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Module 5 : Industrial Design , Geographical Indications, Case Studies on Patents.

Industrial Design
1. What is an Industrial Design? What is the objective of registration of industrial Designs?
The word Design‘ is defined as the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition
of lines or colours applied to any article. The Design may be of any dimension i.e. one or two or three
dimensional or a combination of these

It may be created by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical,
separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and is judged solely by the eye.

The main object of registration of industrial Designs is to protect and incentivize the original
creativity of the originator and encourage others to work towards the art of creativity.

2 Eligibility Criteria of industrial Designs registration

 The Design for which the protection is being sought must be novel or original
 The Design should be significantly distinguishable from the already registered Designs existing in
the public domain.

3 Explain Non-Protectable Industrial Designs in India

Any Industrial Design which is against public moral values.
 Industrial Designs including flags, emblems or signs of any country.
 Industrial Designs of integrated circuits.
 Any Design describing the process of making of an article‘
 Industrial Designs of books, calendars, certificates, forms and other documents, dressmaking
patterns, greeting cards, leaflets, maps and plan cards, postcards, stamps, medals.

The artistic work defined under Section 2(c) of the Copyright Act, 1957 is not a subject matter for registration
for Industrial Designs, such as:
 Paintings, sculptures, drawings including a diagram, map, chart or plan.
 Photographs and work of architecture.
 Any other work related to artistic craftsmanship.
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4 Explain the Procedure for Registration of Industrial Designs.

1 Prior Art Search : Before filing an application for registration of Industrial Designs, it is prudent
to ensure that the same or similar Design has not been registered earlier
2 Application for Registration : he can proceed with filing an application for Design registration.
The application for registration of Design can be filed by an individual, small entity, institution,
organization and
industry.
3 After the application has been filed, an officer (examiner) analyses the application for qualifying
the minimum standards laid down for eligibility criteria for registration. In case of any query, the
same is sent to the applicant and he is supposed to respond within 6 months from the objection
raised. Once the objections are removed, the application is accepted for registration.
4 The particulars of the application, along with the representation of the article, are published in the
Official Journal of Patent Office
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5 If no objection is received from the public, the Design is registered. After the registration of the
Design, the applicant becomes the proprietor of the Design and is conferred with the exclusive right
to apply that Design to the article belonging to the class in which it is registered.

5 Explain Duration of the Registration of a Design

Initially, the Design registration is valid for ten years from the date of registration. In the case wherein
the priority date has been claimed, the duration of the registration is counted from the priority date. The period
of registration may be extended further for five years. An application has to be made in Form-3 accompanied
by prescribed fees to the Controller General before the expiry of the said initial period of ten years.

6 Explain Cancellation of the Registered Design

The registration of a Design may be cancelled at any time. The petition has to be filed in Form-8 with
prescribed fee to the Controller of Designs. The application can be made on the following grounds:
 Design has already been registered.
 Design has been published in India or elsewhere before the date of registration.
 Design is not novel and original.
 It is not a Design under Clause (d) of Section 2.

Geographical Indication
1 Explain Geographical Indications and list out some Registered GI in India.
A GI is defined as a sign which can be used on products belonging to a particular geographical
location/region and possesses qualities or a reputation associated with that region. In GI, there is a strong link
between the product and its original place of production.
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2 Explain the Procedure for GI Registration

1 prior search for registered GI.
2 the applicant has to file an application.
3 The application should be duly signed by the applicant or his agent with all the details about the GI that how
its standard will be maintained. The submission of three certified copies of the map of the region where
the GI belongs is mandatory.
4 the Examiner will scrutinize the application for any deficiencies or similarities. If the examiner finds any
discrepancy, he will communicate the same to the applicant, which is to be replied within one month of the
communication of the discrepancy.
5 the application is scrutinized. If need be, the applicant is asked to clear any doubts/objections within two
months of the communication otherwise, the application will be rejected.
6 After getting a green signal from the Registrar, the application is published in the official Geographical
Indication Journal (http://www.ipindia.nic.in/journal-gi.htm) for seeking any objections to the claims
mentioned in the application. The objections have to be filed within four months of the publication.
7 If no opposition is received, the GI gets registered by allotting the filing date as the registration date.
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3 Explain Collective or Certification Marks

Certification marks aim to certify the products comply with specific quality standards
irrespective of their origin. These standards include permitted materials and manufacturing methods.
Therefore, the purpose of certification marks is to distinguish certified goods from non-certified
ones. Collective marks are owned
by associations ensuring compliance with the agreed standards. Collective marks signify that a good
or service originates from a member of a particular association. The Collective mark is used by
cooperating enterprises that have agreed to comply with defined quality standards for goods or
services that share common
characteristics.

