Design registration is a form of intellectual property protection that protects a freshly generated design applied to an object produced through an industrial process from counterfeiting. Design registration grants the designer exclusive rights to use the design for 10 years, which can be extended for another five years.
An object’s design can be registered under the Design Act of 2000, regardless of what it looks like. This includes everything from a simple form to a complex pattern. However, before a design may be registered, it must first fulfill the following conditions:
- It should be novel and unique.
- The design should be related to the shape, arrangement, pattern, or decoration used on an object.
- The design must be applied to any product through an industrial process.
- The design should be visible and displayed in the content.
In the event of infringement, the owner of a registered design may seek legal redress under the Design Act.
What is a Design?
Section 2(d) of the Designs Act 2001 defines a design as only the features of a shape, pattern, configuration, composition, or ornament of lines or colors that are applied to any two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or both article by an industrial process or any means whether mechanical, manual, or chemical, separated or combined, and which in the finished article are judged solely by the eye.
Documents Required for Design Registration
To get design registration, the following papers must be submitted:
- A certified copy of the original or certified copies of disclaimer excerpts
- Affidavits
- Declaration
- Other public papers may be made available for a cost.
The affidavit should be written in paragraph form and include a statement of truth and verifiability. The cost of design registration, on the other hand, may be set by the controller following the fourth schedule.
Design registration process
Step 1: The application for Design registration must be submitted using Form 1 and include the following information:
- The applicant’s name
- The applicant’s address
- The applicant’s nationality
- If the application is not a natural person, such as a corporation, then information about the applicant’s legal status must be supplied.
Step 2: The title of the product to which the design is applied.
Step 3: The design must be registered. If the design is two-dimensional, two copies must be provided. (The applicant must emphasize the design’s distinguishing qualities.)
Step 4: If the application states that the design will be registered in more than one class, each class of Registration must have its application.
Step 5: Attach a disclaimer or uniqueness statement to each depiction of mechanical processes, trademark numbers, and letters.
Step 6: Each representation must be endorsed and signed by the applicant or authorized person.
Step 7: After the application is submitted, the patent office will evaluate it and, if necessary, issue objections.
Step 8: Once all objections have been addressed, the patent office will issue a copyright certificate for the design.
Validity:
- Designs registered under the Designs Act are protected for 10 years from the date of registration, with a five-year renewal period. On the other hand, design registration is primarily concerned with designs used in an industrial process on any product. As a result, things protected by the Trademark Act or the Copyright Act cannot be registered as designs.
Hope this page helped you to understand the process of design registration. For more details, get in touch with our experts at Corproots.