Rules 4 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The Registry can have a head office and branch offices, so the Rules say which office handles which matter. Rule 4 defines the "appropriate office" for applications, registered layout-designs and pending matters. Rule 5 says a later change of address does not move the file. Rule 6 records the office in the register. Rules 7 to 9 say where to leave documents, what happens to papers left at the wrong office and from which office notices are issued. These rules put into practice sections 5 and 8 of the Act.
This article reflects the Rules as amended up to G.S.R. 689(E) dated 14 September 2012 (the only amendment). Check sicldr.gov.in for later notifications. If you manage filings for several layout-designs, an IP portfolio management calendar should record the appropriate office against each one.
The appropriate office depends on the principal place of business in India of the registered proprietor (or of the applicant, for a pending application), or, where there is none, the address for service in India. A change of address does not alter the appropriate office (rule 5). Papers and fees go to the appropriate office, though certain forms and communications may go to either that office or the head office (rule 7). Papers left at another office are returned (rule 8). Notices ordinarily issue from the appropriate office but may issue from any office (rule 9).
Rule 4: the appropriate office
Rule 4 begins with applications: the appropriate office for making an application for registration is the office specified in section 8. See sections 8 and 9. For giving notice of opposition under section 11, filing a rectification application under section 30 or any other proceeding under the Act and Rules, it is as follows.
Rule 4(a): a layout-design on the register
The office within whose territorial limits the following is situated:
| Case | Test |
|---|---|
| 4(a)(i) | The principal place of business in India of the registered proprietor, as entered in the register at that date |
| 4(a)(ii) | No entry of that place: the place mentioned in the address for service in India as entered in the register |
| 4(a)(iii) | Jointly registered proprietors: the principal place of business in India of the proprietor whose name is entered first in the register as having such a place |
| 4(a)(iv) | None of the joint proprietors shows such a place: the place in the address for service in India of the joint proprietors as entered |
| 4(a)(v) | No principal place of business and no address for service in India in the register: the office of the Registry where the application for registration was made |
Rule 4(b): a pending application
| Case | Test |
|---|---|
| 4(b)(i) | The principal place of business in India of the applicant as disclosed in the application, or, for joint applicants, of the applicant whose name is first mentioned, as having such a place |
| 4(b)(ii) | Neither the applicant nor any joint applicant has such a place: the place in the address for service in India specified in the application |
The "principal place of business in India" is explained in Rules 1 to 3. The territorial limits of each office are fixed by Government notification under section 5(3) of the Act; see sections 3 to 6.
Rule 5: no change of jurisdiction
"No change in the principal place of business in India or in the address for service in India" of a registered proprietor, or of any jointly registered proprietor, or of an applicant or any joint applicant, "shall effect the jurisdiction of the appropriate office of the Registry", meaning that the jurisdiction stays as fixed.
The result is stability. A proprietor that moves its head office from one city to another does not thereby move its file. The appropriate office remains the one fixed by the entry at the relevant date. The proprietor may still update its address in the register by an application under section 31; see Rules 63 to 68 for the forms.
Rule 6: the office is entered in the register
"In respect of every layout-design on the register, the Registrar shall cause to be entered in the register the appropriate office of the Registry and the Registrar may, at any time, correct any error in the entry so made." So the register itself records the appropriate office, and the Registrar can correct errors in that entry.
Rule 7: leaving documents
7(1): the general rule
Save as provided in sub-rule (2), all applications, notices, statements and other documents, and any fees, authorised or required to be made, served, left, sent or paid at or to the Registry in relation to a layout-design on the register, or for which an application is pending, "shall be made, served, left or sent or paid to the appropriate office of the Registry."
7(2): either office
Documents or fees may be sent or paid either to the appropriate office or to the head office of the Registry in these matters:
- (a) communications and other documents, including affidavits, in relation to an application filed for registration of a layout-design; and
- (b) an application or request on Forms LD-8, LD-9, LD-10, LD-11, LD-13, LD-14, LD-15, LD-16, LD-17, LD-18, LD-19, LD-20, LD-21, LD-22, LD-25 and LD-31.
The forms in clause (b) cover assignment, registered user, cancellation, change of address, preliminary advice, certified copies, duplicate certificate and advertisement particulars. Their titles are listed in the Schedule II articles: Forms LD-1 to LD-18. Everything else goes to the appropriate office only, notably oppositions and counter-statements.
Rule 8: wrong office
"Where any application, notice, statement or other document or any fee ... is made, served, left or sent or paid, at or to an office which is not the appropriate office of the Registry, the Registrar shall return such application, notice, statement or document or fee to the person concerned." This is subject to rule 7. The rule says "shall return", so a wrongly addressed filing is returned and, on the text of section 89(3) and rule 10(5), the date of filing follows payment of the fee in full. A time-limited step filed at the wrong office is therefore at risk. See Rules 10 and 11.
Rule 9: notices
"Any notice or communication relating to any application, matter or proceeding under the Act or the rules shall ordinarily be issued from the appropriate office of the Registry but may, nevertheless, be issued from any office of the Registry." So a notice can come from a different office than the one you file at.
A worked example
A fabless company has its principal place of business in Pune and a registered layout-design on the register. Under rule 4(a)(i), the Pune-limits office is the appropriate office for a notice of opposition against another application or for a rectification application. The company later moves its head office to Hyderabad; under rule 5, the appropriate office does not change. It sends a request on Form LD-21 for preliminary advice for a new design to the head office rather than the appropriate office, which rule 7(2)(b) allows. It posts a notice of opposition to the head office by mistake; rule 8 requires the Registrar to return it, and the period for opposition keeps running.
Need help with filing at the right office?
If you need the right office identified for a layout-design, or a filing calendar that shows where each document must go, our IP portfolio management team can set it up.
Key takeaways
- The appropriate office follows the principal place of business in India, or the address for service where there is none.
- A change of address does not change the appropriate office.
- The register records the appropriate office.
- Certain forms and communications about an application may go to the head office or the appropriate office.
- Documents sent to the wrong office are returned.
- Notices ordinarily issue from the appropriate office but may issue from any office.
Read next
- Sections 3 to 6: the Registry and the register
- Rules 1 to 3: principal place of business
- Rules 16 to 20: address for service and agents
Disclaimer: Based on the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000 (never amended; commencement as notified in 2004, 2011 and 2014) and the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Rules, 2001 as amended by G.S.R. 689(E) of 14 September 2012, as consulted on 3 October 2026. Check sicldr.gov.in for later notifications and current forms and fees. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.