4 Explain Identification of Registered GI.

Registered GI products are granted a tag, which is printed on the registered products. The tag
confirms the genuineness of the product in terms of its production (by set standards) and location of
production. Non-registered GI products cannot use/exploit this tag. GI tags represent the place of
origin (of the product)
along with cultural and/or historical identity e.g. Darjeeling Tea, Mysore Silk, Tirupathi Laddu, etc.
GI registered products can be grown/produced in any part of the world using standards laid
down by the GI Registry. However, these products cannot be labelled as GI as they are not produced/
manufactured in a specific geographical location, as mentioned in the official records maintained by
the GI Office of GI.
5 Explain Non-Registerable GI
which prohibits registration of a GI mentioned below:
 The use of which would be likely to deceive or cause confusion.
 The use of which would be contrary to any law.
 Which comprises or contains scandalous or obscene matter.
 Which comprises or contains any matter likely to hurt the sentiments of society.
 Religious susceptibilities of any class or section of the citizens of India.
 Which are determined to be generic names or indications of goods and are, therefore, not or
ceased to be protected in their country of origin or which have fallen into disuse in that
country.
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Case Study
1 Neem Patent
The Neem tree and its therapeutic benefits have been discussed in ancient Indian Ayurvedic
texts dating back to 5000 BC and it is used till date as bio pesticide and medicine. In India, in
addition to being utilised for germicidal purposes and pesticides, this tree is also used to wash teeth.
From its root to the crown, the tree is considered legendary.

W.R. Grace and the US Department of Agriculture initially submitted the request for issuing a patent
for neem to the European Patent Office for a neem oil mixed fungicide for the "method of controlling
fungi on plants." This patent was granted in the year 1995.

In the same year, the three organisations the International Federation of Organic Agriculture
Movements (IFOAM), based in Germany, the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and
Ecology, Delhi, and the Green Party in the European Parliament, Brussels filed a legal opposition
against the grant of this patent at the European Patent Office (EPO). The primary argument in
opposition was that the fungicidal properties of hydrophobic extracts of neem seeds had been widely
known and utilised in India for centuries, both in Ayurvedic medicine to treat dermatological
conditions and in traditional Indian agriculture to prevent fungal infections from destroying crops.
Since this traditional Indian knowledge had actually been known to Indians for a very long time, the
patentee's argument for novelty had been refuted by the evidenced prior public use. The second
argument made was that the patent violated "morality" because the so-called inventors sought to
monopolise ownership of a technique that is a part of Indian traditional knowledge. The Neem patent
became the first instance where US and the European patents were accused of being infringed upon
through biopiracy. In 2005, the European Patent Office (EPO) cancelled the aforementioned
contested patent.
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2 Curcuma (Turmeric) Patent

Turmeric is widely used in India as a medicine, a food ingredient and a dye to name a few of its uses.
In 1995, the United States awarded patent on turmeric to University of Mississippi medical centre for wound
healing property. The claimed subject matter was the use of turmeric powder for wound healing. The Indian
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) had objected to the patent granted. Due to extensive
researches, 32 references were located in different languages namely Sanskrit, Urdu and Hindi on the
traditional use of turmeric. After a legal battle the patent was revoked, stating that the claims made in the
patent were obvious and anticipated, and agreeing that the use of turmeric was an old art of healing
wounds. The Traditional Knowledge that belonged to India was safeguarded in Turmeric case. This paper is a
brief review on the turmeric patent, the legal battle and final revocation of the patent. Implications of the
legal victory in the turmeric patent case and the safeguarding of the traditional knowledge are discussed

3 Case study of Basmati patent

In the late 1997, when an American company RiceTec Inc was granted a patent by the US
patent office to call the aromatic rice grown outside India "Basmati", India objected to it. India has
been one of the major exporters of Basmati to several countries and such a grant by the US patent
office was likely to affect its trade. Since Basmati rice is traditionally grown in India and Pakistan, it
was opined that granting patent to RiceTec violated the Geographical Indications Act under the
TRIPS agreement. A geographical indication (sometimes abbreviated to GI) is a name or sign used
on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (eg. a town,
region, or country). The use of a GI may act as a certification that the product possesses certain
qualities, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin. RiceTec's usage of the name
Basmati for rice which was derived from Indian rice but not grown in India, and hence not of the
same quality as Basmati, would have lead to the violation of the concept of GI and would have been
a deception to the consumers.

Intellectual Property law now considers this a very important arena which seeks to preserve the
varieties in their natural habitat and let the geographical area where it is traditionally and originally
grown have certain special rights over it. This paper is an attempt to understand the impact and
importance of such patents and appreciate the law regarding the same in the light of the Basmati
Case.
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1 Explain Different IP Organizations In India

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2 Explain Schemes and Programmes

IP Consultancies: Academia/R&D institutes and industries are at the forefront of knowledge
creation and scientific activities
Technology Landscaping: helps stakeholders in technology landscaping analysis in which it helps to
understand the market evaluation of a particular technology as well as the latest developments
involving such technology.
Programme for Inspiring Inventors and Innovators
 Promotion & Propagation of Inventions and Innovations.
 Prize Award to Meritorious Inventions and open-source
 Technologies.
 Innovate India Conference.
 Intellectual Property & Innovation Facilitation
 Intellectual Property and Technology Facilitation Centre(IPFC).
 NRDC-University Facilitation Innovation Centers.
 Patent Seminars, Patent Search.
 On-Line IPR & Knowledge Management Courseware for Certificate Programme.
 Technology Knowledge Management Programme

Programme for Development of Technology Inspiring for Commercialization:

 Technology Value Addition.
 Basic Engineering Design Package.
 Market Survey on assigned technologies.
 Development Projects and value addition for priority projects.
 Promotion of Innovation in Rural & North East Region.
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