In today’s world, design as intellectual property is seen as one of the most valuable assets which a business owns; be it a product’s shape, pattern, ornamentation, or any kind of aesthetic appeal, design in all forms plays a very crucial role when it comes to attracting customers, shaping brand identity, and creating goodwill in the market. At our law firm, we invariably specialize in helping clients protect, enforce, and monetize their design intellectual property (IP) rights and by this, we ensure that creativity and commercial value are safeguarded under the law.
Basically, Design, in an intellectual property context, refers to the visual and ornamental aspects of an article; it can be its shape, configuration, pattern, colour or a combination of all these thereof, as applied to an industrially produced object. The protection targets the look and appeal of products, not their functional or technical features.
Under the Designs Act 2000, a registrable design must be:
- New or Original – meaning thereby it should not have been previously published or used anywhere in the world before filing;
- Aesthetic – are here judged by the eye rather than mechanical utility;
- Industrial in Application – meaning thereby capable of being applied to an article through an industrial process; and
- Visible on the Finished Article — the protected features must be perceivable in the finished product.
The above requirements ensure that only authentic, ornamental designs are eligible for protection and not functional innovation.
Types of Intellectual Property Protection for Designs
- Design Registration – This is the principal route for protecting industrial designs under the Designs Act, 2000. Registration grants the exclusive right to apply the design to products in the class for which it is registered, enabling legal action against those who copy, imitate or exploit the design without permission.
- Copyright – While design registration protects visual ornamentation, copyright can protect original artistic works. However, once an artistic work is applied industrially and reproduced beyond a statutory threshold, it may lose copyright protection, potentially leaving only design protection in place.
- Patents and Utility Protection – Patent protection invariably differs from design protection; patents protect functional and technical innovations rather than visual features. A design itself is considered a purely aesthetic pattern, and it is not patentable until and unless it has in itself a novel technical element.
In India, designs registered under the Act, a duration for IP rights is ten years post-registration, and it can be further extendable by five years on payment of renewal fees. The protection of intellectual property rights is territorial in nature and is enforceable only in the jurisdictions where registration has been granted. This is why many businesses go for international design protection strategies. At the global level, the Riyadh Design Law Treaty, which was adopted in 2024 under the World Intellectual Property Organization which primarily aims to harmonize procedural aspects of design protection on an international level, thereby making cross-border filings easier and more cost-effective.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court ruling has established a robust framework to distinguish between copyright and design protection, thereby offering clarity for industries working in IT, fashion, and the architecture sector. The Court laid down a “twin test” to determine if the work is a pure artistic piece protected under copyright or a design which is derived from such artwork. The court applies a functional utility test to assess the dominant purpose of the work.
This test helps prevent misuse of IP registration, and it invariably ensures that intellectual property rights are granted according to the Act. The court further emphasized the context, purpose, and visual appeal and said that not all designs lose copyright simply due to industry; intellectual property rights are granted as per the purpose of the work.
Infringement and Remedies
Registration of any Intellectual Property gives the legal right to the applicant and prevents others from using the design, creating any obvious design, and trying passing off on products in the registered class, or manufacturing or selling infringing articles in the market.
Where infringement occurs, the act provides certain remedies which include: Injunctive relief to stop further misuse; monetary damages for losses suffered by the infringer; seizure and destruction of infringing articles in appropriate cases.
It is important to understand that design protection is not only defensive, but it’s also a strategic business tool. Proactive design registration and portfolio management can enhance market exclusivity, increase commercial valuation, act as collateral in financing, support licensing, franchising, and monetisation.
Our experts have in-depth knowledge and exprience of Indian and international design law, in IP litigation and arbitration, advise startups, SMEs, and multinationals, and Cross-disciplinary insight into AI, digital design, and emerging technologies. Whether you are seeking protection for a new product design, facing infringement challenges, or planning a global IP strategy, our team delivers authoritative, results-driven counsel.