A product's design can inspire a customer's decision to buy it, whilst a less appealing product may go unnoticed. Design registration comes into play in this situation. Read on to know more!
In India, the process of design registration is used to register and protect various industrial designs. The Designs Act of 2000 and the associated Designs Rules of 2001 control the entire design registration process.
‘Design’ refers to the unique elements of shape, figure, blueprints, or decorations, or composition of lines or hues, or combination thereof, given to an article, which may be 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional, or both, by any manufacturing technique or method. The design phase can be manual, mechanical, automated, or chemical, and it can be separate or all-inclusive, as long as the end item appeals to and can be recognized only by the sight.
This, on the other hand, does not include any mode, standard, construction, or anything else that is only mechanical in nature. Besides, it does not include any registered trademark, as defined in Section 2(v) of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958, as well as a property mark or artistic work as defined under the Section 2(c) of the Copyright Act, 1957.
The purpose of getting design registration in india under the Designs Act is to protect a novel or inventive design that has been developed and will be applied to a specific article during the manufacturing process via an industrial process or mode.
Need for Design Registration
A unique industrial design refers to the creation of fresh and original product characteristics that may be recognized by the distinctive shape, form, patterns, beautification, and mix of such shapes or colors used. At first glance, an extraordinary design at its completed form appeals to the eye. It has a strong favorable influence on the market’s customers. Here are some of the most important reasons why a company should register its design:
- To get an effective and well-placed legal shield to protect distinctive creations in India from being imitated or misused.
- To encourage and nurture innovation and creativity
- It is a legal requirement for all enterprises based in WTO member countries that have signed the TRIPS agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights).
Validity of the Design Registration Certificate
The validity of the design registration certificate is initially 10 years from the date of registration when a registration certificate is issued. The term for claiming priority with respect to a Design is 10 years from the priority date.
The term of design can be extended for a further 5 years by filing an application in the prescribed form with the Controller and paying the necessary fee before the first period of Copyright expires.
Furthermore, if a registered design is expired owing to non-payment of an extension fee, an application for restoration of the lapsed design must be filed to the Controller within 1 year of the date on which the extension cost was not paid, along with the prescribed form and charge.
Benefits of Design Registration
- A well-designed product or ornament is both attractive and appealing. Hence, it boosts the product’s commercial worth also increasing its marketability
- When a design is protected, the author has the right to sue the person or company who copied or imitated it. This ensures that the product’s design is genuine and unique and that the owner’s interests are protected
- The picture or diagrammatic representation of products or packaging is protected by design registration. Many businesses rely on copyright and ensure that they are adequately protected. In the event of a dispute, the party opposing the validity of the copyright must prove the same. As a result, a design registration might be considered an excellent choice for demonstrating the validity of intellectual property rights
- When a designer adds something unique and creative to a product, it gives it its own personality. In the market, uniqueness has its own strategy that helps it carve out a niche for itself among all the other products
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