Explain the classification of Industrial Designs and design registration trends in India.
Answer:-
CLASSIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
- Designs are registered in different classes as per the Locarno Agreement, 1968; https://www.wipo.int/classifications/locarno/loc pub/en/fr/).
- It is used to classify goods for the registration of Industrial Designs as well as for Design searches.
- The signatory parties have to indicate these classes in the official documents too. The classification comprises a list of classes and subclasses with a list of goods that constitute Industrial Designs.
- There are 32 classes and 237 subclasses that can be searched in two languages i.e. English and French.
- For example, Class 1 includes foodstuff for human beings, foodstuffs for animals and dietetic foods excluding packages because they are classified under Class 9 (Bottles, Flasks, Pots, Carboys, Demijohns, and Pressurized Containers). Class 32 classifies the Design of graphic symbols and logos, surface patterns, and ornamentation.
DESIGNS REGISTRATION TRENDS IN INDIA
- The below figure represents the statistics for Industrial Designs (filed, examined and registered) for the period 2010-20.
- During this period, an increase of 88%, 117% and 33% was observed in the parameters of Designs filed, examined and registered, respectively.
- In all three parameters, the graph depicts a similar pattern (more or less) with the highest numbers observed in 2019-20 for Designs filed (12,268), examined (13,644) and registered (14,272)
