Drawing a parallel between aesthetics and functionality for design protection

Like many counties in the world, India has a strong law for protecting aesthetic creations by way of design registration. The design law protects aesthetic creations and not the functionality. There is often a misconception regarding the eligibility of articles or products for design registration that have utility and functionality. However, there is no barrier for registering designs for articles that are aesthetically appealing and at the same time performing a function. It is, therefore, essential to understand the difference in aesthetic and functional aspects of an article or product and their interplay while exploring the possibilities of design protection.

Legislative position in India

According to Section 2(a) of the Indian Designs Act, 2000, ‘Article’ means any article of manufacture and any substance, artificial, or partly artificial and partly natural; and includes any part of an article capable of being made and sold separately.

According to Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, ‘Design’ means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device.

The phrase, ‘judged solely by the eye’ is a characteristic feature of design registrations. The phrase essentially means that the design should be aesthetically appealing – a test for registration in every application for registration.