Piracy of registered design
Section 22 of the Designs Act, 2000 deals with piracy of registered design. During the existence of copyright in any design it shall not be lawful for any person-- (a) for the purpose of sale to apply or cause to be applied to any article in any class of articles in which the design is registered, the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof, except with the li The Act came into force on 11 May 2001.
(1) During the existence of copyright in any design it shall not be lawful for any person--
(a) for the purpose of sale to apply or cause to be applied to any article in any class of articles in which the design is registered, the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof, except with the license or written consent of the registered proprietor, or to do anything with a view to enable the design to be so applied; or
(b) to import for the purposes of sale, without the consent of the registered proprietor, any article belonging to the class in which the design has been registered, and having applied to it the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof; or
(c) knowing that the design or any fraudulent or obvious imitation thereof has been applied to any article in any class of articles in which the design is registered without the consent of the registered proprietor, to publish or expose or cause to be published or exposed for sale that article.
(2) If any person acts in contravention of this section, he shall be liable for every contravention--
(a) to pay to the registered proprietor of the design a sum not exceeding twenty-five thousand rupees recoverable as a contract debt, or
(b) if the proprietor elects to bring a suit for the recovery of damages for any such contravention, and for an injunction against the repetition thereof, to pay such damages as may be awarded and to be restrained by injunction accordingly:
Provided that the total sum recoverable in respect of any one design under clause (a) shall not exceed fifty thousand rupees:
Provided further that no suit or any other proceeding for relief under this sub-section shall be instituted in any court below the court of District Judge.
(3) In any suit or any other proceeding for relief under sub-section (2), ever ground on which the registration of a design may be cancelled under section 19 shall be available as a ground of defence.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the second proviso to sub-section (2), where any ground or which the registration of a design may be cancelled under section 19 has been availed of as a ground of defence under sub-section (3) in any suit or other proceeding for relief under sub-section (2), the suit or such other proceedings shall be transferred by the Court, in which the suit or such other proceeding is pending, to the High Court for decision.
(5) When the court makes a decree in a suit under sub-section (2), it shall send a copy of the decree to the Controller, who shall cause an entry thereof to be made in the register of designs.
Section 22, The Designs Act, 2000 (Act 16 of 2000).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Greenchef Appliances Ltd. v. Mercury Appliances India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Final Order order-1.pdf 2021-03-18 DATE VERIFIED (brief stale-warning was false; body is 18 Mar 2021 S.R. Krishna Kumar J. MFA 4026/2020 IPR). Isolate: a Designs Act s.22 piracy suit by one registered proprietor against another is maintainable; a composite infringement+passing-off suit is maintainable (Mohan Lal FB partly overruled by Carlsberg); s.5(6) registration relates back to the application date so 31.10.2017 filing beats a later 12.07.2018 rival application. Temporary injunction on mixer-grinder design 298988. Map 22 only — do not pad 5.
On this section: Designs Act s.22 piracy suit by one registered proprietor against another is maintainable; composite infringement+passing off is maintainable after Carlsberg overruled Mohan Lal; registration relates back to the application date (Greenchef mixer-grinder 298988).
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 22
What have the courts held on Section 22 of the Designs Act?
Greenchef Appliances Ltd. v. Mercury Appliances India (18 Mar 2021) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Designs Act s.22 piracy suit by one registered proprietor against another is maintainable; composite infringement+passing off is maintainable after Carlsberg overruled Mohan Lal; registration relates back to the application date (Greenchef mixer-grinder 298988).
How do I find court cases under Section 22 of the Designs Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Designs Act 2000 22, section 22 Designs Act 2000, section 22 of the Designs Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Greenchef Appliances Ltd. v. Mercury Appliances India (18 Mar 2021).
What should I read with Section 22 of the Designs Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 19 (Cancellation of registration), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When did Section 22 of the Designs Act come into force?
Section 22 of the Designs Act, cited as Designs Act 2000 22, came into force on 11 May 2001, having been enacted on 25 May 2000. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 47. Power of Central Government to make rules897 words
- 44. Reciprocal arrangement with the United Kingdom and other convention countries or group of countries of inter-governmental organisations538 words
- 42. Avoidance of certain restrictive conditions521 words
- 30. Entry of assignment and transmissions in registers474 words
- 8. Power of Controller to make orders regarding substitution of application, etc464 words
- 2. Definitions458 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.