Intellectual property rights is a legal concept that confers rights to
owners and creators of the work, for their intellectual creativity. Such
rights can be granted for areas related to literature, music, invention
etc, which are used in the business practices. In general, the
intellectual property law offers exclusionary rights to the creator or
inventor against any misappropriation or use of work without his/her
prior knowledge. Intellectual property law establishes an equilibrium by
granting rights for limited duration of time.
Every nation has framed their own intellectual property laws. But on
international level it is governed by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO). The Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property in 1883 and the 'Berne Convention for the Protection
of Literary and Artistic Works' in 1886 were first conventions which
have recognized the importance of safeguarding intellectual property.
Both the treaties are under the direct administration of the WIPO. The
WIPO convention lays down following list of the activities or work which
are covered by the intellectual property rights -
- Industrial designs
- Scientific discoveries
- Protection against unfair competition
- Literary, artistic and scientific works
- Inventions in all fields of human endeavor
- Performances of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts
- Trademarks, service marks and commercial names and designations
- All other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the
industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields.
Types of Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual Property Rights signifies to the bundle of exclusionary
rights which can be further categorized into the following heads-
-
Copyright, one of the form of intellectual
property right, offers exclusive rights for protecting the
authorship of original & creative work like dramatic, musical
and literary in nature. Symbolized as "©",
here the term ....
-
A patent is termed as the exclusionary
rights given by the government or the authorized authority to its
inventor for a particular duration of time, in respect of his
invention. It is the part of the intellectual property right ....
-
The trademark or trade mark, symbolized as
the ™ and ®, is the distinctive sign or
indication which is used for signifying some kind of goods or/and
services and is distinctively used across the business ....
-
Trade secret points towards a formula,
pattern, any instrument, design which is kept confidential and
through which any business or trade can edge over its rival and can
enjoy economic gain. Trade secrets can be ....
-
The utility model is the intellectual
property right for protecting the inventions. It is somehow
described as the statutory monopoly which is bestow upon for the
fixed duration of time in exchange to the inventor for ....
-
Geographical Indication (GI) signifies to
the name or sign, used in reference to the products which are
corresponding to the particular geographical area or somewhat
related to the origin like town, region or nation. Thus ....
-
Industrial design rights are defined as the
part of the intellectual property rights which confers the rights of
exclusivity to the visual designs of objects which are generally not
popular utilitarian. It safeguards the ....
Advantages of Intellectual Property Rights
Intellectual property rights help in providing exclusive rights to
creator or inventor, thereby induces them to distribute and share
information and data instead of keeping it confidential. It provides
legal protection and offers them incentive of their work. Rights granted
under the intellectual property act helps in socio and economic
development.
Intellectual Property Rights in India
India has defined the establishment of statutory, administrative and
judicial framework for protecting the intellectual property rights in
the Indian territory, whether they connotes with the copyright, patent,
trademark, industrial designs or with other parts.
Tuning with the changing industrial world, the intellectual property
rights have continued to strengthen its position in the India. In 1999,
the government has passed the important legislation in relation to the
protection of intellectual property rights on the terms of the worldwide
practices and in accordance to the India's obligations under the Trade
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. It consists of -
- The Patents(Amendment) Act, 1999 which was passed on 10th March,
1999 in the Indian Parliament for amending the Patents Act of 1970
which in turns facilitate to establish the mail box system for
filing patents and accords with the exclusive marketing rights for
the time period of 5 years.
- The Trade Marks Bill, 1999 was passed in the India parliament
during the winter session for replacing the Trade and Merchandise
Marks Act, 1958. It was passed on 23rd December, 1999.
- The Copyright(Amendment) Act, 1999 was passed by both upper house
and lower house of the Indian parliament and was later on signed by
the Indian president on 30th December, 1999.
- The sui generis legislation was approved by both houses of the
Indian parliament on 23rd December, 1999 and was named as the
Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection)
Bill, 1999.
- The Industrial Designs Bill, 1999 was passed in the Upper House
of the Indian parliament for replacing the Designs Act, 1911.
- The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 was introduced in the
upper house of the parliament for further amending the Patents Act
1970 and making it compliance with the TRIPS.
Along with the above legislative measures, the Indian government
has introduced several changes for streamlining and bolstering the
intellectual property administration system in the nation. Several
projects concerning to the modernizing of the patent information
services and trademark registry have been undergone with the help of the
World Intellectual Property Organization/ United Nations Development
Programme.
