The Designs Act of 1911 has been replaced by the Designs Act, 2000. The Design Act in India was enacted by the Legislature on May 25, 2000 with a view to consolidate and amend the law relating to protection of designs in India. Under the TRIPS Agreement, minimum standards of protection of industrial designs have been provided for.In view of considerable progress made in the field of science and technology, a need was felt to provide a more efficient legal system for the protection of industrial designs in order to ensure effective protection to registered designs, and to encourage design activity to promote the design element in an article of production. In this backdrop, the Designs Act, 2000 has been enacted essentially to balance these interests and to ensure that the law does not unnecessarily extend protection beyond what is necessary to create the required incentive for design activity while removing impediments to the free use of available designs. 

The Designs Act, 2000 (“the Act”), is a complete code in itself and protection under it is wholly statutory in nature. It protects the visual design of objects that are not purely utilitarian. Section 2(d) of the Act, defines a Design as:

• “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, and does not include any trade mark as defined in clause (v) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 (43 of 1958) or property mark as defined in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or any artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957).

The new Act complies with the requirements of TRIPS and hence is directly relevant for international trade. Industrial Design law deals with the aesthetics or the original design of an industrial product. An industrial product usually contains elements of both art and craft, that is to say artistic as well as functional elements.The design law excludes from its purview the functioning features of an article and grants protection only to those which have an aesthetic appeal. For example, the design of a teacup must have a hollow receptacle for holding tea and a handle to hold the cup. These are functional features that cannot be registered. But a fancy shape or ornamentation on it would be registrable. Similarly, a table, for example, would have a flat surface on which other objects can be placed. This is its functional element. But its shape, colour or the way it is supported by legs or otherwise, are all elements of design or artistic elements and therefore, registrable if unique and novel. Today, industrial design has become an integral part of consumer culture where rival articles compete for consumer’s attention. It has become important therefore, to grant to an original industrial design adequate protection.

The salient features of the Design Act, 2000 are as under:

 (a) Enlarging the scope of definition of the terms “article”, “design” and introduction of definition of “original”.

 (b) Amplifying the scope of “prior publication”. 

(c) Introduction of provision for delegation of powers of the Controller to other officers and stipulating statutory duties of examiners. 

(d) Provision of identification of non-registrable designs. 

(e) Provision for substitution of applicant before registration of a design. 

(f) Substitution of Indian classification by an internationally followed system of classification. 

(g) Provision for inclusion of a register to be maintained on computer as a Register of Designs. 

(h) Provision for restoration of lapsed designs.

 (i) Provisions for appeal against orders of the Controller before the High Court instead of the Central Government.

 (j) Revoking the period of secrecy of two years of a registered design. 

(k) Providing for compulsory registration of any document for transfer of right in the registered design.

 (l) Introduction of additional grounds in cancellation proceedings and provision for initiating the cancellation proceedings before the Controller in place of the High Court. 

(m) Enhancement of quantum of penalty imposed for infringement of a registered design. 

(n) Provision for grounds of cancellation to be taken as defense in the infringement proceedings to be in any court not below the Court of District Judge. 

(o) Enhancing the initial period of registration from 5 to 10 years, to be followed by a further extension of five years.

 (p) Provision for allowance of priority to other convention countries and countries belonging to the group of countries or inter-governmental organizations apart from United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Countries. (q) Provision for avoidance of certain restrictive conditions for the  control of anti competitive practices in contractual licenses.