Indian Design Registration Trends 2024: What Businesses Need to Know – I

India is rapidly establishing itself as a design-driven economy, with design playing a pivotal role in product differentiation, user experience, and brand recognition. As per the Indian Patent Office Annual Report, over 30,000 design applications were filed in 2023-24, a 14% increase from the previous year. This reflects a shift in how businesses perceive and prioritize visual innovation.

Impact: Companies across sectors are investing in design registration to secure competitive advantage.

Implication: Ignoring industrial design rights in 2025 could expose businesses to market dilution, copycat products, and legal disputes.

What is Design Registration in India and Importance of Design Registration

Under the Designs Act, 2000, design registration protects the visual appearance of a product that is novel in terms of its shape, configuration, pattern, or ornamentation. It forms an essential component of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) strategy for product-based companies.

Industrial design registration provides legal protection against unauthorized copying or imitation, enabling manufacturers to safeguard their unique product designs.

A registered design offers several strategic benefits:

• Competitive Edge – It allows businesses to differentiate their products in the market, strengthening brand recognition.
• Enhanced Market Value – Registered designs are intangible assets that can increase business valuation and be leveraged for funding and investment opportunities.
• Consumer Trust – Registration assures consumers of the product’s authenticity and originality, thereby fostering brand loyalty.
• Revenue Generation – Manufacturers can license or assign registered designs, creating new revenue streams through royalties.

In essence, design registration not only protects creative product aesthetics but also acts as a strategic business tool for growth, differentiation, and long-term value creation.

Design Registration Trends in India (2024-25)

The landscape of industrial design protection in India has undergone significant transformation in recent years, marked by robust growth in design registrations and enhanced digital infrastructure. The Indian Intellectual Property Office’s initiatives and strategic reforms have catalyzed this growth, positioning India as a significant player in the global design protection ecosystem. Simultaneously, the global design protection framework received a major boost with the adoption of the Design Law Treaty (DLT) in November 2024, promising to harmonize and streamline international design registration processes. This comprehensive analysis explores both developments and their implications for designers, innovators, and businesses.

India has experienced remarkable growth in intellectual property filings over the past five years, with designs showing the second-highest growth rate at 266%. This surge is part of a broader 44% overall increase in IP filings, rising from 477,533 in 2020-21 to 689,991 in 2024–25.

Indian Design Registration Trends: A Growth Story

Record-Breaking Performance in 2023-24

India’s design registration ecosystem demonstrated remarkable vitality in the 2023-24 fiscal year, with statistics revealing unprecedented growth across multiple metrics. The Indian Intellectual Property Office reported a substantial 33.88% increase in design applications. This surge represents not just numerical growth but indicates a maturing, innovative ecosystem where protection of functional designs combined with aesthetic appeal is increasingly valued.

The registration numbers paint an equally impressive picture. This acceleration in processing reflects both increased efficiency in the Indian Design Office and growing demand from domestic and international applicants.

Domestic Dominance with Global Interest

A striking feature of India’s design landscape is the overwhelming dominance of domestic applicants, who accounted for approximately 87% of all design filings in 2023-24. Of the total 30,670 registered designs, 25,911 were of Indian origin while 4,759 came from foreign applicants. This domestic strength suggests robust indigenous innovation capacity and growing awareness of intellectual property protection among Indian businesses.

Geographic Distribution and Industry Leaders

The geographic distribution of design applications reveals concentrated innovation hubs:

Top Filing States:

• Maharashtra: Leading with 5,230 filings and 5,108 registrations
• Tamil Nadu: Contributing 3,261 filings and 2,814 registrations
• Delhi: Recording 3,088 filings and 3,123 registrations

This distribution underscores the role of industrial centers and metropolitan areas as design innovation powerhouses, while also highlighting potential opportunities for expansion into tier-II and tier-III cities.

International Participation

Foreign interest in India’s design protection system remains robust, with the United States leading international filings at 1,137 applications, followed by Germany (362) and China (301). 

