Industrial design-related intellectual property rights play a significant role in India's innovation and creative scene. The purpose of design objections is to ensure that the design meets the necessary criteria for registration and protection under intellectual property laws.
The Designs Act, 2000 is the main legislation that governs industrial design registration and enforcement in India. Under this Act, a new or original design that meets the criteria of novelty and originality can be registered for exclusive rights of use for an initial period of 10 years.
However, during the design registration process, every application for registration of design In India undergoes an examination. These objections may relate to various aspects of the design, such as its originality, clarity of documentation, or compliance with prescribed standards and formats. In case no objection is raised or if the said objections have been rectified, your design application will be approved and the extracts of the same will be sent. The Patent Office will issue the design registration certificate and the design will be published in their journal.
While examining the applications, if there are any defects or objections in the application that are noticed by the Designs office, it will be communicated to the Applicant or to his agent at the address for service. The primary reasons for design objection are mentioned herein below:
While responding to the first examination report, the Applicant would only need to submit the documents when the same were not properly filed during the filing of the application. In particular, the Applicant would need to submit the following documents:
As per the Designs Act and associated rules, the statutory timeline for removal of objections raised by the Designs office after the first examination report is six months from the date of application which may be extended further for the next three months provided an official request is filed along with the prescribed fee before expiry of the stipulated period of six months.
Seedling has a dedicated team of attorneys who excel in crafting and implementing the comprehensive design registration process seamlessly. Our in-house Intellectual property specialists proficiently handle all design filing and registration requirements as well as the associated formalities before the Design office and ensure a hassle-free experience. Connect with us via our website to initiate and fast-track your design registration process.
Yes, Seedling attorneys undertake a preliminary assessment of a design's strengths and weaknesses before drafting and filing an application for design registration.
Multiple images of a design may be included in a single application provided said images relate to a single embodiment of the design in question as only different views of a single embodiment are allowable in an application.
A convention design application must be filed in India within six months from the date of filing the application in a convention country.
Common objections include lack of novelty, improper documentation, unclear visuals, and non-submission of power of attorney