The Indian market is filled with counterfeit (brand logo and label) and knockoff (design) products which are copies of original fashion designs. The various laws under the IPR regime which protect these designs are:
1. DESIGNS ACT,2003
A design to be registered within the ambit of Sec 2(d) of the Act has to satisfy certain conditions such as:
1. Originality
2. No public disclosure in any part of the world in a tangible form prior to filling for registration (Trademark Registration in Delhi).
3. Distinguishable or combination of known designs
4. No scandalous or obscene matter.
To entail protection under the Act it is essential to get particular aspects of shape, patter, colour etc. of the garment registered at the earliest as the Act does not protect the garment as a whole. The proprietor post registration under the various available categories would gain copyright over the design which would allow exclusive right to apply the design on any article in any class wherein it is registered.
The registered design will gain protection from piracy for 10+5 years. However the current framework confers no protection upon unregistered designs and the actual process of registration is very time consuming which generally discourages the designers from undergoing the whole process. In addition to that the damages involved are very minimal, which is a mockery of the whole process as such.