Design Renewal and Restoration Deadlines in India

Explainer · Designs · Last verified October 2026

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

A registered design is easy to forget. You file it, you get the certificate, and the next date that matters is ten years away. Then the date comes and goes, the design lapses, and anyone can copy it freely. This guide explains the renewal and restoration deadlines under the Designs Act, 2000: the initial term, the one extension, the one year restoration window on Form 4, and what each step costs. Last verified October 2026 against the Act and the IP India fee schedule.

01Why this deadline gets missed

Most IP owners watch trade mark renewals closely. Designs get less attention, and the gap between registration and the first deadline is long. In ten years, staff change, the original agent may close their practice, and the company may move or merge. The reminder simply never reaches anyone.

The cost of missing it is real. Once a design ceases to have effect, the exclusive right to apply the design to an article is gone. A competitor can copy the shape or pattern, and you cannot sue for infringement of a lapsed design.

The good news is that India gives you a second chance. The Designs Act, 2000 allows a lapsed design to be restored, but only inside a short window and only if you can show the failure was unintentional.

02How long a design lasts

Section 11 of the Designs Act, 2000 sets the term. The copyright in a registered design starts at registration and runs in two stages.

• Initial term: 10 years from the date of registration.
• Extension: one further period of 5 years, if you apply to the Controller before the first 10 years end.
• Maximum: 15 years in total. There is no second extension.

Note that the word "renewal" is a common name, not the statutory one. The Act speaks of "extension of the period of copyright". When you search IP India forms, look for the extension application, not a renewal form.

A design can be extended once, for 5 years. After 15 years it enters the public domain, whatever you do.

After the full term, the design is free for everyone to use. Any further protection has to come from other rights, for example trade mark or copyright in an artistic work, and those have their own rules.

03Renewal: the extension on Form 3

To keep the design alive for the extra 5 years, the proprietor files an application with the Controller of Designs on Form 3, with the prescribed fee, before the initial 10 year term ends. This is done under section 11(2).

The fee is per design, not per class

The extension fee is charged for each registered design. It does not depend on the Locarno class. If you hold five registered designs, you file five Form 3 applications and pay five fees, even if all five sit in the same class. Equally, one class does not give you a bulk discount.

This matters for budgeting. A portfolio of 40 designs reaching year 10 across the same quarter means 40 separate applications. Group your due dates early so nothing is left to the last week.

When to file

File well before the tenth anniversary of registration. Do not wait for the last day. A portal problem, a payment failure, or a defect in the form can push you past the date, and then you are into restoration, which is slower and costs more.

Who can file

The registered proprietor, or an agent or legal representative on their behalf. If ownership has changed, make sure the assignment is recorded first so the application comes from the right person.

04Restoration: Form 4 within one year

If you did not pay the extension fee and the design has ceased to have effect, section 12 of the Designs Act, 2000 lets you apply for restoration. The proprietor or their legal representative must apply within one year from the date the design ceased to have effect. The application is made on Form 4.

What the Controller looks at

The Controller must be satisfied of two things:

• The failure to pay the extension fee was unintentional.
• There was no undue delay in making the restoration application.

If both are met, the Controller restores the registration on payment of the unpaid extension fee together with the additional prescribed fee. You will usually need to explain what went wrong, for example a missed reminder or an agent change, and file a short statement or affidavit.

What to remember

• The one year window is a hard limit. Do not plan to use all of it. The longer you wait, the harder it is to show there was no undue delay.
• Restoration is not automatic. It is a decision of the Controller and can be refused.
• The Act also protects people who started using the design in good faith while it was lapsed. Restoration does not always reach back and make that earlier use infringing.

05What it costs

Fees below come from the IP India fee schedule under the Designs Rules. They are charged per design and are in Indian rupees. Confirm the current figure on the IP India fee page before you pay, as the schedule has been revised before.

Fee levels depend on the type of applicant. Natural persons, start-ups and small entities pay the lower rate, and larger companies pay the higher one. Official fees are paid to IP India and are separate from any professional fee.

06Step-by-step checklist

1. List every registered design with its registration date. Add 10 years to get the extension deadline.
2. Set reminders at 12 months, 6 months and 3 months before that date.
3. Decide whether the design is worth 5 more years. Not every design needs it. Products that have gone out of production may not.
4. File Form 3 with the fee, per design, well before the date.
5. If you miss it, count one year from the date of lapse and file Form 4 as soon as you notice, with a clear explanation of why the failure was unintentional.
6. Keep the receipt and the order in the design file, so the next owner can see the position.

07Common mistakes

• Treating the fee as per class. It is per design.
• Waiting for the last week. One failed payment can push you into restoration.
• Assuming a second extension exists. It does not. The ceiling is 15 years.
• Using the old agent’s address. Reminders go to the address on record. Update it when you change agents.
• Sitting on a lapsed design. The Controller must find there was no undue delay. Speed helps you.

Teams that manage designs alongside other IP often use a shared tool for this. See our guide to the best IP software for Indian law firms for how the options compare.

08Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

A lapsed or restored design often ends in a dispute over who copied what, and that fight is settled in court, not on the register. Claw lets you follow that side of the story. It tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, searches 30 crore+ judgments, and returns results in under 5 seconds, with Supreme Court judgments from 1950 and High Court judgments from 1990. So you can see how courts have treated design infringement and the effect of a lapse on enforcement.

Claw does not use customer documents to train AI models. Create a FREE Claw account to research how courts have handled design disputes and to track a live matter by party or advocate name. To search the wider body of law, see case search across Indian courts.

09Sources and further reading

Primary sources used for this page, last verified October 2026:

• Designs Act, 2000, section 12 (restoration of lapsed designs): Indian Kanoon
• Designs Act, 2000 (full text): WIPO Lex
• Forms, fees and the Controller of Designs: IP India, Designs
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This page is general information, not legal advice. Fees and forms can change, so confirm them on the IP India website before filing.

10Frequently asked questions