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June 2026Q. 6(c)5 marksSyllabus 2022
(c)Elegant Furniture Pvt. Ltd. created a new ornamental design for a dining chair and obtained registration of the design under the Designs Act, 2000 on 1 January 2015. As the registered proprietor, the company enjoyed exclusive rights over the design.
•What is the duration of copyright in a registered design under the Act ?
•What legal requirement must Elegant Furniture Pvt. Ltd. fulfil to extend this period and for what further period can the copyright be extended ?
•On what grounds can the registered design be cancelled under Section 19 of the Act ?
•Under Section 11(1) of the Designs Act, 2000, when a design is registered, the registered proprietor shall have copyright in the design for a period of ten years from the date of registration. In the present case, Elegant Furniture Pvt. Ltd. obtained registration of the design on 1 January 2015. Therefore, the company will have copyright in the design for ten years, i.e., up to 31st December 2025.
•According to Section 11(2) of the Designs Act, 2000, if the registered proprietor applies to the Controller in the prescribed manner and pays the prescribed fee before the expiry of the initial ten years, the Controller may extend the copyright for a further period of five years. Thus, the copyright in the registered design initially lasts for 10 years from the date of registration. If the prescribed application and fee are submitted before expiry, the period may be extended for an additional 5 years, making the maximum protection period 15 years.
•Under Section 19 of the Designs Act, 2000, any person interested may present a petition for the cancellation of the registration of a design at any time after the registration of the design, to the Controller on any of the following grounds, namely:—
(a)that the design has been previously registered in India; or
(b)that it has been published in India or in any other country prior to the date of registration; or
(c)that the design is not a new or original design; or
(d)that the design is not registrable under this Act; or
(e)that it is not a design as defined under clause (d) of section 2
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, June 2026, Q. 6(c) (Syllabus 2022).
June 2024Q. 6A(i)5 marksSyllabus 2022OR, alternative to Q. 6
(i)What is the duration of the registration of a design ? Can it be extended ? How can the Registration of a Design be cancelled ?
Duration of the registration of a design The duration of the registration of a design is initially ten years from the date of registration, but in cases 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 to the Controller before the expiry of the said initial period of ten years.
Cancellation of Registration According to Section 19 of the Design Act 2000, the registration of a design may be cancelled at any time after the registration of design on a petition for cancellation in prescribed form with fee to the Controller of Designs on the following grounds:
•That the design has been previously registered in India; or
•That it has been published in India or elsewhere prior to date of registration, or
•The design is not new or original; or
•Design is not registrable; or
•It is not a design under Clause (d) of Section 2.
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, June 2024, Q. 6A(i) (Syllabus 2022).
December 2023Q. 6A(ii)5 marksSyllabus 2022OR, alternative to Q. 6
(ii)Who is the proprietor of a design and state the prohibition in registration of certain design ?
According to Section 2(j) of the Designs Act, 2000 proprietor of a new design includes
1.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
2.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
3.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.
The following design are prohibited from registration under Section 4 of Design Act
1.It is not new or original or
2.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
3.Is not significantly distinguishable from known designs or combination of know designs
4.Comprises or contains scandalous or obscene matter, shall not be registered.
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, December 2023, Q. 6A(ii) (Syllabus 2022).
June 2026Q. 6A(iii)5 marksSyllabus 2022OR, alternative to Q. 6
(iii)Explain the essential requirements for the registration of a ‘Design’ under the Designs Act, 2000.
Essential requirements for the registration of ‘Design’ under the Act
•The design should be new or original, not previously published or used in any country before the date of application for registration. The novelty may reside in the application of a known shape or pattern to new subject matter.
•The design should relate to features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation applied or applicable to an article.
•The design should be applied or applicable to any article by any industrial process.
•The features of the design in the finished article should appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. This implies that the design must appear and should be visible on the finished article, for which it is meant.
•Any mode or principle of construction or operation or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device, would not be a registrable design. For instance, a key having its novelty only in the shape of its corrugation or bent at the portion intended to engage with levers inside the lock associated with, cannot be registered as a design under the Act.
•The design should not include any Trade Mark or property mark or artistic works as defined under the Copyright Act, 1957.
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, June 2026, Q. 6A(iii) (Syllabus 2022).
June 2025Q. 6(b)5 marksSyllabus 2022
(b)ES Ltd., a telecommunications company, is in the design phase of a new device that incorporates a cell phone with Internet capabilities. There is a concern that the new device may have nearly the same design as their competitor’s product. What requirements ES Ltd.
should comply with before applying for registration of the design of the new device under the Designs Act, 2000 ?
ES Ltd. should comply with the following essential requirements for the registration of ‘Design’ under the Design Act:
•The design should be new or original, not previously published or used in any country before the date of application for registration. The novelty may reside in the application of a known shape or pattern to new subject matter.
•The design should relate to features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation applied or applicable to an article.
•The design should be applied or applicable to any article by any industrial process.
