India’s Design Law to Get a Makeover: Key Proposals Explained
- January 28, 2026
- Shana Varughese
With a view to aligning India’s design law with global best practices, a set of amendments to the Designs Act, 2000, has been proposed, as outlined in a concept note dated January 23, 2026, issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
The proposed amendments seek to expand the scope of protection to cover virtual designs, ease procedural requirements, and facilitate India’s accession to the Riyadh Design Law Treaty and the Hague Agreement.
Public comments on the proposed amendments have been invited until February 22, 2026.
Here’s a snapshot of the proposed amendments:
Area | Current Framework | Proposed Amendment |
Virtual Designs | Definitions of “article” and “design” under Sections 2(a) and 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000, traditionally interpreted with reference to tangible objects and visual features applied to such objects. | These definitions are sought to be amended to extend design protection to virtual designs. |
Design-Copyright Overlap | Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act, 1957, states that copyright in any design, which is capable of being registered under the Designs Act, 2000, but which has not been so registered, shall cease as soon as any article to which the design has been applied has been reproduced more than fifty times by an industrial process. | Copyright in designs that are registrable under the Designs Act, 2000, but remain unregistered, to subsist for a limited term of 15 years. |
Grace Period | Section 21 of the Designs Act allows a six-month grace period in cases where the disclosure is made at exhibitions notified by the Central Government. | A blanket 12-month grace period to apply regardless of the manner of disclosure. |
Deferred Publication | Designs are published immediately upon registration, with no option for deferment. | Applicants to be permitted to defer publication for up to 30 months. |
Statutory Damages | The Designs Act does not provide for statutory damages for infringement. | Statutory damages up to INR 50 lakhs for the first instance of infringement to be introduced, in cases where it is difficult or impractical to prove actual damages. |
Term of Protection | Under Section 11 of the Designs Act, design protection is granted for 10 years, which can be renewed for a further period of 5 years. | Protection term to be restructured as 5+5+5 years. Under this system, an initial term of 5 years will be granted for both national and Hague applications, with the option of two successive renewals of 5 years each. |
Single Application Covering Multiple Designs | Separate applications required for each design variant. | Multiple designs falling in the same class to be allowed in a single application. |
Divisional Applications | The Act does not provide for divisional applications. | Divisional applications to be introduced, preventing entire applications from being rejected due to defects in individual designs. |
Enabling Filings under the Hague system | No statutory framework exists for international design registrations. | A dedicated chapter to implement the provisions of the Hague Agreement to be introduced, enabling businesses to secure design protection in multiple jurisdictions through a single international application. |
Accession to Riyadh Design Law Treaty | No mechanism exists to restore rights lost due to procedural non-compliance. | Time relief and reinstatement provisions to be introduced, in line with the Riyadh Design Law Treaty, to restore design rights lost due to non-compliance with procedural time limits, provided the failure occurred despite due care or was unintentional. |
Key Points to Note:
- Design-Trademark Overlap: Given that trademarks are expressly excluded from the definition of a design, registration of proposed overlapping subject matters, such as icons and symbols, is bound to be challenging and would require definitions/guidelines to bring clarity.
- Protection for GUIs and Other Virtual Elements/Intersection with Copyright: GUIs have been a topic of debate through the years, and despite India’s adoption of the Locarno classification through the 2021 Design Amendment Rules, the conservative definitions of ‘design’ and ‘article’ under the Designs Act has led to uncertainty as to whether GUIs are eligible for protection as a design (a detailed analysis is available here). The proposed amendment would bring clarity by explicitly allowing the registration of GUIs under design law.
- Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act is proposed to be amended by incorporating a restricted term of 15 years under copyright as opposed to the standard term of copyright [author’s lifetime + 60 years]. This may lead to more strategic, intentional design filings rather than exploiting copyright, which may not be the most appropriate form of protection in all cases.
- Grace Period: Currently, Section 4 of the Designs Act mandates absolute non-disclosure of the design in India or anywhere in the world prior to the filing date to be eligible for design protection. The only permitted exception is disclosure through notified Government exhibitions; even then, the applicant must file a form disclosing the anticipated publication. The proposed amendment to this archaic provision, providing a 12-month grace period, will increase strategic design filings.
- Deferred Publication: As per the proposed amendment, the request for deferment must be filed at the time of filing the application. This requirement may be revised to provide the option to defer publication until the design application is accepted at examination, allowing greater flexibility for applicants by permitting them to defer publication for the necessary period.
All in all, the concept note signals a new era in design protection in India – one that is more robust and globally aligned, while remaining conscious of applicants’ practical business concerns.
Currently, Section 4 of the Designs Act mandates absolute non-disclosure of the design in India or anywhere in the world prior to the filing date to be eligible for design protection. The only permitted exception is disclosure through notified Government exhibitions; even then, the applicant must file a form disclosing the anticipated publication. The proposed amendment to this archaic provision, providing a 12-month grace period, will increase strategic design filings.
