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DESIGNS ACT, 2000
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement 1
2. Definitions 1
CHAPTER II
REGISTRATION OF DESIGNS
3. Controller and other officers 3
4. Prohibition of registration of certain designs 3
5. Application for registration of designs 4
6. Registration to be in respect of particular article 5
7. Publication of particulars of registered designs 7
8. Power of Controller to make orders regarding substitution of application, etc. 7
9. Certificate of registration 8
10. Register of designs 8
CHAPTER III
COPYRIGHT IN REGISTERED DESIGNS
11. Copyright on registration 8
12. Restoration of lapsed designs 9
13. Procedure for disposal of applications for restoration of lapsed designs 10
14. Rights of proprietor of lapsed design which have been restored 10
15. Requirements before delivery on sales 11
16. Effect of disclosure on copyright 12
17. Inspection of registered designs 12
18. Information as to existence of copyright 12
19. Cancellation of registration 12
20. Designs to bind Government 13
CHAPTER IV
INDUSTRIAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
21. Provisions as to exhibitions 14
CHAPTER V LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
22. Piracy of registered design 14
23. Application of certain provisions of the Act as to patents to designs 17
CHAPTER VI
24. Fees 18
25. Notice of trust not to be entered in registers 18
26. Inspection of and extracts from registers 18
27. Privilege of reports of Controller 18
28. Prohibition and publication of specification, drawings, etc., where application abandoned, etc. 18
29. Power of Controller to correct clerical errors 18
30. Entry of assignment and transmissions in registers 19
31. Rectification of register 19
CHAPTER VII
POWERS AND DUTIES OF CONTROLLER
32. Powers of Controller in proceedings under Act 20
33. Exercise of discretionary power by Controller 20
34. Power of Controller to take directions of the Central Government 20
35. Refusal to register a design in certain cases 20
36. Appeals to the High Court 20
CHAPTER VIII EVIDENCE, ETC.
37. Evidence before the Controller 21
38. Certificate of Controller to be evidence 21
39. Evidence of documents in patent office 21
40. Applications and notices by post 21
41. Declaration by infant, lunatic, etc. 21
42. Avoidance of certain restrictive conditions 22
CHAPTER IX AGENCY
43. Agency 23
CHAPTER X POWERS, ETC., OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
44. Reciprocal arrangement with the United Kingdom and other convention countries or group of countries or inter-governmental organisations 23
45. Report of the Controller to be placed before Parliament 24
46. Protection of security of India 24
47. Power of Central Government to make rules 25
CHAPTER XI REPEAL AND SAVINGS
48. Repeal and savings 27 SUBJECT INDEX 29
DESIGNS RULES, 2001 PRELIMINARY
1. Short title and commencement 31
2. Definitions
3. Manner for leaving and serving documents
4. Address for service
5. Fees
6. Forms
7. Size, etc., of documents
8. Signature and verification of documents specified in sections 5, 12, 19 and 37
9. Agency
10. Classification of goods
11. Application
12. Statement of novelty
13. Additional copies of representation or specimens
14. Representation
15. Reciprocity application for the registration of a design
16. Manner in which a claim under sub-section (1) of section 8 shall be made
17.
18. Objections
19.
20.
21.
22. Publication of the particulars of registered design under section 7
23. Manner of making an application under sub-section (2) of section 11
Restoration of designs
Payment of unpaid extension fee
29. Cancellation of registration of designs under section 19
32. Registration of documents under sub-section (3) of section 30
33. Application for entry of subsequent proprietorship
35. Production of documents of
36. Form
37.
38.
39.
41.
43.
44.
45.
CERTIFICATES
THIRD SCHEDULE : [Omitted by the Designs (Amendments Rules, 2021, w.e.f. 25-1-2021
FOURTH
FIFTH SCHEDULE : Certificate of Registration of
Designs Act, 2000*
[16 OF 2000]
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to protection of designs.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
Short title, extent and commencement.
