Design registration is an Intellectual Property Protection, under which newly created designs applying to articles created under an industrial process can be protected from counterfeiting. Under the Design Act, 2000, a shape, configuration, pattern or ornament or composition of lines or colour or combination applied to an article can be registered. For a design to be registered, it must satisfy the following conditions:

1. it must be new and original, the design should relate to features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an article,
2. the design must be applied to any article by an industrial process
3. the design must be visible and should appear on an article.

Design registration provides the creator, exclusive rights over the use of the design for a period of ten years that can be further extended for a period of five years.

In case of infringement, the owner of a registered design can seek legal remedy under the Design Act.

Legal Tempo can help you register a Design. The average time taken to draft and file a design registration application is about 4-5 working days, subject to government processing time and client document submission.

The head office for design registration in India is situated in Kolkata and the processing of the said Application is filed Offline.

Important Aspects of Design Registration

File Professionally

It's important that a professional file for the registration of a design to ensure that the design is properly protected. An experienced professional can help significantly improve the chances of successful design registration by filing a professional application, addressing all the aspects of the Designs Act.

Government Process

Filing a design registration application does not guarantee registration of the design. Design registration is a process and registration is provided only by the Registrar - based on the facts and premises of each case. Hence, our professionals can only make best efforts for filing of design registration application based on experience and expertise.

Timeline

Post-filing of a design registration application, it is important to periodically check the status of the application until its processing on the Government side. Design registration application process always requires various time-bound response or action from the applicant.

Protection

List of all registered designs is maintained and published by the Patent Office to put competitors on notice about registration of a design and prevent counterfeiting. In case of infringement or piracy of a registered design, the owner of the registered design can seek legal remedy under the Designs Act.

10 Year Protection

Designs registered under the Designs Act are protected for a period of ten years, renewable by another 5 years. However, design registration mainly applies only to designs applied by an industrial process on any article. Hence, items that are covered under the Trademark Act or Copyright Act cannot be registered as a design.

To Protect your design, write to Legal Tempo on info@legaltempo.com or call us at +91 8700291362