Copyright Act, 1957 · Chapter III: Copyright
Section 15: Special provision regarding copyright in designs registered or capable of being registered under the Designs Act, 2000
(1) Copyright shall not subsist under this Act in any design which is registered under the *** [Designs Act, 2000 (16 of 2000)].
(2) Copyright in any design, which is capable of being registered under the *** [Designs Act, 2000 (16 of 2000)] but which has not been so registered, shall cease as soon as any article to which the design has been applied has been reproduced more than fifty times by an industrial process by the owner of the copyright or, with his licence, by any other person.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 15 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 15
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Cryogas Equipment Private Limited v. Inox India Limited and Others
i) What are the parameters for determining whether a work or an article falls within the limitation set out in s.15(2) of the Copyright Act, thereby classifying it as a ‘design’ u/s.2(d) of the Designs Act; ii) Whether…