The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the Designs Act, 2000, marking the most significant reset of India’s design protection framework in over two decades. Issued through a Concept Note and opened for public consultation, the proposal seeks to modernise India’s design law, align it with global best practices, and support the government’s vision of “Design in India, Design for the World”.
The consultation comes at a moment when India’s design ecosystem is expanding rapidly.
According to DPIIT, 12,160 design applications were filed in 2024, representing a 43.2 percent year-on-year increase—the fastest growth recorded by any major design office
globally. India has moved from 11th to 7th position worldwide, with domestic applicants
accounting for nearly 90 percent of filings, underscoring the growing importance of design
as a strategic business asset.
Why the Overhaul of the Designs Act Was Needed
The Designs Act, 2000 was framed for an era dominated by physical products and traditional manufacturing processes. DPIIT’s Concept Note acknowledges that this framework is increasingly misaligned with today’s innovation landscape, where value creation often begins at the level of ideas, systems, and digital experiences.
Graphical user interfaces (GUIs), icons, animations, screen-based layouts, and immersive
digital environments now shape consumer choice across sectors such as electronics, appliances, furniture, interiors, retail, fintech, and digital services. However, India’s existing
design law remains anchored to tangible articles, creating uncertainty for businesses
investing in non-physical design assets.
The proposed overhaul of the Designs Act aims to make India’s design regime technologically neutral, future-ready, and globally interoperable.
Virtual Designs: Expanding the Scope of Protection
A central pillar of the overhaul of the Designs Act is the proposal to extend design protection to virtual designs by materially revising the definitions of “design” and “article”. DPIIT proposes explicitly recognising GUIs, icons, animations, transitions, augmented-reality interfaces, and other digital or virtual designs, even when they are not embodied in a physical product.
The Concept Note highlights that over 95 percent of major jurisdictions already protect
GUIs, primarily under industrial design law. Recent reforms in the European Union and
consultations in the UK, Australia, and Hong Kong reflect a global consensus that digital
aesthetics carry independent commercial and creative value.
For Indian manufacturers and design-led brands—particularly in furniture, kitchens,
appliances, and interiors—this signals an important shift in recognising that design
differentiation increasingly spans both physical and digital layers.
Grace Periods and Deferred Publication: Aligning Law with Business Cycles
Another key element of the proposed overhaul of the Designs Act is the introduction of a
full 12-month grace period for design registration. Unlike the current, narrowly defined
exhibition-based exception, the proposed provision would cover disclosures through online
launches, pilot sales, investor presentations, crowdfunding platforms, and digital
marketplaces.
Complementing this is the proposal to allow deferred publication of registered designs for
up to 30 months. DPIIT notes that early disclosure can expose products to imitation well
before commercial launch, especially in industries with long development cycles or high
tooling investments. Deferred publication would allow companies to align disclosure with
market readiness, while retaining legal priority.
Together, these provisions reposition design registration as a strategic business tool, rather
than a procedural compliance requirement.
Stronger Enforcement Through Statutory Damages
To address long-standing enforcement challenges, DPIIT has proposed introducing statutory damages for wilful infringement as part of the overhaul of the Designs Act. Courts may be empowered to award damages of up to ₹50 lakh for a first instance, with enhanced
penalties for repeat offenders.
By reducing reliance on proving actual commercial loss—often difficult in design infringement cases—this measure aims to create credible deterrence and predictable
remedies, particularly benefiting MSMEs and mid-sized enterprises.
Rethinking the Term of Protection
The overhaul of the Designs Act also proposes revising the existing 10-year protection
period, extendable by 5 years, to a 5+5+5 structure, aligned with the Hague Agreement.
This staggered renewal model allows businesses to extend protection only where designs
remain commercially relevant, while enabling obsolete designs to enter the public domain
sooner—balancing innovation incentives with competitive access.
Simplifying Filings and Enabling Global Integration
Additional procedural reforms include allowing multiple designs in a single application and
introducing divisional applications, reducing cost and administrative burden for businesses
developing design variants or modular product families.
A defining feature of the overhaul of the Designs Act is India’s proposed accession to the
Hague Agreement and the Riyadh Design Law Treaty. Together, these steps would enable
Indian designers and companies to secure protection across multiple jurisdictions through
simplified international filings, while also making India a more accessible destination for
foreign design registrations.
Industry View: Design as a Core Economic Asset
Reacting to the proposed overhaul of the Designs Act, Gopal Dwivedi, Chief Design Officer at Livspace, said the reforms reflect a long-overdue recognition of design as a primary driver of value creation.
“India has reached a point where design must be treated as a core economic and competitive asset, not a downstream outcome of manufacturing,” Dwivedi said. “By
protecting digital and virtual expressions of design and aligning with real-world business
cycles, the proposed overhaul rewards originality and discourages imitation—both essential
for India’s next phase of design leadership.”
Stakeholder Consultation Window
DPIIT has invited comments and suggestions on the proposed Overhaul of the Designs Act within 30 days from the date of publication of the notice, i.e., January 23, 2026. Stakeholders may submit feedback via email to ipr7-dipp@gov.in. Inputs received during this period will inform further deliberations and the detailed drafting of amendments to the Designs Act, 2000.
OPINION | Design Protection Is Not Enough Without Payment Security
While the Overhaul of the Designs Act focuses on strengthening intellectual property protection, commercial security for designers remains a critical unresolved issue, says Puja Anand, President of the Delhi NCR Chapter of the Association of Designers of India (ADI).
“Designers often face payment issues, and it’s high time we address this. A Designers’
Payment Protection Act could be the answer,” Anand said. She argues that such a
framework should mandate clear payment schedules in contracts, settlement of invoices
within 30 days with penalties for delays, and structured dispute-resolution mechanisms such as mediation or arbitration. While India’s Contract Act, 1872 and Copyright Act, 1957 touch upon these issues, Anand points to the UK’s Construction Act (1996) as a useful reference for ensuring payment discipline.
Her view highlights a broader industry reality: design protection alone is not sufficient
unless designers are also protected as economic stakeholders.