Cancellation of Registered Industrial Designs under Section 19 of Designs Act

As per the Design Act, 2000, the designs are published after registration is completed, unlike the Patent Laws, where publication is done prior to the final grant of the Patent. Any interested person can question the registration and file for the cancellation of the registered design on various grounds.

This article provides the details for canceling registered industrial designs as specified under Section 19 of the Design Act, 2000.

What is Industrial Design?

An industrial design includes:

• The ornamental/aesthetic features of an article.
• It may consist of two-dimensional features (such as patterns/lines/color)
• It may consist of three-dimensional features (such as the shape of an article)

What is the purpose of getting protection for an Industrial Design?

The industrial design must be protected to prevent third parties from making/selling/importing the articles representing a design that is a copy (it can also be a substantial copy) of the protected design. 

Who can apply for cancellation of registration of Design under the Designs Act, 2000?

Cancellation of registration of design can be made as:

• Cancellation can be applied by any person interested.
• The petition can be filed at any time after the design registration.
• The petition has to be filed with the Controller.
• The petition can be filed on specified grounds as provided by the Act.

What are the grounds on which anyone can cancel a Registered Design?

As provided by Section 19 of the Designs Act, 2000, the following grounds must be present in order to apply for cancellation of design registration:

• The design was registered earlier in India,
• The design has already been published prior to the date of registration in India/any other country,
• The design is not original/new,
• It cannot be registered under this Act,
• It is not covered under the definition of design under section 2.

To whom the Appeal shall lie against the order of the Controller?

An appeal can be made to the High Court against the Controller's order as per Section 19.
Also, the Controller may refer any such petition to the High Court, and the Court shall decide on such matter.

The registered design obtains the copyright in such design for ten years from the date of registration of the design. The copyright tenure can be extended further for five years by making an application to the Controller. The application has to be made in the prescribed manner and payment of statutory fees to obtain the extension.