Section 2 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.
Section 2 is the dictionary of the Act. It defines ten terms, lettered (a) to (j), and every later section reads against them. The most important are "design", which says what the Act protects and what it leaves out, "original", "copyright" and "proprietor of a new or original design". If a product feature fails the definition of "design", no later section can help it. That is why industrial design registration work starts with this section.
A "design" is only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours applied to an article by an industrial process, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye. It excludes any mode or principle of construction, a mere mechanical device, a trade mark, a property mark and an artistic work under the Copyright Act, 1957. "Copyright" under this Act is the exclusive right to apply a design to any article in any class in which it is registered. The "proprietor" can be the person who commissioned the design, the person who acquired it, or the author.
Clause-by-clause map
The text is printed as "In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context". The clauses, as enacted in 2000, are:
| Clause | Term |
|---|---|
| (a) | article |
| (b) | Controller |
| (c) | copyright |
| (d) | design |
| (e) | High Court |
| (f) | legal representative |
| (g) | original |
| (h) | Patent Office |
| (i) | prescribed |
| (j) | proprietor of a new or original design |
Drafting slips to note: clause (d) is printed without its opening bracket ("d)"), and clause (e) prints "sub-section (I)" for "(1)". Read them as (d) and (1).
(a) Article
"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". Two points. First, the article need not be a finished product; a part that can be made and sold separately counts. The handle of a kettle or the stopper of a bottle, if sold on its own, is an article in this sense. Second, "any substance, artificial, or partly artificial and partly natural" brings in substances, not just objects.
(b) Controller, (h) Patent Office, (e) High Court
Clause (b) points to the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks "referred to in Section 3"; section 3 covers the office. Clause (h) borrows the Patent Office from section 74 of the Patents Act, 1970, and clause (e) borrows "High Court" from clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Patents Act, 1970. The Designs Act does not restate those meanings; it refers to them.
(c) Copyright
"Copyright" means "the exclusive right to apply a design to any article in any class in which the design is registered". This is a narrow right, tied to registration and to the class of articles. It is not the copyright of the Copyright Act, 1957. Section 11 gives the duration, and our article on section 11 covers it.
(d) Design: what is in
The core of the definition has four parts, and each must be met.
- Features. "Only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colours". The word "only" limits the definition to these visual features.
- 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".
- Eye appeal. The features must be ones "which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye".
So the shape of a stool, the floral print on a tray, or the colour bands on a bottle label can be a "design". How a hinge works inside the stool cannot, because it is not judged by the eye.
(d) Design: what is out
The definition ends with three exclusions. A design:
- "does not include any mode or principle of construction or anything which is in substance a mere mechanical device";
- "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 or property mark as defined in section 479 of the Indian Penal Code";
- does not include "any artistic work as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Copyright Act, 1957".
These references are as enacted. The source note in this series says the 1958 Act has since been replaced by the Trade Marks Act, 1999; this article quotes the Act as enacted and adds nothing on how the cross-reference is read today.
A brand name or logo is therefore not a design for this Act. An original painting is an artistic work under the Copyright Act and is likewise left out; what the Act protects is the look of a mass-produced article. Our comparison post on design versus patent versus copyright sets the three regimes side by side.
(f) Legal representative
Clause (f) is short: "a person who in law represents the estate of a deceased person". It matters in sections such as 8(4) on the death of a joint applicant and section 12 on restoration, where the legal representative of a deceased proprietor may act.
(g) Original
"Original", in relation to a design, "means originating from the author of such design and includes the cases which though old in themselves yet are new in their application". Two limbs: the design must come from its author, and an old design applied in a new way can still be "original". The Act does not define "author" or "new". Section 4 tests newness separately, by prior disclosure; see our article on section 4.
(i) Prescribed
"Prescribed" means "prescribed by rules under this Act". Forms, fees and time limits that the Act leaves open are in the Designs Rules, 2001. Rules 1 and 2 of the Rules carry their own definitions.
(j) Proprietor of a new or original design
This is the clause that decides who may apply (section 5) and who holds the copyright. It has three cases, plus a devolution rule.
| Case | Who is the proprietor |
|---|---|
| (i) The author, for good consideration, executes the work for some other person | The person for whom the design is so executed |
| (ii) Any person acquires the design or the right to apply it to any article, exclusively or otherwise | That person, "in the respect and to the extent" the design or right was acquired |
| (iii) Any other case | The author of the design |
The clause ends: "where the property in or the right to apply, the design has devolved from the original proprietor upon any other person, includes that other person."
Illustration (invented)
Kiran Bhatt, an independent industrial designer, creates a stackable lunch box for Lotus Kitchenware Pvt. Ltd. against a fee agreed in advance. Under (j)(i), Lotus Kitchenware is the proprietor, not Kiran. Had Kiran drawn the same box on her own account, with no commission, she would be proprietor under (j)(iii). If she later sells the right to apply the design to bottles to Tarang Plastics, Tarang becomes proprietor under (j)(ii) for bottles, to that extent only. If a proprietor dies, the devolution words let the person to whom the property passes count as proprietor.
The text is silent on how "good consideration" is measured and does not require writing.
Need help with design registration?
Before filing, it pays to check that your feature is a "design" and that the right person is named as proprietor. Our industrial design registration team can read your product against clauses (a), (d), (g) and (j) and prepare the application.
Key takeaways
- "Design" means only visual features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or lines or colours, judged solely by the eye in the finished article.
- A mode or principle of construction, a mere mechanical device, a trade mark, a property mark and an artistic work are outside the definition.
- "Copyright" here is the exclusive right to apply a registered design to articles in the registered class.
- "Original" means originating from the author, and includes old designs that are new in application.
- The proprietor may be the person who commissioned the design, an acquirer, or the author, and includes a person to whom the right has devolved.
Read next
- What is a design under Indian law: definition and scope
- Section 4: prohibition of registration of certain designs
- Section 5: application for registration of designs
- What can be registered as a design in India
Disclaimer: Based on the Designs Act, 2000 as enacted, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Forms, fees and procedure are set by the Designs Rules, 2001 as amended from time to time. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.