Designs Protection & Safeguards for Jewellery and Watch Designers in India | IP Attorney in Delhi NCR | IP Lawyer in Delhi NCR |
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he history of jewellery in India can be traced back to even more than 5000 years ago. The initial jewellery was simple, make with threads, beads and stones which was later on adapted by people to make ornaments and jewellery from gold and silver. In the past decade one can see that the demand for jewellery has increased many folds and in today’s time, it is not only worn by people for its aesthetic value but is also used as a status symbol for the rich. Due to this, there has been an increased demand for jewellery on various platforms and jewellery designers are gaining tremendous popularity and fame for their work and with this increase in demand, it has led to various similar designs coming in the market created by replicating, lifting or copying the design. Thus, there is an increasing need for the jewellery designer to protect their rights in the design which are distinctive and unique and the same is their Intellectual Property (IP) which needs due protection and safeguards.
On similar lines, even watches are not only used for aesthetic value and acts as status symbol, creating more demand for luxurious watches with new, innovative and creative designs. One can see a very high rate of piracy for luxurious watches like Rolex, Omega, Tissot, etc, which are available at very cheap rates. The quality of the pirated product is really low as compared to the original product and are easily distinguishable in most cases, however, still there is a need for watch companies to take steps to protect their designs in such circumstances to prevent any loss of goodwill due to such illegal acts.
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) can be used for protecting and safeguarding such rights in the designs of jewellery and watches under the ambit of the Design Act, 2000. The Designs Act, 2000 protects the aesthetic part of any article which does not have any function. Section 2(d) of the act defines design to include features of shape, configuration, pattern and composition of lines or colours to applied to an article whether 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional through industrial process. Design Act confers protection on only registered designs.
Therefore, for a design to be registrable under the Designs Act of 2000, the following conditions have to be fulfilled by the jewellery and watch designers:
• Design has to be new, original and novel
• Design shall not contain any scandalous or obscene matter.
• Design shall be different from all know designs or any combination of them.
• Design shall not have been disclosed to the public in India or abroad in any tangible form or used prior to filling an application of registration.
• Design shall not include any aspect that has any functional value.
The Designs Act, 2000 confers on the artistic, a monopoly over the design for a period of 10 years, extendable to a further 5 years subject to certain circumstances. Therefore, Designs Act 2000 provides the designers of watches and jewellery the shield to protect there right from any kind of illegal usage, infringement, unauthorised usage including piracy.
The process for registration of design by the jewellery and watch designer is as follows:
Step 1: Filling of Application
Applicant has to file an application for the registration of design with the Design wing of Patent Office along with the prescribed fees. Further, the application has to be accompanied by four copies of the representation of the design.
Step 2: Examination of Application
On receipt of the application, the same is number, dated and then taken up for examination. In case, any defects in the application are found, the same is communicated to the applicant.
Step 3: Correction of Defects & Issues
A period of 6 months are granted to the applicant from the date of application to correct the defect. In case the defect is not rectified, a person hearing can be granted to applicant to justify this actions.
Step 4: Registration of Design
When the examiner finds no defect in the application or if the defect has been rectified by the applicant, the particular of the design are published in the Patent Office Journal and is deemed to be registered.
Therefore, the general purpose of providing protection under the Designs Act of 2000 is to promote new innovation and advance in the market by conferring a monopoly for the jewellery and watch designers who have put in their meticulous efforts to create a design while giving the designer exclusive right to first identify their Intellectual Property, then protect and safeguard it from illegal and unauthorised commercial exploitation. Besides, promoting innovation in the society, it also helps prevent the menace of piracy which hamper the very purpose of the protection and punishes people who want to free ride on someone else’s Intellectual Property (IP)
Authored By: Adv. Anant Sharma & Ananya Jain