Design rights primarily safeguard the visual appearance of a product or item. By securing legal registration for your design, you establish protection for your product's specific design. This grants you exclusive rights to control and prohibit any unauthorized entities from utilizing or replicating your design.

Key aspects of the Designs Act of 2000 include:

• India's membership in the World Trade Organization, and its status as a signatory to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which grants members the privilege of asserting priority rights.

• Adherence to the LOCARNO classification system by the Design Act of 2000, which categorizes designs solely based on their appearance, rather than the materials employed in their creation.

• A substantial increase in the potential penalties for infringement or violation under this Act.

• The removal of the previous two-year confidentiality rule concerning registered designs.

• Inclusion of provisions regarding the substitution of an application before design registration, as stipulated by the recent amendment.

What Designs Can Be Registered?

Design refers to the shape, structure, or arrangement, including patterns, decorations, or the interplay of lines and colours, as applied to a manufactured item. The appeal and judgment of such designs are solely based on visual perception in their finished state.

These designs can exist in either two-dimensional or three-dimensional forms or a combination of both. They should be capable of being produced through an industrial process or means, be it manual, mechanical, or chemical, either independently or in combination. It's important to note that they should not be a mere mechanical device, construction method, or principle.

Designs excluded from this definition encompass:

• Trademarks, as defined in Section 2(zb) of the Trademarks Act, 1999.

• Property marks, as defined in Section 479 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

• Artistic works, as defined in Section 2(c) of the Copyrights Act, 1957, which include:

(i) Paintings, sculptures, drawings (including diagrams, maps, charts, or plans), engravings, or photographs, regardless of their artistic quality.

(ii) Architectural works, such as buildings or structures possessing artistic character or design, including models for such structures.

(iii) Artistic craftsmanship.

Furthermore, here is a non-exhaustive list of designs that cannot be registered:

• Book jackets, calendars, certificates, forms, and documents.

• Dressmaking patterns, greeting cards, leaflets, maps, and plan cards.

• Postcards, stamps, and medals.

• Labels, tokens, cards, and cartoons.

To have your design registered, you must meet specific requirements, as outlined below:

Novelty:
A design can be registered only if it is new or original. Here's what "new" means:

• A design is considered new if it has not been made public in India or any other country through publication, use, or any other means before the filing date or priority date.

• A design is also considered new if it is substantially distinguishable from known designs or combinations of known designs.

The disclosure of a design is not considered for publication if:

• The proprietor disclosed the design to someone else before registration, under circumstances that would be against good faith for that other person to disclose it, and the other person does so in violation of good faith.

• The first confidential order for articles bearing a new or original textile design intended for registration is accepted before registration.

A design is not invalidated or barred from registration if it is:

• Exhibited in an exhibition to which the provisions of Section 21 of the Designs Act, 2000 have been extended by the Central Government through official gazette notification.

• A description of the design is published during or after the exhibition.

• A person exhibits the design or the article to which the design is applied or publishes a description of the design during or after the exhibition without the proprietor's consent or privity. However, to avail the benefit of this provision, the proprietor must:

• Notify the Controller in Form-9 before exhibiting the design.

• File the design registration application within six months from the date of the first exhibition or publication.

Originality:
"Original" concerning a design means it originates from the author of the design. This includes cases where an idea, although old in itself, becomes new when applied in a fresh way. For example, the Taj Mahal's image has existed for centuries, but if someone conceives the idea of creating a flower vase or ashtray in the form of the Taj Mahal for the first time, it can be considered an original design and eligible for registration.

Compliance with Social Order and Morality:
The design you apply for registration should not contain elements that are scandalous or obscene, potentially offending any particular segment of society. Violation of the rules specified in Section 5 of the Designs Act, 2000 renders the design ineligible for registration.

If your design meets the criteria mentioned above, you can successfully register it by following a few straightforward steps.

Who Can File a Design Application:
Any individual who claims to be the owner of a new or original design can apply for registration. The proprietor may be from India or a Convention Country, and they can be:

• The author of the design.

• A person who has acquired the design.

• A person for whom the design has been developed by the author.

• A person to whom the design has been transferred.