Industrial Design Registration & Protection

Overview

The visual appearance of a product — its shape, configuration, pattern, and ornamentation — is protectable as a registered design under the Designs Act 2000, providing a statutory monopoly against unauthorised copying for up to fifteen years. In industries where product design is a commercial differentiator — consumer electronics, furniture, fashion accessories, automotive components, and packaging — design registration is a cost-effective and powerful form of IP protection that is underutilised by Indian businesses. Corpus Juris Legal advises on design registration strategy, conducts prior art searches before application filing, prepares and prosecutes applications before the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), and manages design portfolios for manufacturing and consumer businesses. Where registered designs are infringed, we initiate civil proceedings for infringement under the Designs Act 2000 and coordinate with trademark and copyright counsel where the same conduct constitutes multiple IP violations. For businesses with products sold across multiple jurisdictions, we advise on international design protection strategy — including Hague System filings — and coordinate with overseas counsel.

Key Service Components

• ◆Industrial design registration application under Designs Act 2000
• ◆Prior art search and design clearance opinion
• ◆Design application prosecution before CGPDTM
• ◆Design portfolio management and renewal programme
• ◆Design infringement litigation before civil courts
• ◆Overlap advisory — design vs. copyright vs. trademark protection
• ◆Design registration cancellation proceedings
• ◆Hague System international design filing advisory
• ◆Design protection for packaging, product configuration and surface ornamentation
• ◆Design due diligence in product acquisition transactions

Our Approach

We advise clients on which product features are registrable as designs, which are better protected as trademarks or through copyright, and where patent protection may be available for functional innovations. Design protection strategy is most valuable when it is planned before a product launch, not after a competitor copies the design.

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