Home - Intellectual Property Rights

A legal concept conferring rights to the creators and owners of intellectual and creative works, Intellectual Property Rights are granted for literature, invention, music, etc. as business practices. In case of any misappropriation or use of the owners’ work by someone else without his/her former knowledge, the owner is offered with exclusionary rights. Moreover, equilibrium is maintained by granting rights for a specific time period.

The intellectual Property Rights, on the international level, is governed by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). WIPO convention has laid down the list of the following activities that are safeguarded by intellectual property rights:

• Industrial designs
• Scientific discoveries
• Unfair competition and protection against it
• Literary, scientific and artistic works
• Inventions in fields pertaining to human endeavor
• Performances of performing artists,
• Phonograms and broadcasts
• Trademarks, commercial names, designations and service marks
• Intellectual activity in scientific, industrial, artistic and literary fields.

Categorizations of Intellectual Property Rights:

1. Copyright
2. Patent
3. Trademark
4. Trade Secrets
5. Utility Model
6. Geographical Indications
7. Industrial Design Rights

Advantages:
Intellectual Property Rights enable the inventors and the creators to share their works and information rather than keeping it confidential. Besides providing legal protection, these rights offer them incentives for their piece of work. At the same time, rights under this act grant socio-economic development.

Indian Scenario:
The protection of the Intellectual Property Rights is established under an administrative, statutory and judicial framework. The Indian Government had issued legislative norms to protect the rights in compliance to India’s obligations and worldwide practices. These comprise of:

1. The Patents Amendment Act passed in 1999 facilitates the establishment of mail box system so that patents and accords can be filed for 5 years with exclusive marketing rights.
2. The Trade Marks Bill passed in 1999 to take over the 1958 Trade & Merchandise Marks Act.
3. Copyright (Amendment) Act passed by the upper and the lower houses of the Parliament of India that was signed by the President of India on 30th December of 1999.
4. Sui Generis legislation approved by the upper as well as the lower house of the Parliament and was later named as Geographical Indications of Goods Bill.
5. The upper house of the Parliament of India that it replaced the 1911 Designs Act.
6. Re-introduction of the Patents Bill in the upper house to amend the 1970 Patents Act so that it complies with TRIPS.

Several streamlining and bolstering measures have been introduced for the administration of the intellectual property. Projects for the modernization of services of trademark registry as well as patent information undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme or WIPO are also a boost to meet similar ends.