Introduction

In everyday life, a person recognises and defines a design in his own way. But for industrial purpose it becomes much more
technical to understand the concept of Design. It was more so when the preceding legislations regarding Industrial Designs
did not define “Design” in a way that cover the aspect of its existence. It though still can cause scepticism amongst the
authors of the designs regarding the registration.
The present Industrial Designs in India is governed by the Designs Act, 2000 which was made to meet the international
standards of TRIPS and other international legislations. The basis of this Act was ‘first to file, first to get’ system which
means that an innovator or owner of any design should file an application to register the same as soon as possible to prevent
it from piracy and for claiming certain rights over that particular design. The idea is to separate the procedure of registration
from other intellectual property, easier and accessible.

The Development in Modern India

Though the ‘Design as such was protected by the preceding legislations, designs as such is a newer concept compared to
traditional Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. It was necessary to demarcate the boundaries of Designs from other
intellectual property in order to gain better understanding and provide an even better legal protection.
Earlier this Act was governed by the Design Act, 1911. In order to bring the legislation at par with the international law, The
Designs Act,2000 was modelled to meet such needs. The Act consolidates and amend the law relating to the protection of
designs. It was published in the Gazette of India and came into force on 12.05.2000. This Act is a complete code in itself and
is statutory in nature, providing protection to designs in the territory of India.

Expansion the Boundaries

In order to provide effective protection to designs in India and foster Indian design industry, the Designs Act was enforced
by the Government of India. Based on the provisions, designs mean a shape, configuration, pattern, ornamentation, applied
on any finished article which can be in two and/or three-dimensional form. The design should appeal to eyes and be judged
solely by the eye and does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere
mechanical device. In addition, design does not include trademarks and artistic works, as defined under Trademarks Act and
Copyright Act, respectively.1
The scope of the definition of the terms article, design and introduction of a definition of original has been enlarged. This
created an expanded boundary to include all possible variations in intellectual approach to the concept.
Also, with the TRIPS agreement, original or new industrial designs must be protected for at least 10 years. Owners of
protected designs must be able to prevent the manufacture, sale or importation of articles bearing or embodying a design
which is a copy or substantially a copy of the protected design for commercial purposes.

The Objective of the Implementation of The Designs Act, 2000

The objective of the Design Act, 2000 is to protect new or original designs so created to be applied or applicable to a
particular article to be manufactured by Industrial Processes, which might include manual, mechanical, chemical, any other
mode combined or separately used in order to achieve the results. Sometimes the purchase of article is influenced not only
by their practical efficiency but also by their appearance. The important purpose of design to be registered is to make sure
that that the artisans, creators or originators of a design are not deprived of their rightful reward of their hard work.
Design Act Protects External Aspects of the design of the article and not the technical or functional aspects of the design of a
product. Industrial or product’s design is registrable under the Design Act while purely artistic works are protected under the
Copyright Act.
Certain objectives can be summarized as following:

1. The over-riding intent of Designs Act is to consolidate the earlier laws which were not in compliance with the
international design jurisprudence and legislations.
2. The objective of the Design Act is to protect the Designs so created that are compliant with the provisions of
Section 4 of the act and come under the carefully stated definition of the ‘design’.
3. The Design Act, 2000 is an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the protection of designs. The
provisions of the statute create a firm but flexible structure in order to maintain the discretionary power of the
officer in charge as well as creates a firm backbone for the institution the provides legal support to such authors
and proprietors.
4. A design reflects someone’s intellect and creativity which afterward becomes a product. The design of any product
makes a long-lasting effect on the consumers’ minds. A design helps the consumers to recognize any product. If a
design is attractive then it adds value to the business of that product. Thus, in order to get legal protection, the act
mandates the registration of the Design through a simple procedure. 
5. It is also very helpful for fast-moving industries like the fashion industry. The pace with which the design rights
provide a remedy for infringement can help the designers in protecting their products in the key markets.
6. Another such purpose of the act is to protect new or original designs from getting copied which causes loss to the
proprietor. It is necessary the legal protection is not merely limited to the social spectrum and relies on morality of

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S.2(d), Designs Act, 2000

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 the people in industry but also provide for penal and corrective support to the person being affected by the loss. For
e.g., the provision of compensation and injunction under Section 22 of the act.
7. Under the Act of 2000, Locarno classification has been adopted in which the classification is based only on the
subject matter of design. Under the previous provisions, the classification was made on the basis of the material
which has been used to make that material. 
8. Another defining objective of this legislation is of design registration is to see that the creator, originator or artisan
of any design is not deprived of his reward for creating that design by others copying it to their goods or
products. This not only protects the rights but also creates motivation to bring something new in the society as the
ultimate beneficiary of any intellectual property is the society itself.
9. Apart from legal perspective the economical valuation and earning benefit of a design cannot be denied. A design
helps in drawing a customer’s attention and helps in increasing the commercial value of an article. Therefore, helps
in expanding its market. 
10. There are many competitors who adopt evil ways to reduce the competition in the rival groups by exploiting the
designs to their advantage. Thus, it is necessary to have laws to safeguard the interests of the owners of these
designs. In order to fulfill this objective, the Design Act of 2002 came into existence.
11. Design rights are available at a low cost and its review is simple and fast which helps companies which have to
protect designs of a wide variety of products. Like for example, the toy manufacturers who have been quick in
protecting variations of dolls and other accessories.  
12. India is a member of the Paris Convention of the World Trade Organisation and all the signatories of the
convention are allowed to claim priority rights.
13. Under new provisions, power has been given to district court to transfer cases to the high court where the court is
having jurisdiction. This is only possible if the person is challenging the validity of the design registration.

Conclusion
Industrial Design is protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design and the creation of technology 2. The social purpose is
to provide protection for the results of investment in the development of new technology, thus giving the incentive and
means to finance research and development activities necessary for technical advancement and creative development of
human brain. The development of the statute thus, serves the purpose and then aims are made smaller, effective but
achievable.
The legislations to protect industrial designs in India come from a long history, from Patterns and Design Protection Act in
1872 till the current legislation of Designs Act, 2000. Both, in history and in current scenario, the expressed objectives might
have remained same, but the current legislation has successfully able to stand up to the goals defined by the need of the
industry.

TRIPS:
The TRIPS Agreement plays a critical role in facilitating trade in knowledge and creativity, in resolving trade disputes over
intellectual property, and in assuring WTO members the latitude to achieve their domestic objectives. The Agreement is
legal recognition of the significance of links between intellectual property and trade.
The WTO’s TRIPS Agreement is an attempt to narrow the gaps in the way these rights are protected and enforced around the
world, and to bring them under common international rules. It establishes minimum standards of protection and enforcement
that each government has to give to the intellectual property held by nationals of fellow WTO members.
Under the TRIPS Agreement, WTO members have considerable scope to tailor their approaches to IP protection and
enforcement in order to suit their needs and achieve public policy goals. The Agreement provides ample room for members
to strike a balance between the long term benefits of incentivising innovation and the possible short term costs of limiting
access to creations of the mind. Members can reduce short term costs through various mechanisms allowed under TRIPS
provisions, such as exclusions or exceptions to intellectual property rights. And, when there are trade disputes over the
application of the TRIPS Agreement, the WTO’s dispute settlement system is available.
The TRIPS Agreement covers five broad areas:

 how general provisions and basic principles of the multilateral trading system apply to international intellectual
property
 what the minimum standards of protection are for intellectual property rights that members should provide
 which procedures members should provide for the enforcement of those rights in their own territories
 how to settle disputes on intellectual property between members of the WTO
 special transitional arrangements for the implementation of TRIPS provisions.

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https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm