Registered user 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.
Once a licensee is on the register, the Act gives the Registrar four tools and the licensee a few rights and limits. Section 26 lists who can ask to cancel a registered user and on what grounds. Section 27 lets the Registrar demand confirmation within one month that the licence agreement is still in force. Section 28 lets a registered user complain to the criminal court for infringement. Section 29 says a registered user has no assignable right, with two Explanations on firms.
This article reflects the Act as amended up to 3 October 2026 (the Act has not been amended since it was enacted in 2000). Check sicldr.gov.in for later notifications. Sections 26 to 29 have been in force since 1 May 2011. A dispute with a licensee, or a challenge to one, is a matter for legal dispute resolution advice from the start.
The Registrar may cancel a registered user on a written application by the proprietor or any registered user, on four grounds put by any person, on his own motion if topographical dimension stipulations are not enforced or complied with, or if the layout-design is no longer registered. He may require the proprietor to confirm within one month that the agreement remains in force; if not, the user ceases the next day. A registered user may complain before the competent criminal court in his own name. A registered user has no assignable or transmissible right.
Section 26(1): who can seek cancellation, and why
Section 26(1) begins "Without prejudice to the provisions of section 30" (rectification), so cancellation under section 26 does not displace the rectification route.
| Clause | Who may apply or act | Ground or condition |
|---|---|---|
| 26(1)(a) | The registered proprietor, the registered user or any other registered user, by written application | No ground is stated: the Registrar "may" cancel |
| 26(1)(b)(i) | Any person, by written application | The registered user has used the layout-design otherwise than in accordance with the agreement under section 25(1)(a) |
| 26(1)(b)(ii) | Any person | The proprietor or the registered user misrepresented, or failed to disclose, some fact material to the application, which if accurately represented or disclosed would not have justified the registration |
| 26(1)(b)(iii) | Any person | Circumstances have changed since registration so that, at the date of the cancellation application, they would not have justified registration |
| 26(1)(b)(iv) | Any person | The registration ought not to have been effected having regard to a right vested in the applicant by virtue of a contract in the performance of which he is interested |
| 26(1)(c) | The Registrar on his own motion, or any person on written application | A stipulation in the agreement regarding the topographical dimensions of the layout-design is either not being enforced or not being complied with |
| 26(1)(d) | The Registrar | The layout-design is no longer registered |
Clause (c) is unusual. The Act does not define "topographical dimensions"; it simply makes a stipulation about them in the licence agreement a ground. A licence that sets out dimension limits for the layout should therefore be written clearly enough to be enforced, because non-enforcement can lead to cancellation.
Section 26(2) and (3): notice and procedure
The Registrar "shall issue notice in the prescribed manner in respect of every application under this section to the registered proprietor and each registered user (not being the applicant)". The procedure for cancelling is as prescribed. There is a proviso: "before cancelling of registration, the registered proprietor shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard". The Rules on the cancellation procedure are explained in Rules 59 to 62.
Section 27: confirmation within one month
Section 27(1): "at any time during the continuance of the registration of the registered user", the Registrar may by notice in writing require the registered proprietor "to confirm to him within one month that the agreement filed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 25 continues to be in force".
Section 27(2): if the proprietor fails to furnish the confirmation within one month, "the registered user shall cease to be the registered user on the day immediately after the expiry of said period and the Registrar shall notify the same". The effect is automatic. A proprietor who receives such a notice must reply inside the month, because a missed reply removes the user from the register.
Section 28: the registered user's complaint
"Subject to any agreement subsisting between the parties, a registered user may make complaint before the competent criminal court for the infringement in his own name as if he were the registered proprietor."
Read with section 56 on punishment for infringement, the route is a criminal complaint. The section uses the word "complaint" and names a criminal court; it does not mention a civil suit. The Act does not name which court is competent. The proprietor and registered user can alter the position by agreement ("subject to any agreement subsisting"). See sections 56 to 59 for the offences and the complaint rules in section 64.
Section 29: no assignable or transmissible right
"Nothing in this Act shall confer on a registered user of a layout-design any assignable or transmissible right to the use thereof."
Explanation I: partnerships
The right is not deemed assigned or transmitted where (a) a registered user who is an individual enters into a partnership with another person for carrying on the business; the firm may use the layout-design only for so long as the registered user is a member of the firm; or (b) a registered user that is a firm changes its constitution; the reconstituted firm may use it only for so long as any partner of the original firm at the time of its registration continues to be a partner.
Explanation II: "firm"
For this purpose "firm" has the same meaning as in the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932). That is an older statute; check the current law on partnerships before relying on the reference.
A worked example
A Gujarat manufacturer, registered as the sole user of a registered layout, receives a notice from the Registrar asking the proprietor to confirm within one month that the agreement is still in force. The proprietor, a Delhi design house, has since ended the licence and does not reply. The manufacturer ceases to be a registered user on the day after the month ends. Had the manufacturer been a firm of two partners that later admitted a third, section 29 Explanation I(b) would let the reconstituted firm keep using the layout so long as one of the original partners remains a partner.
Need help with a registered user dispute?
Whether you need to cancel a licensee's registration or resist a cancellation application, our legal dispute resolution team can review the agreement, the grounds and the notice periods.
Key takeaways
- Cancellation is on written application or, in listed cases, by the Registrar.
- The four grounds in 26(1)(b) can be put by any person; clause (c) covers topographical dimension stipulations.
- The proprietor must be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before cancellation.
- Failure to confirm the agreement within one month ends the registered user's status the next day.
- A registered user may complain before the competent criminal court but cannot assign or transmit the right.
Read next
- Sections 24 and 25: registering a user
- Rules 59 to 62: cancellation procedure
- Sections 56 to 59: penalties
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.