•The features of the design in the finished article should appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. This implies that the design must appear and should be visible on the finished article, for which it is meant.
•Any mode or principle of construction or operation or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device, would not be a registrable design. For instance, a key having its novelty only in the shape of its corrugation or bent at the portion intended to engage with levers inside the lock associated with, cannot be registered as a design under the Act.
•The design should not include any Trade Mark or property mark or artistic works as defined under the Copyright Act, 1957.
(5 Marks)
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, June 2025, Q. 6(b) (Syllabus 2022).
December 2024Q. 6(c)(i)3 marksSyllabus 2022
(c)‘Heavy Duty Company’ manufactures ‘Pick-N-Carry Hydraulic Self Mobile Cranes’ developed and registered under the Designs Act, 2000. They filed a suit for permanent injunction and infringement against ‘Robust Mechanicals Company’, who began manufacturing and selling mobile cranes that were visually identical to the original design of ‘Heavy Duty Company’ claiming that their machine is “new or original”.
(i)With the support of a case law, discuss the requirements of for a design to be considered significantly “new or original”.
Hon’ble Supreme Court of India held that expression new or original appearing in Section 4 of the Design Act means that the design which has been registered has not been published anywhere or it has been made known to the public and that it had been invented for the first time or it has not been reproduced by anyone.
In the matter of M/s Brighto Auto Industries vs. Shri Raj Chawla (ILR 1978 (I) Delhi) it was held by the Honorable Court that new is taken generally to mean as different to what has gone before and original as something originating from the author. In the matter of novelty, the eye has to be the ultimate arbiter and the determination has to rest on the general ocular impression. To secure recognition for its newness or originality it is imperative that a design identical with or even materially similar to the relevant design should not have been published or registered previously. A slight trivial or infinitesimal variation from a pre-existing design will not qualify it for registration taking into account the nature involved the change introduced should be substantial. Itis not necessary to justify registration that the whole of the design should be new, the newness may be confined to only a part of it but that part must be a significant one and it should be potent enough to impart to the whole design a distinct identity, unless the registration sought for the said part alone.
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, December 2024, Q. 6(c)(i) (Syllabus 2022).
December 2024Q. 6(c)(ii)2 marksSyllabus 2022
(c)‘Heavy Duty Company’ manufactures ‘Pick-N-Carry Hydraulic Self Mobile Cranes’ developed and registered under the Designs Act, 2000. They filed a suit for permanent injunction and infringement against ‘Robust Mechanicals Company’, who began manufacturing and selling mobile cranes that were visually identical to the original design of ‘Heavy Duty Company’ claiming that their machine is “new or original”.
(ii)What is the Court’s duty while determining if a design is “new or original” ?
It is the duty of the Court to take special care that no design shall be counted new or original, unless it is distinct from what previously existed by something essentially new or original which is different from ordinary trade variants, which may have lost, been common matters of test or choice in that trade.
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, December 2024, Q. 6(c)(ii) (Syllabus 2022).
December 2025Q. 6(a)5 marksSyllabus 2022
(a)Destiny Relators, a furniture company has created a new chair design with a unique floral pattern on the backrest. They registered this design for chairs under a specific class of articles, Class 9 for furniture. After some time, the company decides to use the same floral pattern on a line of tables, since the tables also fall within Class 9.
Can Destiny Relators apply to register the design for the tables as well ? Support your answer as per provisions of Section 6 of the Design Act, 2000.
Registration in respect of Particular Article (Section 6 of the Design Act, 2000)
1)A design may be registered in respect of any or all of the articles comprised in a prescribed class of articles.
2)Any question arising as to the class within which any article falls shall be determined by the Controller whose decision in the matter shall be final.
3)Where a design has been registered in respect of any article comprised in a class of article, the application of the proprietor of the design to register it in respect of some one or more other articles comprised in that class of articles shall not be refused, nor shall the registration thereof invalidated —
(a)on the ground of the design not being a new or original design, by reason only that it was so previously registered; or
(b)on the ground of the design having been previously published in India or in any other country, by reason only that it has been applied to article in respect of which it was previously registered.
It may be noted that such subsequent registration shall not extend the period of copyright in the design beyond that arising from previous registration.
4)Where any person makes an application for the registration of a design in respect of any article and either—
(a)that design has been previously registered by another person in respect of some other article; or
(b)the design to which the application relates consists of a design previously registered by another person in respect of the same or some other article with modifications or variations not sufficient to alter the character or substantially to affect the identity thereof, then, if at any time while the application is pending the applicant becomes the registered proprietor of the design previously registered, the foregoing provisions of this Section shall apply as if at the time of making the application, the applicant, had been the registered proprietor of that design.
In this case, since both chairs and tables fall within Class 9 (furniture), Destiny Relators can apply to register the same floral design for tables as well, in accordance with Section 6 of the Designs Act, 2000. Section 6 allows multiple registrations within the same class, but each article requires its own registration to secure exclusive rights.
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, December 2025, Q. 6(a) (Syllabus 2022).