Indian Design laws protect new and original designs which appeal to the eye. Protection is afforded to features such as shape, configuration, surface ornamentation or patterns applied to an article. A mode or principle of construction; an article which in substance is a mere mechanical device; a trademark or an artistic work as defined in the Copyright Act, 1957 are excluded from the ambit of Indian Design laws. India formally acceded to the Locarno Agreement in June 2019. The Locarno Agreement establishes the International Classification for Industrial Designs. Indian Design laws were amended in 2021 to formally adopt the Locarno Agreement. The term of protection for a design is 10 years which can be further renewed only once for a period of 5 years.
A registered design is said to be infringed in India if any person for the purpose of sale applies or causes to apply the registered design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof, to any article in the class of articles in which the design is registered, without the license or written consent of the registered proprietor. Import for the purpose of sale or to publish or expose or cause to be published or exposed for sale of that article also amounts to infringement of a registered design in India.
Our team of attorneys backed by mechanical engineers, skilled in using computer-aided design solutions, provide comprehensive design preparation, filing, prosecution, enforcement, and maintenance services. We handle design prosecution and enforcement for a wide range of industries including electronics and communication devices, medical devices, construction tools and implements, industrial tools and products, handicrafts, fashion, jewelry, home and healthcare care products, automotive parts and components, aviation, etc.
Design Services
- Design prosecution and registration in India and abroad
- Infringement risk opinion
- Dispute resolution and enforcement
- Custom enforcement
- Assignment and licensing
- Renewal