UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Proposes Amendments to Designs Act to Align with Global Best Practices

Q1. The registration and administration of industrial designs under the Designs Act, 2000 is carried out by which one of the following authorities?

  • A. The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM)
  • B. The Bureau of Indian Standards under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs
  • C. The Registrar of Companies under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • D. The National Company Law Tribunal

Q2. The DPIIT Concept Note on the Designs Act, 2000 proposes India's accession to which two WIPO instruments concerning industrial designs?

  • A. The Riyadh Design Law Treaty and the Hague Agreement
  • B. The Madrid Protocol and the Lisbon Agreement
  • C. The Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Budapest Treaty
  • D. The Berne Convention and the Rome Convention

Q3. The Riyadh Design Law Treaty, adopted in 2024, is best described as a treaty that primarily seeks to:

  • A. Harmonise and streamline the procedural and formality requirements for registering industrial designs across member countries
  • B. Fix a uniform minimum term of protection for industrial designs worldwide
  • C. Create a single global patent granted automatically in all member states
  • D. Establish substantive standards defining what qualifies as an original design

Q4. Which one of the following countries became the first to join (ratify/accede to) the Riyadh Design Law Treaty?

  • A. Albania
  • B. Saudi Arabia
  • C. India
  • D. United Arab Emirates

Q5. The Hague System established under the Hague Agreement enables an applicant to:

  • A. Register industrial designs in multiple contracting parties through a single international application filed with WIPO
  • B. Obtain a single worldwide patent for an invention through one filing
  • C. Secure copyright registration valid in all member states automatically
  • D. Register a trade mark internationally through the International Bureau

Q6. The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM) functions under which one of the following?

  • A. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry
  • B. Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry
  • C. Ministry of Corporate Affairs
  • D. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Q7. In which year did India accede to both the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?

  • A. 1975
  • B. 1995
  • C. 1998
  • D. 2005

Q8. With reference to the DPIIT's proposal to amend the Designs Act, 2000, consider the following statements. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. DPIIT functions under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
  2. The proposed amendments are aligned with the Prime Minister's vision of 'Design in India, Design for the World'.
  3. The subject of designs falls under Entry 49 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule.
  4. The Designs Act, 2000 is administered by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4