Draft Design (Amendment) 2019

The notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry dated October 18, 2019, proposed the Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2019. The amendments were proposed to uplift intellectual property rights globally and assist startups and small entities in their growth.

The following Amendments were introduced by the notification dated October 18, 2019, in Design Rules, 2001:

• In Rule 2 Clause (eb) shall be inserted: 
  
  Definition of “startup” to be included in the rules stating that:
  1. A business recognized by the competent authority as “startup” as per startup India initiative, and
  2. A foreign business that fulfills the two conditions of turnover and incorporation/ registration as provided under the Startup India Initiative. Such businesses are required to submit a declaration to that effect.
   
• In Rule 10 Clause (1): 
  
  The articles shall be categorized as per Locarno classification (international classification for industrial designs) published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to obtain the designs' registration.
   
• Changes introduced in the "First Schedule" of the rules provide the provisions related to fees. The new fee structure differentiates the payment of fees for natural person/startup/small entity and others.
   
• The amendment in "Second Schedule" allows selecting a small entity, a natural person, a start-up, and others in form 1.
   
• The "Third Schedule" provided for the classification of goods is omitted. In place of which goods shall be classified as Locarno Classification, also known as International Classification for the Industrial Design.
   
• The changes introduced in the "fourth schedule" of the design rules, 2001, set out the details of costs. As per the new rules, the costs shall differ for natural person/startup/small entity and others.

The benefits of Amendments in the Design Rules, 2001:

The amendments broadened the scope of design rules, 2001 by incorporating international classification and extending the scope of IP towards startups and small entities. 

The amendments bought various benefits such as:

• Easy promotion of intellectual property rights for small entities, startups.
• Startups and small entities can easily protect their ideas.
• Increased market access.
• can secure their unique identification in the running market competition.
• Hassle-free design registration by foreigners.
• Harmonization of the classification of design with that adopted globally.