The Application under Form 2
A petition for substitution or alteration of the applicant of a registered design must be filed in Form 2; along with the mandatory fee.
If the requirements under the Design Act are fulfilled and the Controller is content that; after registration, the claimant is authorized to any claim interests in the design. The Controller may authorize that the application shall progress either in the names of the ‘claimant’; or ‘claimants and the applicant’ or the ‘other joint applicants’, as the case may be.
Though, in the case of joint applicants; the Controller does not authorize such recommendations without the approval of the other joint applicants. Wherein, the joint applicants die before the registration of the design; a petition is given rise to for substitution by the survivors of the applicant or claimant.
The Controller may authorize that the application shall continue in the name of the survivors independently. However, no such recommendation is announced without the approval of the legal representative of the deceased.
Details Required under Form 2:
The Form must include the, Name; Address; and Nationality of the claimant; whether they are an applicant or joint applicants.
It must provide the name of the applicant in whose favor the initial design registration was filed; along with the name; address; and nationality of the applicants who claim to be entitled to the rights of the design.
To claim such entitlement, the claimant must provide documents indicate how their assertion is legitimate.
The claimant must state the nature of the document on the Form and affix the same to it at the end; with the document giving its date, the parties thereof, and proof of claim.
Lastly, the Form is signed by the Claimant and the applicant or their authorized agent. The signature of the applicant indicates their consent to the request outlined in Form 2.
Fee:
To proceed with a claim as an applicant or a joint applicant under Form; the claimant must pay the prescribed fee depending on their nature. Wherein the claimant is a natural person the fee payable is INR 500. However, where the applicant is other than a natural person the fee payable for a small entity is INR 1000 and for others except small entity is INR 2000.
Conclusion
Since designs protect the aesthetic value of a commodity; such an Intellectual Property doesn’t need to be created by a single entity. Thus, such provisions must be made wherein multiple applicants can lay claim to the design before it is conclusively registered. Such joint applicants and claimants are given reasonable rights to use and employ the registered design for the 10yr registration period.