Section 6 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 6 links a design to a class of articles. A design may be registered for any or all of the articles in a prescribed class, the Controller settles any question about the class, and a proprietor who has registered a design for one article may later add other articles in the same class without the earlier registration being held against him. The section also covers an applicant who becomes owner of a prior registration while his own application is pending. If you want the same design on a chair and a stool, this is the section that tells you how the class helps.
A design may be registered for any or all of the articles in a prescribed class. Any question about the class of an article is decided by the Controller, whose decision is final. If you already hold a registration for one article in a class, an application to register the same design for other articles in that class cannot be refused or invalidated because of the earlier registration or earlier publication on the original article, but it does not extend the copyright period beyond the first registration. Industrial design registration applications should therefore name the class carefully.
Sub-section (1): any or all articles in a prescribed class
"A design may be registered in respect of any or all of the articles comprised in a prescribed class of articles."
The class itself is "prescribed". The Act does not list classes; they come from the Designs Rules, 2001. Our sibling article on rule 10 covers the classification. Section 5(3) separately says a design may be registered "in not more than one class". The two fit together: one class per design, but within that class the design can be registered for one, several or all of its articles.
Sub-section (2): the Controller decides the class question
"Any question arising as to the class within which any article falls shall be determined by the Controller whose decision in the matter shall be final."
Note the word "final". The text does not say that no appeal lies to the High Court from every Controller action; it says this particular decision, about the class within which an article falls, is final. Compare section 5(3), where the Controller decides doubt about the class in which a design ought to be registered. Both point the same way: the class is a matter for the Controller. Whether a challenge is open on any other footing is something the text does not discuss; we do not extend it.
Sub-section (3): registering the same design for other articles in the class
The sub-section reads in two parts. First the rule:
"Where a design has been registered in respect of any article comprised in a class of article, the application of the proprietor of the design to register it in respect of some one or more other articles comprised in that class of articles shall not be refused, nor shall the registration thereof invalidated."
Then two things that cannot be used as grounds:
- (a) "on the ground of the design not being a new or original design, by reason only that it was so previously registered"; or
- (b) "on the ground of the design having been previously published in India or in any other country, by reason only that it has been applied to article in respect of which it was previously registered".
(The text separates (a) and (b) from the sub-section by a blank line in the printed Act; read them as clauses of sub-section (3).)
The proviso: no extra term
"Provided that such subsequent registration shall not extend the period of copyright in the design beyond that arising from previous registration."
This is the cap. The second registration is for other articles, but its copyright period does not outlast the first registration's. Section 11 gives ten years from the date of registration, extendable by five; see our article on section 11.
| Question | Answer in the text |
|---|---|
| Can a proprietor add other articles in the same class? | Yes, the application "shall not be refused, nor shall the registration thereof invalidated" on the grounds in (a) and (b) |
| Does the second registration give a longer term? | No; it shall not extend the period beyond the previous registration |
| Does the sub-section help with an article in another class? | The text speaks only of "other articles comprised in that class" |
| Who may apply? | "The proprietor of the design" |
Sub-section (4): when an applicant becomes owner of an earlier registration
The sub-section opens with the case of a person who applies to register a design for an article, and either:
- (a) the design was "previously registered by another person in respect of some other article"; or
- (b) the design "consists of a design previously registered by another person in respect of the same or some other article with modifications or variations not sufficient to alter the character or substantially to affect the identity thereof".
Then: "if at any time while the application is pending the applicant becomes the registered proprietor of the design previously registered, the foregoing provisions of the section shall apply as if at the time of making the application the applicant had been the registered proprietor of that design."
(The sub-section number is printed "4)" without its opening bracket.)
In plain words: suppose you apply for a design that somebody else registered earlier for a different article, or a trivial variation of it. If, while your application is pending, you buy that earlier registration and become its registered proprietor, the Act treats you as having been the registered proprietor from the date you made the application. That lets sub-section (3) protect you: the earlier registration cannot be used to say your design is not new. The result follows the same cap in the proviso, so no extra term.
Illustration (invented)
Cobalt Home Pvt. Ltd. registers a design for a ribbed ceramic planter in a class that, in the prescribed classification, also comprises other household containers. Six months later it wants the same ribbed pattern registered for a ceramic jar in the same class. Under sub-section (3), the Controller cannot refuse the jar application only because the pattern was previously registered for the planter, or only because the pattern has been published on the planter. But the jar's copyright will not outlast the planter's registration; the proviso says so.
A second invented case: Neel Crafts applies to register a woven basket design that is the same as one registered by Anand Weaves for a tray. While Neel's application is pending, Neel buys Anand's registration. Under sub-section (4), Neel is treated as if he had been the registered proprietor of the tray design when he applied, so sub-section (3) applies to him.
Need help choosing the class and articles?
A wrong class or a missing article can leave part of your product line unprotected. Our industrial design registration team can map your products to the prescribed class and prepare a single application covering the articles you need.
Key takeaways
- A design may be registered for any or all articles in a prescribed class; the class is set by the Rules.
- The Controller decides questions about the class within which an article falls, and his decision is final.
- A proprietor may register the same design for other articles in the same class without it being refused or invalidated on grounds of earlier registration or publication on the first article.
- The later registration cannot extend the period of copyright beyond the earlier one.
- An applicant who becomes proprietor of an earlier registration while his application is pending is treated as if he had been proprietor at the time of application.
Read next
- Section 5: application for registration of designs
- Sections 7 and 8: publication of registered design and substitution of applicant
- What can be registered as a design in India
- Design registration 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.