INDUSTRIAL DESIGN FILINGS BY KNOWLEDGENTIA CONSULTANTS

PUBLISHED BY MS. HARINDER NARVAN, MS. APARNA JAIN, MS AASHRIKA AHUJA AND MR PRADEEP KUMAR YADAV AS ON 04.03.2024

INTRODUCTION

Industrial Design constitutes ornamental aspect of any article. It basically consists of three dimensional features such as shape, or two dimensional features such as patterns, lines or colors. A registered design owner can prevent third parties from making, selling or importing articles bearing or embodying design by copying it for commercial purposes. Industrial design is applicable to many household goods, lighting equipment, jewelry, electronic devices, textiles and many more.  In India, Designs Act, 2000 governs all aspects of registration and enforcement of industrial designs. The main purpose of getting a design registered is to ensure the artisan, creator, originator of design is not deprived of the reward /fruit of his creation by others applying it to their goods. In India, the registration of design, confers “Copyright” in design to the registered proprietor for a period of ten years from the date of registration. This period can be further extended for a period of 5 years. Knowledgentia Consultants is the best corporate international law firm in India for any matters concerning registration, protection and enforcement of industrial designs.

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR DESIGN REGISTRATION UNDER THE DESIGNS ACT, 2000

1. The Design should be new or original, not previously published or used in any other country before the date of application for registration.
2. The design must relate to features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation applied or applicable to an article.
3. The design should be applied to the article by industrial process.
4. The features of design must appear and should be visible on the finished article.
5. The design should not include any trade mark or property mark or artistic work as defined under Copyright Act, 1957.

CANCELLATION OF A REGISTERED DESIGN

Under the Indian Designs Act, 2000, a registered Design can be cancelled in following situations:-

1. Design is not new or original.
2. Design is previously registered in India.
3. Design is published in India or elsewhere prior to date of registration.
4. Design does not fall under the category of “Design” under Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000.

APPLICATION PROCESS IN INDIA

1. SPECIFICS OF APPLICATION

1. One can file either ordinary or Conventional application.
2. Any person claiming to be the proprietor of any new or original design may apply for registration. A proprietor may be from India or from a Convention Country. A proprietor may be:
3. a. an author of design,
4. b. a person who has acquired the design,
5. c. a person for whom the design has been developed by the author, or
6. d. a person on whom the design has developed.
7. An application shall be filed in Form-1, along with the prescribed fees, stating the full name, address, nationality, name of the article, class number and address for service in India. For Foreign applicants, it is mandatory to provide an address for service in India, which could be an address of their Agent in India.
8. The application shall be signed either by the applicant or by his authorized patent agent/legal representative.
9. In case, the applicant has already registered a design in any other class of articles, the fact of such registration along with the registration number shall be mentioned in Form-1.
10. The applicant has to file Form 1 along with representation sheet, Power of Attorney, and Form 24 along with evidence if if applicant is Startup/Small Entity.
11. Two hard copies of representation of the design shall be submitted along with Form-1, Power of Attorney, and Form 24 along with evidence if applicant is Startup/Small Entity to the Design Office, Kolkata.
12. Representation means the exact representation of the article for which registration is sought. A representation may contain more than one page. Representation shall be exactly similar drawings, photographs, tracings including computer graphics or specimens of the design. The Controller may require a specimen of the article to be submitted at the time of examination, in rare cases.
13. The representation sheet should contain a minimum of six similar drawings or photographs of the article from different angles.
14. Photographs can be pasted on the representation sheets with the help of adhesive or directly printed on white A4 size paper (210 mm X 296.9 mm) of durable quality.
15. In case, name or representation of living persons appear on a design, consent of such persons may be submitted along with the application. In case of a deceased person, the consent of legal representative may be submitted. It may be noted that non-submission of such consent may result in office objections and resultant delay in registration. In case, the representation contains the image or name of an imaginary person, such fact may be mentioned in the declaration on the representation sheet.
16. A statement of novelty and disclaimer (if any) in respect of mechanical action, trademark, word, letter, numerals should be endorsed on each representation sheet. When colour combination is the essence of a design as applied to an article, the same shall be clearly depicted in the representation.
17. The applicant should keep in mind the requirements of an Examiner to visualize the design and distinguish the same from any probable prior art.

2. EXAMINATION

The application for registration of a design is refereed by the Controller of Designs to an Examiner of Designs for conducting examination as to:

a. whether the application and the documents satisfy the formal requirements, and

b. whether such design as applied to an article is registrable, under the provisions of the Designs Act, 2000 and Designs Rules, 2001.

3. FORMALITY CHECK

The Examiner determines whether:

a. the application is in prescribed format?

b. the prescribed fee has been paid?

c. the name, address, and nationality of the applicant is mentioned?

d. address for service is given in the application form?

e. declaration of proprietorship is given in the application form?

f. representation sheet is in a manner as prescribed in Rule 14?

g. power of authority, if applicable, is filed?

h. evidence is filed if applicant is Startup/Small Entity?

4. SUBSTANTIVE EXAMINATION

Substantive examination is carried out to determine whether the design under consideration is:

a. a ‘design’ under the Act?

b. new or original?

c. prejudicial to public order or morality?

d. prejudicial to the security of India?

5. REGISTRATION AND PUBLICATION

a. Once an application is registered, it is published in the Patent Office Journal ordinarily within one month. The registration number is same as the application number.

b. The date of registration of an ordinary application is the date of filing of the application. In case of reciprocity application, the date of registration is the date of filing of application in the Convention Country.

6. REGISTER OF DESIGN

a. All the registered designs are entered in the Register of Designs maintained at Patent Office, Kolkata. The register is available to public for inspection and an e register is also available at the official website.

b. The Register contains the following details:

    i. names(s) and address(s) of proprietor(s) of registered designs;

    ii. registration number;

  iii. class;

  iv. date of filing in India and date of filing in Convention Country (if any);

  v. renewal of design;

  vi. assignments and of transmissions of registered designs;

  vii. any other matter which would affect the validity or proprietorship of the design.

7. CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION

Upon registration, the Controller issues a certificate of registration to the proprietor of the design. The certificate is sent by mail to the registered email address. Applicant needs to apply for the hard copy of the certificate of registration and require to pay applicable fees, if required.

CONCLUSION

Knowledgentia Consultants which is the best law firm for global IPR protection not only adapts to the changing legal scenario but also makes the transition for clients easy and accessible. We are your one-stop solution for all kinds of legal, compliance and supplemental matters concerning IP matters specially registration of industrial designs. In case of any query regarding this matter you may email us at info@knowledgentia.com or visit our website -https://knowledgentia.com/.