs Office follows the 10th Edition of
the Locarno Classification which contains 31 main
classes and numerous sub-classes under each class.
• Each class refers to a particular type of product like
fabrics, jewellery, cosmetics etc. There is a separate
class 99 that includes all products not included in the
31 classes.
• If the applicant wishes to apply for a design in more
than one class, a separate application has to be filed
for each of the design applications.

11. Statement of Novelty
• This is probably the most important part of the
application.
• In the representation sheet, below the photographs or
drawings, the applicant is supposed to declare the
novelty of his/her design.
• For example, if the application is for a design of a floral
pattern which forms part of a dress, then along with
the photograph of the dress, the following statement
should be inserted: “The novelty resides in the floral
pattern marked as ‘A’ of the article as illustrated”.

12. Disclaimer Statement
• If the design is likely to be confused as a trademark,
then a disclaimer needs to be added which should
convey that by virtue of this registration, no claim is
made to any right to the use as a trademark.
• Likewise, if the representations suggests any
mechanical action of the article or includes any
numerals, words or letters a disclaimer has to be made.

13. Examination of the
application
• Once the application is filed it gets accorded a date
and a serial number.
• If there are any defects in the representation sheet or
the form, it is sent back to the applicant for fulfilment
of the basic requirement. If there are no defects, the
application is then stored for further processing.
• The examination report is generally issued within 2
months.
• At the stage of examination, the Examiner of designs
does a formality check to determine if the application
has fulfilled the prescribed criteria.
• Substantive examination is also done to check if the
design and novel and if there are any similar designs
already on the Register.

14. Acceptance and Notification
• If there are no objections, the design will be registered.
• However, if there are objections then it is
communicated to the applicant who is required to
comply with the objections within 6 months from the
date of filing of the application.
• In case the applicant fails to respond to the objections
or does not comply with the objections raised, then
the design shall be deemed to have been abandoned.

15. Hearing
• In case the applicant contests the objections, and the
Controller is not yet satisfied, a hearing will be
appointed within 1-2 months, the result of which will
determine if the application is accepted or not.
• The applicant has the right of appeal to the High Court
if not satisfied by the outcome of the hearing.

16. Registration and Validity
• Once all the requirements are fulfilled, the application
is registered.
• It is then published in the Patent Office Journal, which
is published on every Friday.
• The design is then entered in the Register and
a certificate of registration is issued.
• A design registration lasts for a period of 10 years from
the date of registration after which an extension can
be filed for another 5 years.

17. If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions please do write to me:
pooja@selvamandselvam.in