Design Renewal —
Extend Your Protection
for 5 More Years
A registered industrial design in India is protected for an initial term of 10 years from the date of registration. Under Section 11 of the Designs Act, 2000, the proprietor can renew for a further period of 5 years — bringing total protection to 15 years. Miss the renewal deadline and the design lapses permanently, leaving your product's appearance unprotected. TaxClue files Form 3 renewals on time, manages design portfolios, and handles restoration of lapsed designs where possible.
Renew Your Registered Design
Form 3 filed within ✅ 3–5 working days
The 15-Year Design Protection Lifecycle
Understanding where your design sits in its protection timeline determines whether you need to renew now, urgently, or whether restoration is still possible.
Registration
Design registered. Certificate issued. Initial 10-year term begins from the date of registration.
Year 0Active Protection
Full exclusive rights in force. Infringers can be sued. Design appears on the public Register of Designs.
Years 1–10Renewal Window Opens
File Form 3 before the 10-year expiry date to extend protection for 5 more years. File early — no penalty for early renewal.
Year 9–10 ← Act NowRenewed — Extended
5-year extension granted. Protection runs to 15 years total from original registration date. Maximum term under Designs Act.
Years 10–15Lapse — No Renewal
If Form 3 not filed in time, design lapses. Competitors can copy freely. Restoration may be possible within 1 year — not guaranteed.
After Year 10 if not renewed3 Reasons Every Registered Design Owner Should Renew on Time
Maintain Your Exclusive Right to Sue
A registered design gives you the statutory right to seek an injunction and damages against any person who applies your registered design — or a fraudulent or obvious imitation — to any article without your permission. This right exists only while the design is in force. Once lapsed, that right is permanently gone — and competitors can copy the design freely without liability.
Section 22, Designs ActProtect Commercial and Licensing Value
A design registration is a commercially licensable IP asset. Manufacturers, importers, and distributors pay royalties to use registered designs — but only while the registration is in force. Licensing agreements, franchise deals, and distribution contracts that reference the design registration number become worthless on lapse. Keeping the design renewed protects the revenue stream tied to it.
IP Asset PreservationMaintain Investor & M&A Due Diligence Value
IP due diligence in acquisitions and funding rounds checks the status of every registered design. A lapsed design creates a gap in the IP portfolio — reducing valuation and raising red flags for investors. Consumer goods, electronics, fashion, and packaging companies whose product differentiation depends on design protection must maintain an unbroken chain of registration to present a clean IP ownership picture at due diligence.
IP Portfolio HygieneDesign Renewal Process — Form 3 in 4 Steps
Design renewal is simpler than initial registration — no examination, no representations required, no novelty challenge. It is an administrative filing that keeps the existing registration in force.
Registration Check
TaxClue confirms the current status of the design on the Patent Office Register — registration number, registered proprietor, registration date, and exact 10-year expiry date.
Day 1Form 3 Prepared
Form 3 (Application for Renewal of Registration of a Design) prepared with registration number, proprietor details, and applicant category. Govt. fee confirmed based on entity type.
Day 1–2Filed with Patent Office
Form 3 filed on the Patent Office e-filing portal with renewal fee paid. Filing confirmation and receipt obtained. Renewal is effective from the date of the expiring registration.
Day 2–5Register Updated
Patent Office updates the Register of Designs to reflect the renewal. Design protection confirmed for a further 5 years. Updated certificate or endorsement issued confirming renewed status.
2–6 weeksRenewing In-Force vs Restoring a Lapsed Design — Two Very Different Situations
✅ In-Force Renewal — File Before Expiry
⚠️ Lapsed Design — Restoration Under Rule 22
💰 Government Fees — Design Renewal (Form 3)
Renewal fees are modest compared to the cost of re-registration — which would require a new application, examination, and is not always possible if the design has been publicly known.
| Applicant Category | In-Force Renewal | Lapsed — Restoration Surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Individual / Startup | ₹2,000 | ₹2,000 + surcharge |
| Small Entity / MSME | ₹4,000 | ₹4,000 + surcharge |
| Large Entity / Company | ₹8,000 | ₹8,000 + surcharge |
* Govt. fee is per design. The surcharge for restoration of a lapsed design is specified under Rule 22 and the First Schedule of the Designs Rules, 2001 — confirm current surcharge amount with TaxClue at time of filing. TaxClue's professional fee is separate and quoted based on number of designs and complexity.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
The expiry date of a registered design in India is exactly 10 years from the date of registration as shown on the registration certificate. You can also check the status of any registered design on the Patent Office's public IP India Design Search portal at ipindiaonline.gov.in — searching by registration number shows the current status, registration date, and proprietor details. TaxClue can check the status of any registered design on your behalf and confirm whether renewal is due, overdue, or whether the design has lapsed and restoration is needed. If you have a portfolio of designs registered at different times, TaxClue can maintain a calendar of all expiry dates and send renewal reminders in advance.
