Design Infringement: The “Judged by the Eye” Standard and Strategy
· In industrial design law, the ultimate arbiter of truth is not the engineer or the patent agent. It is the eye of the observer.
March 10, 2026
· In industrial design law, the ultimate arbiter of truth is not the engineer or the patent agent. It is the eye of the observer.
Design protection in India is built on a rigid principle of absolute novelty. Any public disclosure before filing normally destroys the registrability of a design.
Partial design protection represents a structural shift in Indian industrial design strategy. For decades, Indian design law functioned on a principle of visual entirety. The
User interfaces are no longer cosmetic layers of software. They are commercial assets that drive adoption, retention, and platform valuation. In Indian and international practice,
Trademark registration in India is not a conclusive determination of validity. It is a provisional entry that remains open to challenge for its entire life.