On 23rd January, 2026, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, released a concept note outlining proposed amendments to the Designs Act, 2000.
The Note has been placed in the public domain to invite suggestions, inputs, and comments from all stakeholders within 30 days of the notification.
India has seen a significant surge in design filings in 2024, rising from the 11th to 7th place globally, establishing it as the world’s fastest-growing design office. The existing Act protects physical product designs, leaving digital creations such as graphical user interfaces (GUIs), metaverse assets, AR and VR interfaces, and animations without clear statutory protection. The proposed amendments seem to bring positive change to the existing provisions by extending protection to virtual designs, simplifying procedures for MSMEs and startups, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and facilitating accession to the Hague Agreement and the Riyadh Design Law Treaty. These efforts appear to be in furtherance of the Government’s vision of “Design in India, Design for the World”.
Quick Overview of the Proposed Amendments
The table below outlines the key proposals from the Ministry’s concept note, along with their details and underlying rationale.
Sr. No. | Proposed Amendment | Key Details | Primary Rationale |
1. | Virtual Designs Protection | Amendment to the definitions of ‘article’ and ‘design’ in the Designs Act to cover GUIs, icons, animations, AR and VR interfaces, and metaverse assets, without requiring physical embodiment. | Addresses gaps in protection for digital designs and aligns with international practise, where most jurisdictions protect GUIs under design law. |
2. | Design-Copyright Interface | Amendment to Section 15(2) of the Copyright Act to allow copyright protection for unregistered but registrable designs to 15 years. Currently, copyright in such unregistered designs ceases as soon as the article to which the design has been applied has been reproduced more than fifty times by an industrial process. | Reduces legal uncertainty and disputes arising from overlap between design and copyright protection. |
3. | Full Grace Period | Introduction of a 12-month grace period for all disclosures prior to filing. | This also aligns with modern disclosure practices, such as online launches, crowd-funding, and digital marketplaces, thereby striking a fair balance between the strict novelty requirements for design registration and practical business needs of the modern world. This may support MSMEs and startups. |
4. | Deferment of Publication | Option to defer publication for up to 30 months, along with an innocent infringer defence. | Protects pre-launch confidentiality and aligns with Hague and Design Law Treaty standards. |
5. | Statutory Damages | Statutory damages up to Rs. 50 lakhs for wilful infringement, with higher amounts for repeat violations. | Strengthens enforcement and reduces evidentiary burdens in proving damages. |
6. | Term of Protection | Protection term structured as 5 years initially, with two further renewals of 5 years each. | Aligns with Hague standards and balances innovation incentives with market competition. |
7. | Multiple Designs in Single Application | Permits filing of multiple design variants in the same Locarno class under one application. | Reduces costs and administrative burden. |
8. | Division of Applications | Enables division of pending applications where multiple designs or objections are involved. | Preserves valid designs and provides procedural flexibility. |
9. | Introduction of a Chapter on International registrations under Hague | Introduction of a dedicated chapter to implement filings under the Hague system. | Enables multi-jurisdictional design filings through a single international application. |
10. | Accession to Riyadh Design Law Treaty | Amendments to Designs Act to align domestic law with the obligations under DLT. | – Ensures compliance with treaty obligations. – Simplifies procedural requirements, and prevents irreversible loss of design rights due to minor or unintentional procedural lapses. |
Conclusion
The proposed amendments intend to deliver benefits across diverse stakeholder groups. MSMEs and startups are expected to benefit from reduced compliance costs, an expanded grace period, and procedural relief measures. Technology-driven and digital sectors would gain from explicit protection for graphical user interfaces, metaverse assets, and other virtual designs. Design-intensive industries such as fashion, electronics, and consumer goods are likely to benefit from more efficient portfolio management and strengthened enforcement remedies. Accession to the Hague system would further facilitate international design protection by enabling simplified multi-jurisdictional filings for Indian designers, while also improving access for foreign applicants in India.
Overall, the proposals represent a progressive step towards modernising India’s design protection framework in line with digital innovation and international best practices.