COPYRIGHT

VS.
DESIGN RIGHT
OVERLAPPING OF COPYRIGHT
AND DESIGN RIGHT

WHAT DOES COPYRIGHT PROTECT?

The overall object of the Copyright law is to
protect:
ORIGINAL WORK : literary , artistic,
dramatic or musical works
DERIVATIVE WORK : based or derived from
pre-existent original work i.e. films,
photographs,
translations,
editions,
adaptations etc.
OTHERS : typographical arrangements,
sound recordings, broadcasts, performances

TERM OF PROTECTION UNDER

COPYRIGHT
The term of Copyright is one of the longest.
The author or the creator enjoys a monopoly
for the lifetime plus an additional period of
60years.

Hence,

the

standard

Copyright

duration is the lifetime of the creator plus

60years.

WHAT IS PROTECTED UNDER

DESIGN LAWS?
Design laws protect the features of shape,
configuration,

pattern

or

ornament

or

composition of lines or colors applied to any

article whether in 2D or 3D or in both forms by
industrial process or means, whether manual,
mechanical or chemical, separate or combined
which in the finished form appeal to and judged
solely by the eye.

THE DESIGN RIGHTS APPLY TO: Appearance of whole product or part of the
product i.e. industrially reproduced.
To the external features only that is judged
solely by the eye.
Design
er
Pen

Designer Shoes

COPYRIGHT IN DESIGNS ACT AND

COPYRIGHT ACT
The term Copyright in Sec 2(c) of the Design Act
to mean exclusive right to apply a design to any
article in any class in which design is registered.
However, Copyright is Sec 14 of the Copyright
Act is defined to mean an exclusive right to
authorize the doing of any of the acts prescribed
there in.
Therefore, the expression Copyright has a
different meaning and connotation in both
Intellectual Property related enactments.

OVERLAPPING OF COPYRIGHT &

DESIGN RIGHT
Though, the concepts are quite different but can
overlap each other when a particular design(i.e.
artistic in nature) is a subject matter of Design
protection but there is also a possibility of
Copyright protection for the same design as
well.
Thus, registration of a design, i.e. artistic in
nature, is the area where overlapping exists.
There will be works that are protectable under
both Copyright law as well as Design law.

SECTION 15(2) OF COPYRIGHT ACT,1957

Section 15(2) :- Copyright in any design which
is capable of being registered under the
Designs Act but which has not so been
registered, shall cease as soon as any article to
which the design has been applied has been
reproduced more than fifty times by an
industrial process by the owner of the
Copyright, or, with his license, by any other
person.

Thus : Copyright does not reside in design

registered under the Designs Act.
Design capable of being registered, but
which has not been so registered
enjoys copyright protection.
Copyright shall cease as soon as any
article has been reproduced by
application of the design by an
industrial process for more than fifty
times.

SAMSONITE Corp. Vs. VIJAY SALES

The suit was filed in
Delhi High Court in 1998.

The plaintiff instituted the

suit against the defendant
stating that the defendants
infringed their Copyright
in the drawings.
The travel case was a three
dimensional representation

SAMSONITE Corp. Vs. VIJAY SALES

The honble High Court of Delhi held that
Where the design is likely to be used for
industrial production, i.e. more than fifty
articles will be produced of the same design
through an Industrial process, Copyright
protection under the Copyright Act cannot be
claimed.

CONCLUSION
The type of protection chosen for the
protection of rights in a design is a delicate
issue which if not considered properly would
let the owner regret later on.