Navigating The Trademark And Design Overlap In India

In today's globalized economy, Intellectual property (IP) emerges as the cornerstone of innovation and serves as the bedrock for business owners to enjoy exclusive rights to the ownership as well as the economic benefits arising out of their unique creations. There are several types of intellectual property inter alia design, copyright, trademark, geographical indications, patents and trade secrets, etc. For the purpose of this article, focus will be placed on Trademarks and Designs.

With the wide scope of IP protection offered in India, there arise several overlaps that exists in the present Intellectual Property Right regime. The issue of overlapping arises when the innovator who tries to hold IP rights in multiple regimes and/ or tries to assert his/ her rights under more than one regime. Such disputes include overlap between copyright and design (in respect of artworks such as Images or 3D or 2D renderings having an artistic quality which are also capable of