Design Registration in India
Design registration protects the look of a product: its shape, pattern, ornament or arrangement of lines and colours. Under the Designs Act, 2000 a registered design is protected for ten years and can be extended once by five more. We check novelty, prepare Form 1 with the drawings and file it with the Controller through IP India.
What it is
In law, a design is how an article looks, not how it works. Section 2(d) of the Act covers features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to an article by an industrial process, in two or three dimensions, which appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. Registration gives you the exclusive right to apply that design to articles in its class.
The forms and fees sit in the Designs Rules, 2001, as amended, including by the Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021. You apply in Form 1, and under Section 5(3) a design is registered in only one class. A registered design dates from the application, so the ten years start from your filing date, not from the day the certificate arrives.
Who it applies to
You sell a product people buy for its look
Furniture, lamps, bottles, packaging, footwear, auto parts: any mass-produced article whose shape or surface pattern helps it sell.
You design in your own name
Textile prints, jewellery and handicraft shapes made in volume. A jewellery designer who sells her own pieces online files as a natural person and pays ₹1,000.
You run a startup or small business
A recognised startup, or a small entity that proves its status in Form 24, also pays ₹1,000 instead of ₹4,000.
Why it matters
Stop copies of the look
Section 22 makes anyone who applies your registered design, or an obvious or fraudulent imitation of it, without consent, liable to pay up to ₹25,000 per contravention, capped at ₹50,000 per design. Or you can sue for damages and an injunction.
Don’t rely on copyright alone
Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act, 1957 says copyright in a design that could have been registered, but was not, ends once the article has been reproduced more than fifty times by an industrial process.
License it or sell it
A registered design can be assigned or licensed, and the change is recorded in the Register of Designs under Section 30. A buyer can inspect the register to see who owns it.
What qualifies, and what does not
| Test | Passes | Fails |
|---|---|---|
| Is it about appearance? | Shape, pattern, ornament or lines and colours, judged by the eye | A mode or principle of construction, or anything that is in substance a mere mechanical device |
| Is it applied to an article? | Applied by an industrial process, whether manual, mechanical or chemical | An artistic work on its own, which belongs under the Copyright Act |
| Is it new? | Not disclosed to the public anywhere before the filing or priority date | Published in India or abroad, or put to use, before you filed |
| Is it distinct? | Significantly distinguishable from known designs or their combinations | A minor variation of something already on the market |
| Is it a brand sign? | No: it is a feature of the product itself | Yes: trade marks and property marks are excluded |
Section 4 also bars any design that contains scandalous or obscene matter. Here is the catch: novelty is judged worldwide. A design shown to the public anywhere before your filing or priority date cannot be registered. Picture a Faridabad furniture maker with a new chair design. If the catalogue reaches dealers before the application is filed, the design is no longer new.
A logo belongs under trade mark registration. How a product works is a question for a patent application, not a design.
Documents required
Show who is applying
- Name, address and nationality of the applicant
- Startup recognition certificate, if claiming the startup fee
- Form 24 with proof of small-entity status, such as Udyam registration under the MSMED Act, 2006
- Power of authority in Form 21 for us as your agent
Show the design itself
- Drawings or photographs showing every view needed to show the design
- Name of the article and its Locarno class
- A short statement of novelty
- A disclaimer, where needed
Claim an earlier foreign filing
- Details of your convention-country application, if you file in India within six months of it
- Certified copy of that application as the priority document
- Form 18, if you need more time to file the priority document
How it works
Search for earlier designs
We search registered designs and check the market, so you know your chances before paying for drawings.
Pick the class and article name
We pick the Locarno class and exact article name. In practice, a unit putting the same floral pattern on steel tiffins and on wall tiles needs two filings, because those products sit in different classes.
Prepare the drawings and Form 1
We prepare the representation sheets, statement of novelty and any disclaimer, and complete Form 1.
File online and pay the fee
We file online and pay ₹1,000 or ₹4,000, depending on the applicant. The filing date becomes your date of registration.
Answer the examiner
If the examiner objects, Rule 18 gives you three months to fix it or ask for a hearing. We draft the reply and attend any hearing.
Get registered and published
Once accepted, the Controller registers the design and publishes its particulars and a representation in the Official Gazette. You get the registration certificate.
Timelines
Answer objections within three months
Under Rule 18, objections must be removed, or a hearing requested, within three months of the official communication. A hearing is fixed with at least ten days’ notice.
