Piracy of design refers to the situation wherein the registered design or its imitation is applied to any other article belonging to class of articles in which the design has been registered without the consent of the owner.
Design registration provides an exclusive right of acquisition, reproduction, distribution, or performance of a creative work to the holder. Design registration is granted only when the design is unique and original. Piracy or infringement of design occurs when without the consent of the holder any third person undertakes any of activities stated above. Further, imitation of the design is also considered as piracy. As per design Act 2000 following activities amount to the piracy of designs-
- To publish or to have it published or expose for sale any article of the class in question on which either the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation has been applied.
- To either apply or cause to apply the design that is registered to any class of goods covered by the registration, the design or any imitation of it.
- To import for the purpose of sale any article belonging to the class in which the design has been registered and to which the design or a fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof has been applied.
Every registered person is empowered to file a suit in the district court to claim the damages against any person involved in the piracy of designs.
