Fast-fashion copies your collection in 30 days. The trademark and the design registration are the two filings that let you stop it.
Fashion is the IP category where copying happens fastest. A collection drops on Instagram, a fast-fashion brand puts a copy on its website within 30 days, and the original designer’s only recourse is the IP they registered before the launch.
The Indian fashion playbook has two filings: a trademark for the brand name and logo, and a design registration for the visual elements of the garment itself. The first is under the Trade Marks Act, 1999. The second is under the Designs Act, 2000. Most Indian fashion founders file only the first, and discover the second exists only when a copy shows up.
Three filings cover most of the IP risk on day one. Each is a standalone service and each links to a deeper walkthrough.
The defaults: Class 25 for clothing, footwear, headgear. Class 18 for leather, bags, accessories. Class 14 for jewellery. Class 35 for retail and online retail services. Most fashion brands need 25 + 35 at minimum; accessory-led brands also need 18 or 14.
A combined Class 25 + 18 + 35 filing is one Form TM-A. At DPIIT or MSME rates (₹4,500 per class), that’s ₹13,500 in government fees for the full apparel-plus-accessories scope.
A trademark protects your name and logo. A design registration protects the shape, configuration, pattern and ornamentation of a specific garment or product under Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, 2000. If a competitor copies your print pattern or the silhouette of your bag, a registered design is the right that stops them. A trademark cannot.
Filing is one application per design, government fee ₹1,000 for natural persons / startups / MSMEs (₹4,000 for others), protection for 10 years extendable by 5. Critical: design registration only works if filed before public disclosure. Show the design at a fashion week first and the novelty is gone under Section 4.
Pidilite v. Poma-Ex established that distinctive packaging shape is protectable. The same principle applies to apparel and accessories — register the unique element of the design before launch, and the right travels with you.
Original prints, embroidery patterns and lookbook photography are protected by copyright automatically under the Copyright Act, 1957. Registration is evidentiary — useful when you need to prove ownership in court or in a takedown. Filing is ₹500-₹2,000 per work depending on category. Worth doing for any signature print or photographic asset.
Launching a new collection next quarter? File the trademark and the design registrations before the lookbook goes live.
WhatsApp our team →Class 25 (clothing, footwear, headgear), Class 18 (bags, leather goods), Class 14 (jewellery) and Class 35 (retail). Most brands file Class 25 + 35 at minimum.
Patterns are typically protected as registered designs under the Designs Act, 2000, not trademarks. Only patterns that have become source-identifying through long and exclusive use (e.g., Louis Vuitton monogram, Burberry check) qualify as trademarks.
You must file before any public disclosure. Section 4 of the Designs Act, 2000 makes prior publication a ground for refusal. Run the design filing before the lookbook drops, the fashion-week show, or any social media reveal.
If the brand is used in both scripts on packaging or social media, file in both. The Cadila test covers transliteration risks but the cleanest enforcement comes from registering each script as a separate application.