Industrial Design Registration Services

Industrial Design Registration

In the ever-evolving consumer landscape of today, industrial designs have taken on a high level of importance where the effective protection of industrial designs is seen as a key aspect of a fully integrated IP protection strategy. Industrial design services protect the visual, ornamental features of manufactured products. If a product is new and unique, it can be protected with a design registration that grants complete rights to the owner of the product. However, since the market is full of products that could do the same thing, having a unique feature to a product that makes it look different from other similar products is a deciding factor that can attract the attention of a potential client and promote sales.

Our Design Services

• Preparation of design registration requests
• Filing design registration requests
• Handling office actions, objections and disputes
• Professional opinions regarding freedom to operate
• Design portfolio management

Important Key Points/FAQs About Industrial Design

What is Design?
“Design” means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colors applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device.

Design is one of the categories of IPR where the design system focuses on the aesthetic feature of an article derived from its visual appearance.
Relevant aspects are the shape, configuration, surface pattern, the color or line or a combination thereof as applied to an article which produces an aesthetic impression on the sense of sight.

Why register your design?
• Statutory right – accrues only on registration – territorial
• Right to prevent all other from producing, importing, selling or distributing products having an identical appearance or a fraudulent or obvious imitation
• Monopoly Period of 10 years extendable by 5
• Gives you a Unique Selling Point (USP)
• Is an asset & can be licensed

Criteria for Design Registration.
• Finished article appeals to and is judged solely by the eye
• New or original
• not prior published in any country and not publicly known in India
• is significantly distinguishable from known designs or combination of known designs
• Not a technical or useful function of a product

Prohibition of registration of certain designs:

A design shall not be registered if the design
• is not new or original; or
• has been disclosed to the public:
– any where in India or in any other country by publication in tangible form or by use
– or in any other way prior to the filing date
– or where applicable, the priority date
– of the application for registration, or
• is not significantly distinguishable from known designs or combination of known designs, or
• comprises or contains scandalous or obscene matter.
• Designs incorporating official symbols or emblems, maps, buildings, stamps, medals etc. cannot be registered under The Designs Act, 2000

Filing Requirements
An application for Design Registration needs to be filed with the Controller of Designs, The Patent Office at Kolkata. However, the application can also be filed at any of the four branch office of The Patent Office at New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai or Ahmadabad and the application received by the Branch Offices is transmitted to the Head Office for processing.

For filing of applications for registration of design in India, the following procedure needs to be followed:

(a) Application duly filled in on Form 1 along with the prescribed fees, stating name & full address, nationality of the applicant. If the Applicant is not a natural person the legal status and the place of incorporation.

(b) Name of the article to which to which the design is to be applied.

(c) Class & Sub Class of the article embodying the design is applied under the Locarno Classification

(d) Representations illustrating the views of the article wherein the originality lies. The representations can be in the form of photographs or drawing figures showing the perspective, front, rear, top, bottom and side views of the article (2 copies of each view) If the design is to be registered in more than one class, a separate application shall be filed for each class.

(e) A statement of novelty and disclaimer (if any) in respect of mechanical action, trademark, word, letter, numerals should be endorsed on each representation sheet and should be duly signed and dated.

(f) When color combination is the essence of a design as applied to an article, the same shall be clearly depicted in the representation.

(g) After examination of the application by the Design Office at Kolkata, objections, if any, are raised thereto. On removal of the objections, the certificate granting copyright in registered design is issued by the Design Office. The duration of the registration of a design is initially ten years from the date of registration but in uses where claim to priority has been allowed, the duration is ten years from the priority date. This initial period of registration may be extended by further period of 5 years on an application made in Form-3 accompanied by a fee of Rs. 2,000/- to the Controller before the expiry of the said initial period of Copyright.

You could call us on 9654711011 OR on 0124-4075701 write to us or e-mail us on p4legalip@gmail.com for immediate needed assistance, steps, and legal advisory.

 

Prior to fixing up the meeting/ conference, you may call on 09654711011 or on 0124-4075701 or write to us on p4legalip@gmail.com  for necessary fee structure and quote and/or to know about the consultation & professional charges for needed legal representations.