Design right provides owner with exclusive rights: Lowyer

Mumbai, Feb 25 (UNI) A design right gives the owner an exclusive right against copying or imitation of the design by third parties, Intellectual Property Lawyer Poorvi Chothani said today.

Addressing a seminar on ''Intellectual Property Rights and Fashion'' at Indian Merchants Chamber, here she said protecting industrial designs helps economic development by encouraging creativity in the industrial and manufacturing sectors as well as traditional arts and crafts.

''Intellectual property is classified into patents, industrial designs, trademarks, copyright, geographical indications, Layout designs of integrated circuits, and protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets,''she informed.

Speaking on the occasion Archana Kochchar, a fashion designer for the past 12 years said, ''Some relevant legislations are The Patents Act 1970, The Copyright Act 1957, The Trademark Act 1999 and The Designs Act 2000, to name a few. The trademark to be registered should not be deceptively similar to an existing mark of another person and not be expressly prohibited under the act.'' ''A trademark should be distinctive, capable of graphical representation, capable of distinguishing the goods or services as originating from a particular source from that of other similar goods and that mark. It should not be functional in nature,'' Ms Kochchar said.

''A trademark may consist of one or a combination of the following like: a stylised word, invented work or logo, signature, device, letter, numerical, brand, heading , label, name written in a particular style, or Trade Dress-the 1999 amendment also protects shape of goods and combination of colour,'' Ms Chothani said.

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