Bharat Glass Tube Ltd. v Gopal Glass Works Ltd. (2008)

Intellectual Property Rights II · Distinction Between Design, Trademark, Copyright and Patent

Facts.

Gopal Glass held a registered design for glass sheets with a particular pattern. Bharat Glass challenged it, alleging the design had been published earlier (in a UK design registration).

Issue.

Does prior publication of a design abroad destroy the novelty required for registration?

Held.

“New or original” means the design must not have been published or made available to the public earlier. Prior publication (including in a foreign register) defeats novelty and is a ground to cancel under s.19.

Why it matters.

The leading Indian authority on novelty and prior publication — the point on which most design registration and piracy problems turn.

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