Copyright Protection & Safeguards for Jewellery and Watch Designers in India | IP Attorney in Delhi NCR | IP Lawyer in Delhi NCR |

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Jewelleries and Watches are the most sought accessories by both man and woman alike. It is been a part of fashion from time immemorial and is worn by many as a status symbol. Over the past few ones, one has seen a steep rise in the demand for such accessories, thanks to internet, social media and the consumer trends. The increasing demand and the need to cater to the wide variety of needs of the consumers, has led to the designers to create new and innovative designs, however, it has also led to the rise of piracy which serve the lower strata of the consumers. The new fashion trends brought with the social media and the increased standard of living for the people have made them enter in a never ending rat race to display the new and immerging trends of fashion. The trend of Fast Fashion and Bargain Hunting have made these pirated products in more demand. The same is also applicable to the Jewellery and the Watch industry which also faces the same issue. Thus, comes the need for the jewellery and watch designers to protect their artistic work and their Intellectual Property (IP) over their creations and works which requires due protection and safeguard from any kind of illegal and unauthorized usage including piracy, under the Copyright Act of 1957,

Copyright law confers an exclusive right on the creator of an original artistic, literary, musical work. Therefore, a jewellery and watch designer can seek the protection of his/her design under Copyright Act 1957. provided they qualify as an original artistic work and has some expression of an idea in a physical form. This can be very beneficial for the jewellery and watch designer as it confers a protection for 60 years beyond the life of the designer. Copyright can be helpful in protecting graphical work like painting and drawing, however, in case a design on paper is applied to jewellery or watches, the jewellery and watch designer would have to rely on the Design Act, 2000 to protect his/her Intellectual Property (IP) rights.

Therefore, there is an overlap between the Copyright Law and the Design Law, however, it is first necessary to understand the differences and the distinguishing factors between the registration of copyright vis a vis registration of designs, by the jewellery and watch designers:
• The Copyright Act of 1957 protects drawings and sketches of the designs as artwork, whereas the Designs Act of 2000protects the physical appearance of the article to which the design has been applied.
• Registration under Copyright Act of 1957 is not mandatory, however, to seek protection under the Designs Act of 2000 it is mandatory for the design to be registered.
• Copyright extends for a period of 60 years plus the life of the artist, whereas, protection under Designs Act of 2000 can be a maximum period of 15 years.

The two laws overlap with each other thus, creating an issues whether a design has to be protected under Copyright Act or the Designs Act. The Section 15 of Copyright Act, 1957 deals with the copyright in designs and lays down three conditions:
A. When a design is capable of being registered under the Designs Act, 2000 and the same is registered under the provisions of the Act, in such case the copyright in the registered design will subsist under the Designs Act for a maximum period of 15 years.
B. When a design is capable of being registered under the Designs Act, 2000 but it is not registered under the provisions of the Act, in such case the copyright in the design will subsist until 50th reproduction of the design on an article through industrial reproduction.
C. When a design in an original artistic work and does not qualify as a design to be registered under the Designs Act, 2000 such design can be protected under the Copyright Act, 1957 and the protection is conferred as soon as the design comes into existence.

However, in respect to jewellery, the distinction between artistic work and design has been clearly down in the case of Pranda Jewellery Pvt. Ltd. & Ors versus Aarya 24K Notice Of Motion No. 2235 Of 2012 in Suit No. 2477 Of 2011 by Justice S.C. Gupte of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. In the present case, Plaintiff was indulged in the business of making and selling deities and religious symbols made from Gold Sheet under the tradename of Prima Art. Drawing for the designs were made through a computer software with the help of a graphic designer under a contract of employment thus, conferring the Copyright to the Plaintiff company. The suit for infringement of Copyright in such drawings was instituted by the Plaintiff against the Defendant who was alleged to create similar article of deities made from gold sheet copying Plaintiff’s 22 designs. The issue before the Court has whether the alleged work constituted as original artistic work under Copyright Act or as a design under the Designs Act. The Court held that the work qualifies as an original artistic work under section 2(c) of the Copyright Act, 1957 however, when the same has been applied to an article through an industrial process, it would become eligible for registration under the Designs Act of 2000, therefore, in case the person fails to get the registration under the Designs Act of 2000, the copyright in the design shall cease to exist as soon as the 51th article is produced using the design as per the section 15(2) of the Copyright Act.

Therefore, a design is created by the Designer to apply it to an article like jewellery or watch, and hence, copyright in such design shall cease after the production of fifty (50) articles. Hence, getting the design of the jewellery or the watch registered under the Designs Act, 2000 becomes utmost important and inevitable for the jewellery and watch designer to get monopoly rights over the same and to prevent any third party from making any illegal gains from the same. Various international players like Rolex, Omega, Rado, Cartier, Chopard, Tiffany, etc have excelled in the business by converting their human intellect into Intellectual Capital by ensuring it’s full protection. It is time for the Indian Jewellery and Watch Designers to achieve even greater economic heights by harnessing their Intellectual Property (IP) for competitive advantage.
Authored By: Adv. Anant Sharma & Ananya Jain