Design registration

A design registration protects how a product looks (its shape, configuration, or ornamentation) under the Designs Act, 2000. Rapidfiling prepares the representation, checks novelty, and files with the Designs Office.

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Service overview

Design registration under the Designs Act, 2000 protects the visual appearance of an article, its shape, configuration, pattern, ornament, or composition of lines and colours applied to it. It is distinct from trademark (which protects source identification) and patent (which protects function): a bottle's distinctive contour, a chair's form, a textile pattern, or a UI-driven product face can all be designs if they are new, eye-appealing, and applied to an article by an industrial process.

Novelty is the gate. The design must not have been published anywhere in the world before the filing date (including the applicant's own disclosures. Selling the product first and filing later is the most common and fatal mistake: the design dies at its first uncontrolled disclosure. The filing itself is representation-driven) the drawings and views must show the design clearly, because protection follows what the representations show, nothing more.

Rapidfiling assesses registrability, prepares the representations and class details, and files with the Designs Office, and tells you during scoping when a design was already disclosed and the route is closed.

Who this service is for

  • Manufacturers with distinctively shaped or ornamented products
  • Textile, apparel, and home-goods businesses with original patterns
  • Product designers protecting a form before launch
  • Exporters whose buyers demand design protection evidence

Scope of support

What support includes

  • Registrability assessment, novelty, eye-appeal, and disclosure history
  • Preparation of representations, drawings and views that define the protection
  • Classification under the Locarno system and filing with the Designs Office
  • Tracking of examination and response to objections within scope

What support does not include

  • Protection of function, mechanical features belong to patents, not designs
  • Registration after uncontrolled public disclosure, the novelty bar is absolute
  • Enforcement against copyists, quoted separately with counsel once registered

Requirements and documents

  • Clear drawings or photographs of the article from all relevant views
  • A statement of the article and the design's features to be protected
  • Applicant identity and authorisation details
  • Disclosure history, anything published, displayed, or sold before filing

How the process works

  1. 1. Enquire with the article

    Share the product, its images, and its disclosure history through the form on this page.

  2. 2. Registrability check

    We assess novelty and eye-appeal, confirm what can honestly be protected, and flag any disclosure problems before fees are spent.

  3. 3. Representations and filing

    The drawings and views are prepared to define the protection correctly, classified, and filed with the Designs Office.

  4. 4. Examination and registration

    Objections are responded to within scope; the registration certificate is delivered with its ten-year term and renewal dates noted.

Fees and timing

What influences the quote

  • Government filing fee, which differs by applicant category, natural persons pay less than companies
  • Number of articles or variants in the filing
  • Whether objections are raised in examination

Government fees and professional fees are shown separately in every quote. GST treatment is confirmed in the quote. Rapidfiling does not publish fixed prices for this service; request a quote to receive the fee breakdown for your case.

Enquire about this service

Share your requirement. Our team will review your enquiry and explain the next steps.

Important limitations

  • Protection covers the appearance as represented, functional features are outside designs law
  • Any prior disclosure anywhere kills novelty, file before showing or selling
  • The registration runs ten years, extendable by five, lapse returns the design to the public domain

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a design and a trademark?

A design protects a product's appearance; a trademark protects the sign that identifies its source. A bottle's shape can be a design; the brand name on its label is a trademark. Both can apply to the same product.

Can I file after launching the product?

Generally no, public disclosure anywhere before filing destroys novelty. If the launch already happened, tell us the facts; we will give an honest assessment rather than take fees for a dead application.

How long does design protection last?

Ten years from the registration date, extendable by a further five years on the prescribed application. After that, the design is open to all. We track the extension window for you.

What do the representations decide?

Everything. Protection follows the drawings and views filed, features not shown are not protected. We prepare the representation set carefully for exactly that reason.

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Enquire about this service

Share your requirement. Our team will review your enquiry and explain the next steps.