Design

In a major change for the registration of designs in India, articles will now be classified in accordance with the Locarno system, further to India’s formal accession to the international treaty in mid-2019. Applicants will benefit hugely from this, as they will now have access to a single classification system in India and other countries that are parties to the treaty....

The Government of India recently announced draft amendments to the Design Rules and Patent Rules with the primary objective of encouraging startups and small entities to protect their intellectual property. The proposed changes include new definitions of “startups” in the design rules (to align with corresponding changes on the patents and trademarks side), and significantly reduced filing and prosecution fees for startups and small entities. ...

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are key drivers of economic growth, and the Government of India has been especially cognizant of their demands and concerns, by supporting and encouraging startups and MSMEs through various schemes and incentives introduced from time to time. ...

A Special Bench of five judges of the Delhi High Court has held that had a composite suit in relation to the infringement of a registered design and passing off, where the parties are the same, is maintainable in a court of law. ...

The question of granting temporary injunctions is always a knotty one, and requires establishing whether the injunction-seeker has a prima facie case, whether the balance of convenience lies in their favour, and if the temporary injunction is not granted, that the they would suffer irreparable loss or injury. The challenge before a court is to determine which facts must be considered when assessing the request for such an injunction. ...

Can the Controller of Designs refuse to register a design for lacking novelty after the applicant deletes some representations of the design on the recommendation of the examiner? A recent decision of the Calcutta High Court points out that an examination report only facilitates the controller’s final decision, and concludes that a design application can be refused registration even after it is amended. The decision also clarifies the role of the examiner and controller in the design registration process....

In a recent case, Kamdhenu, manufacturers of steel rods had obtained a design registration in 2014 for a certain type of steel bars it was manufacturing. It alleged that Aashiana had infringed its registered design, and successfully obtained an interim injunction against the latter company.A speedy disposal of the injunction was issued once the matter was contested by Aashiana. Here’s a look at what led to this rather quick decision by the court and what it could mean towards ensuring that the rights of the parties are truly protected in theory as well as practice....

In a rare design judgement from India, a Division Bench of the Madras High Court, held that an infringement case is made out if the essential part of a design is similar to the essential part of the alleged infringing design. In the judgement, it reversed the decision of a Single Judge Bench of the same court, which had declared that the design in question was infringing....

Many countries offer some form of design protection or other to GUIs, such as USA, China, Brazil, EU, South Africa and so on. In India, however, while the Designs Act, 2002, recognises the protection of GUI, but the Indian Design Office is reluctant to register them under Industrial Design Protection. The following article looks into a case involving Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon), where class 14-02 of the Design Act came under fire, to gain insight into how this is currently working in India....