The Designs Act, 2000

(1) This Act may be called the Designs Act, 2000. (2) It extends to the whole of India. (3) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, andany reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference tothe coming into force of that provision.

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,-- (a) "article" means any article of manufacture and any substance, artificial, or partly artificial andpartly natural; and includes any part of an article capable of being made and sold separately; (b) "Controller" means the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks referred to insection 3; (c) "copyright" means the exclusive right to apply a design to any article in any class in which thedesign is registered; (d) "design" means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition oflines or colours applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional or in bothforms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate orcombined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but does notinclude any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanicaldevice, and does not include any trade mark as defined in clause (v) of sub-section (1) of section 2 ofthe Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958) or property mark as defined in section 479of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or any artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of theCopyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957). (e) "High Court" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (i) of section 2 of thePatents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970); (f) "legal representative" means a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person; (g) "original", in relation to a design, means originating from the author of such design andincludes the cases which though old in themselves yet are new in their application; (h) "Patent Office" means the patent office referred to in section 74 of the Patents Act, 1970(39 of 1970); (i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (j) "proprietor of a new or original design",-- (i) where the author of the design, for good consideration, executes the work for some otherperson, means the person for whom the design is so executed; (ii) where any person acquires the design or the right to apply the design to any article, eitherexclusively of any other person or otherwise, means, in the respect and to the extent in and towhich the design or right has been so acquired, the person by whom the design or right is soacquired; and (iii) in any other case, means the author of the design; and where the property in or the rightto apply, the design has devolved from the original proprietor upon any other person, includesthat other person.

(1) The Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marksappointed under sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958)shall be the Controller of Designs for the purposes of this Act. (2) For the purposes of this Act, the Central Government may appoint as many examiners and otherofficers with such designations as it thinks fit. (3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the officers appointed under sub-section (2) shall dischargeunder the superintendence and directions of the Controller such functions of the Controller under this Actas he may, from time to time, by general or special order in writing, authorise them to discharge. (4) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (3), the Controller may, byorder in writing and for reasons to be recorded therein, withdraw any matter pending before an officerappointed under sub-section (2) and deal with such matter himself either de novo or from the stage it wasso withdrawn or transfer the same to another officer appointed under sub-section (2) who may, subject tospecial directions in the order of transfer, proceed with the matter either de novo or from the stage it wasso transferred.

A design which-- (a) is not new or original; or (b) has been disclosed to the public anywhere in India or in any other country by publication intangible form or by use or in any other way prior to the filing date, or where applicable, the prioritydate of the application for registration; or (c) is not significantly distinguishable from known designs or combination of known designs; or (d) comprises or contains scandalous or obscene matter, shall not be registered.

(1) The Controller may, on the application of anyperson claiming to be the proprietor of any new or original design not previously published in any countryand which is not contrary to public order or morality, register the design under this Act: Provided that the Controller shall before such registration refer the application for examination, by anexaminer appointed under sub-section (2) of section 3, as to whether such design is capable of beingregistered under this Act and the rules made thereunder and consider the report of the examiner on suchreference. (2) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be in the prescribed form and shall be filed in thepatent office in the prescribed manner and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee. (3) A design may be registered in not more than one class, and, in case of doubt as to the class inwhich a design ought to be registered, the Controller may decide the question. (4) The Controller may, if he thinks fit, refuse to register any design presented to him for registration; but any person aggrieved by any such refusal may appeal to the High Court. (5) An application which, owing to any default or neglect on the part of the applicant, has not beencompleted so as to enable registration to be effected within the prescribed time shall be deemed to beabandoned. (6) A design when registered shall be registered as of the date of the application for registration.