Industrial Design Filing & Prosecution Service | EXCELON IP – Design Patent Attorney
We are one of the best Industrial Design Right Services with highly experienced Design Patent Attorneys and Industrial Design Rights Consultants. In this era of creativity and innovation, we come across many such things or articles which we and people, in general, can recognize just by looking at the design. Products which are designed creatively and which are truly unique attract the attention of people. The form, shape, design is the first thing through which people establish a connection, and later come the extra benefits in terms of technicalities.
The Designs Act, 2000 — ‘First to Claim’ Basis
Industrial Designs are governed by the Industrial Designs Act of 2000. The foundation of this Act was a ‘first to claim’ basis. This basically means that a creator shall file an application for a new design when created — or the delay may lead to piracy. A creator cannot protect its design against piracy, imitation or infringement if it is not registered with the Designs office of India.
There are competitors who pursue inappropriate methods and tactics in order to cut down the competition, by the exploitation of someone else’s intellect or creation in the form of a design. Thus it is important to have laws to protect the interests of the owner or creator of these designs, which is why the Designs Act, 2000 came into existence.
Requisites of Industrial Design Registration
- Novel and Original: The design is required to be novel and original. Some kinds of combinations of previously registered designs are acceptable only if some new visual is being produced. In the famous case of Bombay’s Hello Mineral Water versus Thermoking California, the design of a cylindrical water dispenser was rejected as not original on the grounds that shape & form are not enough to prove novelty necessarily.
- Not Publicly Published: The design must not be published anywhere publicly and there should not be any copy of the same design in the particular industry. Any secretive use of such design for experimental purposes does not amount to publication. In Kemp & Co. versus Prima Plastics, it was held that if the design is disclosed to any third person in good faith then it cannot be claimed as a publication.
- Applied to an Article: The design should be applied to an article or product only.
- Registerable & Lawful: The design should be such that it can be registered in accordance with the Designs Act, 2000 and must not be prohibited or immoral, or capable of hurting the sentiments of the general public or contrary to any law or the Act.
Locarno Classification for Industrial Designs
Locarno classification, also called the Locarno Agreement, governs how designs of eligible kinds are registered under the Act. The goods are classified according to Locarno classification, which helps in the registration of the designs as well as while doing a design search for eligibility.
Classification Structure
According to this classification, designs are divided into 32 classes, 237 sub-classes and 5,219 products. Any new kind of art or design is registered in the appropriate category out of the 32 classes.
Procedure for Design Right Registration (Industrial Design Filing)
The procedure for registration of a design is enshrined in Chapter 2 of the Designs Act of 2000. The following steps are required to be complied with:
- An application for registration shall be prepared in the patent and design office in accordance with the Designs Act in the prescribed form along with the prescribed fees. The class wherein the design is required to be registered should be specified in the application along with the product for which it is to be applied. A separate application is required to be filed for each category of product.
- The Controller of patents and design will pass such an application for examination to check whether such a design can be registered at the patents and design office or not. If the application is in accordance with the laws of the Designs Act then the controller will approve the application and proceed further.
- The applicant is asked to make amendments if any objection is raised so as to get the design registered.
- If the objection raised by the patents and design office is not removed then, within three months of hearing, such application will be withdrawn.
Registration of Industrial Designs
- Section 5 of the Designs Act, 2000 deals with the registration of designs.
- The controller registers the design after performing thorough verification of the creator’s claim to be the true owner of the design and if it is not published anywhere and not against morality.
- The design can be registered in a particular class and not in multiple classes. In case there is any confusion regarding the class, the controller of the patents and design office will decide on the matter.
- The controller can reject the design if it does not comply with the laws, and the party aggrieved may file a request at the High Court. If the application is incomplete or not in accordance with the law, and the applicant didn’t amend it in the prescribed period, then it will be abandoned by the patents and design office.
- A design once registered is officially registered on the date of the registration.
Very high intellect is required to create something new in this era of competitive minds. Design is that part of an article which not only serves the purpose of beautification but can be functional too and creates a lasting impression on the user. We are a team of distinguished IP Attorneys at Excelon IP who can help you with your intellectual creations. Please get in touch with our Design Right Lawyers to protect your Industrial Design Rights before someone copies the designs.