Designs Act and Rules
Dr. Prasanth B
Associate Professor
Nirmala College of
Pharmacy,Muvattupuzha

• Historical Background
• The first act in India to grant exclusive
privileges to inventors of new patterns and
designs was passed in 1872 as The Patterns
and Designs Act, 1872.
• Afterward the act was replaced by a new
consolidated act called The Inventions and
Designs Act, 1888.
• Then came the Patents and Designs Act,
1911.

• Introduction
• Earlier the Design law in India was governed by Design
Act, 1911.
• There has been a considerable growth in the area of
science and technology since the enactment of the
Design Act, 1911.
• The Design Act,1911 has been repealed.
• Presently, the law pertaining to Design in India is
governed by Design Act, 2000.
• The Design Act, 2000 is meant to consolidate and amend
the law relating to the protection of designs.
• The Act is in force since 11 May 2001 and extends to the
whole of India.
• The Design Rules have repealed the Design rules, 1933.

• Objectives:
• To encourage design activity.
• To provide protection to the registered
designs.
• To protect the IPR of original design.
• To reward the innovator for research and
labour applied to evolve a new and original
design.

• Definitions
“Article” means any article of manufacture and
any substance, artificial, or partly artificial and
partly natural and includes any part of an
article capable of being made and sold
separately;
• “Controller” means the Controller-General of
Patents, Designs and Trade Marks.
• “Copyright” means the exclusive right to
apply a design to any article in any class in
which the design is registered.

• What is a Design?
Design means only the features of shape,
configuration, pattern, ornament or
composition of lines or colours applied to any
article Whether in 2D or 3D or in both forms,
by any industrial process or means, whether
manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or
combined, which in the finished article appeal
to and are judged solely by the eye.

• Prohibition of Registration of Certain Designs
• A design which--- (a) is not new or original;
• or (b) has been disclosed to the public anywhere
in India or in any other country by publication in
tangible form or by use or in any other way prior
to the filing date, or where applicable, the
priority date of the application for registration;
• or (c) is not significantly distinguishable from
known designs or combination of known designs;
• or (d) comprises or contains scandalous or
obscene matter shall not be registered.

• Registration of Designs
• Proprieter of any new or original design,not
previously published in any country, and which is
not contrary to public order or morality, should
file his application for registration to the
Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade
Marks.
• Four copies of the representation of the
design(drawings, photographs, tracings,computer
graphics of the design) along with the application
and each copy of representation of the design
shall be dated and signed by the applicant or his
agent.

• The application shall state the class in which the
design is to be registered, and the article or
articles to which the design is to be applied.
• Classification of goods are given in Third Schedule
to the Rules.
• Class 24: Medical and Laboratory equipments.
• Class 28:Pharmaceutical and cosmetic products,
toilet articles and apparatus.
• Class 01: Foodstuff.
• The Controller may direct the applicant to state
purpose for which the article is used as well as a
statement of novelty he claims for his design.

• The Controller may register the design on an
application by the Proprietor of any new or
original design.
• The Controller shall before such registration
refer the application for examination.
• Every application shall be: in the prescribed
form, filed in the Patent office in the
prescribed manner with the prescribed fee.
• A design may be registered in not more than
one class.

• The Controller may, if he thinks fit, refuse to
register any design and the aggrieved party
may appeal to the High Court.
• A design when registered shall be registered
as of the date of the application for
registration.

• Certificate of Registration
• The Controller shall grant a certificate of
registration to the proprietor of the design
when registered.
• The Controller may, in case of loss of the
original certificate, or in any other case in
which he deems it expedient, furnish one or
more copies of the certificate.

• Cancellation of Registration
• Any person interested may present a petition for the
cancellation of the registration of a design at any time
after the registration of the design, to the Controller on
any of the following grounds, namely:-
• (a) that the design has been previously registered in
India;
• or (b) that it has been published in India or in any
other country prior to the date of registration;
• or (c) that the design is not a new or original design;
• or (d) that the design is not registrable under this Act;
• or (e) that it is not a design as defined under clause
(d) of section 2.

• Cancellation of Registration
• An appeal shall lie from any order of the
Controller under this section to the High
Court, and the Controller may at any time
refer any such petition to the High Court, and
the High Court shall decide any petition so
referred.

• THANK YOU