1. (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 date1 as the Central Government may, by notification, in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.
Definitions.
2. 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 and partly 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 in section 3;
(c)“copyright” means the exclusive right to apply a design to any article in any class in which the design is registered;
(d)“design” means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours 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
*Dated 25-5-2000.
1.With effect from 11-5-2001.
S. 2
DESIGNS ACT, 2000 2
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, and does not include any trade mark as defined in clause (v) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958)* or property mark as defined in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860)* or any artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957);
(e) “High Court” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (i) of section 2 of the Patents 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 and includes 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 other person, 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, either exclusively of any other person or otherwise, means, in the respect and to the extent in and to which the design or right has been so acquired, the person by whom the design or right is so acquired; and
(iii) in any other case, means the author of the design; and where the property in or the right to apply, the design has devolved from the original proprietor upon any other person, includes that other person.
COMMENTS
SECTION NOTES
This section provides important definitions that clarify the meaning of terms used throughout the Act:
Article: Includes any manufactured item, whether artificial or natural, or a combination of both, capable of being sold separately.
Controller: Refers to the Controller-General of Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks.
*Now section 354(1) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023.
Copyright: The exclusive right to apply a design to an article in a class where the design is registered.
Design: Refers to the features like shape, configuration, pattern, or composition of lines or colors applied to an article. It excludes mechanical devices, trademarks, property marks and artistic works under the Copyright Act.
CHAPTER II
REGISTRATION OF DESIGNS
Controller and other officers.
3. (1) The Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks appointed 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 other officers with such designations as it thinks fit.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the officers appointed under sub-section (2) shall discharge under the superintendence and directions of the Controller such functions of the Controller under this Act as 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, by order in writing and for reasons to be recorded therein, withdraw any matter pending before an officer appointed under sub-section (2) and deal with such matter himself either de novo or from the stage it was so withdrawn or transfer the same to another officer appointed under sub-section (2) who may, subject to special directions in the order of transfer, proceed with the matter either de novo or from the stage it was so transferred.
Prohibition of registration of certain designs.
4. 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 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
(
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.
*Now see the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (47 of 1999).
Designs Act 2000 with Design Rules 2001 – Bare Act with Section Notes
AUTHOR : Taxmann’s Editorial Board
PUBLISHER : Taxmann
DATE OF PUBLICATION : December 2025
EDITION : 2026 Edition
ISBN NO : 9789371265263
No. of Pages : 88
BINDING TYPE : Paperback
Rs. 145
DESCRIPTION
Designs Act 2000 with Design Rules 2001 [Bare Act with Section Notes] by Taxmann is a concise and authoritative statutory publication presenting the complete legal framework governing the protection, registration, and enforcement of industrial designs in India. This 2026 Edition consolidates the full text of the Act and the allied Rules, as amended up to date, and supplements the bare provisions with brief section-wise notes and practical guidance. The publication enables readers to understand clearly the statutory scheme relating to design registration, copyright in designs, cancellation, piracy, procedural safeguards, and the powers of the Controller of Designs, in line with contemporary developments such as digital filings, Locarno classification, and international reciprocity.
This book is intended for the following audience:
• IP Lawyers & Legal Practitioners
• Patent & Design Agents
• Judges & Judicial Officers
• In-house Legal & Compliance Teams
• Designers, Startups & MSMEs
• Academicians & Law Students
The Present Publication is the 2026 Edition, covering the amended and updated text of the Designs Act [Act No. 16 of 2000] and Design Rules, with the following noteworthy features:
• [Authoritative Text] Reproduces the Act and Rules in an unaltered Bare Act format
• [Updated Coverage] Incorporates all amendments and rule changes notified up to date
• [Pre-amendment Provisions] Includes pre-amendment text through amendment footnotes
• [Section Notes & Guidance] Provides brief section-wise notes for quick understanding
• [Procedural Clarity] Covers all relevant rules, forms, schedules, and fees
• [User-friendly Layout] Includes clear typography and a detailed subject index