Complete the application within six months
The whole application must be put in order within six months of filing. A request in Form 18, made before that period ends, can extend it by up to three months.
Extend before year ten
Protection lasts ten years from registration under Section 11. Apply in Form 3 before those ten years end for a five-year extension. A lapsed design can be restored in Form 4 within one year under Section 12.
What happens if you skip registration or let it lapse
Copies are hard to stop
Without registration there is no piracy claim under Section 22, and the fifty-copy rule ends any copyright.
Launch first and you may lose the right
Disclosure before filing, in a catalogue, on a website or on a shop shelf, fails the novelty test in Section 4.
Miss the extension and protection ends
Skip Form 3 before year ten and protection ceases. Form 4, filed within one year with the restoration and additional fees, can bring it back.
Frequently asked questions
What can be registered as a design in India?
Any new and original appearance of an article can be registered. Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000 covers shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours, applied by an industrial process and judged solely by the eye. Logos, mechanisms and artistic works are excluded. Under Section 4, it must also not have been disclosed to the public before filing. If your product looks different from what is on the market, it is worth checking.
How long does design registration last?
Ten years from registration, which dates from your application, plus five more if you extend. Under Section 11(2), the extension application in Form 3 must be made before the first ten years end; the fee is ₹2,000 for individuals, startups and small entities and ₹8,000 for others. That gives fifteen years in all. If the design lapses, Section 12 allows restoration within one year. We diarise the dates so nothing slips.
What is the government fee for design registration?
The Form 1 fee is ₹1,000 for a natural person, startup or small entity, and ₹4,000 for anyone else, under the First Schedule to the Designs Rules, 2001. The fee is per application, and Section 5(3) allows only one class per registration. So one design filed in two classes means two applications and two fees. We confirm the total with you before anything is paid.
Who qualifies for the lower government fee?
Three kinds of applicants pay the lower fee: natural persons, startups and small entities. A startup must be recognised by the competent authority under the Startup India initiative. A small entity claims its status in Form 24, which carries no fee, with evidence such as its registration under the MSMED Act, 2006. A company outside these categories pays ₹4,000. We check your eligibility before filing.
Which class should my design be filed in?
The class comes from the Locarno Classification published by WIPO, which Rule 10 of the Designs Rules now follows. It has 32 classes, each for a family of products: clothing, furnishing, packaging, vehicles and so on. Under Section 5(3), a design is registered in only one class. If the same design will be used on articles in different classes, each needs its own application. We pick the class and article name with you so the protection matches what you sell.
How long does examination take?
No fixed date applies to the examiner’s report, but once objections arrive, you are on the clock. Under Rule 18, you have three months from the communication of objections to remove them or ask for a hearing, and the whole application must be completed within six months of filing. A Form 18 request made before then can extend this by up to three months. We reply quickly so your application stays inside these limits.
Can I register a design that I have already launched or posted online?
Usually not. Section 4(b) bars registration of a design that was disclosed to the public anywhere in India or abroad, by publication in tangible form, by use or in any other way, before the filing or priority date. A product photo on your website or a catalogue sent to dealers can count. The safe order is to file first and launch afterwards. If you plan to launch soon, file now and the date is secured.
What can I do if someone copies my registered design?
Use Section 22 of the Designs Act. Anyone who applies your registered design, or an obvious or fraudulent imitation, to an article in the registered class without consent is liable to pay up to ₹25,000 for every contravention, recoverable as a contract debt, with a ceiling of ₹50,000 for any one design. Alternatively, you can sue for damages and an injunction. With registration, you start from a right on record instead of having to prove one.
What it costs
Our fee plus the government fee that applies to your case, quoted before you commit. Tell us the situation and we will price it exactly.
Government fees under the First Schedule to the Designs Rules, 2001:
| Form and purpose | Natural person, startup or small entity | Others |
|---|---|---|
| Form 1: application for registration | ₹1,000 | ₹4,000 |
| Form 3: five-year extension | ₹2,000 | ₹8,000 |
| Form 4: restoration of a lapsed design | ₹1,000 + ₹1,000 additional fee | ₹4,000 + ₹4,000 additional fee |
| Form 8: petition for cancellation | ₹1,500 | ₹6,000 |
| Form 18: extension of time | ₹200 per month | ₹800 per month |
| Form 24: small-entity claim | No fee | No fee |
Ready to begin?
Send us photos or sketches of the product and tell us whether it is already on sale. We will tell you whether it can still be registered, and in which class.