Sectoral Analysis

Design Classification Trends

The classification analysis reveals distinct patterns between domestic and international applicants. For Indian applicants, maximum number of design applications were filed under class 02 (Articles of clothing & haberdashery); whereas for foreign applicants, maximum number of design applications were filed under class 12 (Means of transport or hoisting) and class 24 (Medical and Laboratory Equipment). 

This divergence reflects different strategic priorities, with Indian applicants focusing heavily on textile and fashion design, while foreign applicants emphasize transportation and medical equipment sectors.

Administrative Reforms and Process Improvements

Digital Transformation

The Indian Design Office has implemented comprehensive digital reforms that have significantly improved the registration process. E-filing facility for new and amended design applications was upgraded to facilitate better functioning, and Examination pendency reduced to just one month from filing.

Start-up Ecosystem Support

The Start-Ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) scheme has shown measurable impact. By March 2024: 657 facilitators were registered under SIPP to assist innovators with IP protection. However, with over 150,000 DPIIT-recognized start-ups in India, there remains significant potential for expansion.

Electronic Infrastructure

Modern digital infrastructure has been established including Upgraded e-filing facility for new and amended applications, electronic systems for priority document submission via WIPO-DAS, implementation of video conference-based hearings, introduction of e-certificates and online e-register of designs etc. 

Examination and Disposal Trends

During the year 2023-2024, total 29,635 design applications were examined, out of which 14,017 applications received First Examination Reports (FER). Number of designs registered during this year was 30, 670 and 1,407 applications were refused. The number of applications abandoned was 854. The refusal rate remaining below 5% indicates a healthy application quality, though the combined refusal and abandonment rate suggests scope for applicant education and support.

Renewal and Extension Patterns

2,584 applications were filed for copyright extension; 958 designs were successfully renewed. Seemingly, the comparatively low rate of processing of extension requests may be indiacative that there possibly remains opportunities for streamlining back-end operations.

Brand Differentiation: 

Brand differentiation has become a major driver of design registration trends in India. Companies now recognize that design is brand identity, and registering designs protects them from imitation, sustains market uniqueness, and strengthens consumer loyalty. This is why design registrations in India are witnessing a clear shift towards consumer-facing, lifestyle, and D2C products—directly linked to branding strategies.

Especially with the rise of D2C and lifestyle brands in India, businesses are increasingly relying on unique product aesthetics (shape, surface patterns, packaging, UI/UX designs) to stand apart. Since trademarks protect names/logos but not the look and feel, companies file design registrations to safeguard visual uniqueness. 

Sectors like fashion, home décor, electronics, packaging, and FMCG are contributing to higher design registrations, as visual differentiation directly impacts consumer recall. D2C brands are using design rights strategically to prevent copycats in marketplaces like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra. Lifestyle & premium brands are registering designs more aggressively to justify premium pricing.

With India becoming one of the fastest-growing consumer markets, brand imitation and counterfeiting are high. Companies are registering designs proactively to:

• Build trust with consumers.
• Protect brand image and authenticity.
• Maintain a competitive edge in crowded markets.

Design protection is no longer reactive (only when disputes arise), but a core brand-building tool. Businesses are combining trademark + design protection to create holistic brand identity (logo + product shape + packaging). This has led to diversification in filings: not just industrial designs (machinery), but also lifestyle goods, packaging bottles, app interfaces, and luxury items.

Influence of Brand Differentiation on Registration Trends (2024–25)

• Steady growth in design applications filed with the Indian IP Office, particularly by startups and D2C brands.
• Global players entering India are extending their design portfolios here to protect their brand’s “signature look.”
• The awareness push from Startup India, NASSCOM, and DPIIT has encouraged entrepreneurs to treat design as brand equity.
• Increased enforcement actions (legal notices, e-commerce takedowns) reflect the rising importance of design registrations in brand differentiation.