Yes — the Designs Act and Rules do not restrict when during the 10-year term the renewal application can be filed. You can file Form 3 at any point before the expiry date, and the renewal will be effective from the date of expiry of the initial registration (not from the date of filing Form 3). TaxClue recommends filing renewal applications at least 3 to 6 months before the expiry date — this provides a comfortable buffer to address any administrative delays, payment issues, or portal problems that could otherwise cause the filing to miss the deadline. For design portfolios with staggered expiry dates, TaxClue files renewals on a rolling basis and maintains a deadline tracking system to ensure nothing lapses.
Yes — under Rule 22 of the Designs Rules, 2001, a lapsed design registration can be restored by filing a petition within 1 year of the date of lapse. The petition must show sufficient cause for the failure to renew on time. In practice, the Controller has some discretion in what constitutes sufficient cause — genuine administrative oversights, missed correspondence from the Patent Office, or errors by agents have been accepted. A surcharge in addition to the renewal fee is payable. Critically, during the period between lapse and restoration, any person who acted in good faith in a manner that would have constituted infringement (manufacturing or dealing in articles bearing the design) is not liable for those acts under Section 11(4) of the Designs Act — so restoration does not create liability for the lapse period. Contact TaxClue immediately — the 1-year restoration window is running.
Yes — ideally the change of ownership should be recorded with the Patent Office before the renewal is filed, so that the renewal is filed by the correct proprietor. Renewal filed in the name of the old proprietor (the acquired company) after an assignment could create questions about the validity of the renewal. TaxClue handles the sequence: (1) file Form 16 (application to record assignment) to update the Register of Designs to reflect the acquiring entity as the new proprietor, (2) then file Form 3 renewal in the acquirer's name. For M&A transactions involving design portfolios, TaxClue coordinates both steps simultaneously — assigning all designs and renewing any with imminent expiry dates as part of the post-acquisition IP clean-up process.
⚠️ Design Renewal Mistakes That Cost Registrations
These are the most common reasons registered designs lapse unnecessarily — all preventable with proper portfolio management:
- Missing the 10-year expiry date — no grace period, design lapses immediately and infringement protection ceases from that date
- Assuming the Patent Office will send a reminder — no statutory obligation to notify proprietors; the burden is entirely on the registered owner
- Not updating contact details with the Patent Office after moving premises — renewal reminders (if sent informally) go to old addresses
- Filing renewal in the name of the old proprietor after a company restructure or M&A without first recording the ownership change
- Letting a design lapse thinking the product is no longer commercially important — licensing opportunities or infringement claims may arise later when the design can no longer be enforced
- Waiting until the last week to file — portal technical issues, payment failures, or missing information can cause a last-minute filing to miss the deadline
- Missing the 1-year restoration window after lapse — after that, the design is permanently gone and cannot be re-registered (the design is now known and fails novelty)
Trusted by 10,000+ Clients Across India
4.9 / 5 average rating · Google Reviews · Verified clients
"TaxClue sent us a renewal reminder 4 months before our bottle design expired — we had completely lost track. They filed Form 3 within 3 days. Our product design is now protected for 5 more years with zero disruption. Brilliant portfolio management."
"We acquired a company with 12 registered designs. Three were expiring within 6 months. TaxClue recorded the ownership transfer for all 12, then filed the renewals for the three urgent ones — all before expiry. Clean IP from day one of the acquisition."
"Our furniture design lapsed 4 months ago — we had no idea the renewal was due. TaxClue filed the Rule 22 restoration petition immediately with a strong cause affidavit. Restoration granted. We came very close to permanently losing 8 years of brand recognition."
"TaxClue handles all our IP — trademark renewals, design renewals, and patent maintenance. Having one team track everything means nothing falls through the cracks. Our IP portfolio has had zero lapses in 4 years of working with them."
"We registered our consumer electronics design 9 years ago and nearly forgot to renew. TaxClue caught it during an annual review, filed Form 3 with 2 months to spare. The competitor who had been watching our design for years got nothing."
"Registered our Pvt. Ltd., trademarked our brand, registered our product design — and TaxClue still manages all the renewals. Our Series A investors specifically noted the clean, continuously maintained IP portfolio during due diligence. Invaluable service."
Protect Your Full Design & IP Portfolio
A Lapsed Design Cannot Be Un-Lapsed After 1 Year — Renew Before It's Too Late
There are no reminders from the Patent Office. No grace period on expiry. No second chances after the 1-year restoration window closes. TaxClue tracks design expiry dates, files Form 3 on time, and handles lapsed design restoration urgently when the window is still open.
🔒 Confidential · 4.9★ · Form 3 · In-Force & Lapsed · Rule 22 Restoration · Portfolio Batching · M&A Transfers