Management of Intellectual Property Rights in India

Since economic liberalization in 1991 India has witnessed tremendous growth in the sphere of international business. And at the same time, intellectual capital has gained substantial importance in international trade. In terms of new statutes and judicial pronouncement, IPR laws in India are conspicuous. India has done significant work to protect and manage Intellectual Property Rights and according to the law intellectual property in India is mainly classified as Trade Marks, Patents, Copyrights and Related Rights, and Industrial Designs. Where Patent, Trade Marks, and Industrial Design are under the control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; the same Copyrights and its related issues are regulated by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development.

To protect IPR LAWS in India a proper statutory, administrative, and judicial framework has been made. Notable thing is that India complies with its obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) by enacting the necessary statutes and amending the existing statutes. This post aims to discuss four main IPR laws: Trade Marks, Patents, Copyrights, and Related Rights, and Industrial Designs.

Under the Copyrights Act 1957, any person can do copyright registration for his/her artistic works, dramatic, musical, and literary works. Registration under the Copyrights act works as evidence that the person who registers for it, he/she is the original owner or author of the work. The infringement of copyright damages the activity and work of the owner. Registration of Copyright ensures the protection of the owner’s work, it means no one can replicate that work without the permission of the owner. Since 28 April 1928, India is a member of the Berne Convention; and according to it the protection granted under the Copyrights Acts is not limited to India only rather it extends protection in several countries. For the original art and literary work, copyright lasts for 60 years. And in the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government, and works of international organizations, the Copyright period is 60 years which is counted from the date of application.

India’s Trademarks Act of 1999 complies with the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Trademark registration is imperative for the protection of the trademark. A trademark can be a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, shape of goods, packaging or, the combination of colours, or any graphical representation that indicates its connection with a trade, is entitled to get registered as a trademark. According to the Trademark Act, trademark registration is allowed for goods as well as services. Replication of a trademark is not allowed. And in case of any legal dispute in the matter of trademark, an appellate board has been set up for quick settlement.

Patents in India come under The Patents Act of 1970. To make it Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) compliant, the last amendment was made in this act in 2005. The Patent ensures the commercial return to the inventor for making a new product. Except food, chemicals, and pharma the patent protection is provided for 14 years. Ordinary patent, Patent of Convention, and Patent of Addition lie under The Patents Act of 1970.

According to the TRIPS agreement, the Design Act of 2000 ensures the minimum standards for the protection of industrial design. According to this act, the design is a shape, configuration, pattern, ornament, or composition of lines or colours applied to any article either in two- or three-dimensional form can be registered under this act. To acquire registration of the design under this act, the design must be applied to an article. Any painting of a natural scene or its presentation on paper is not entitled to this act. To acquire its registration, it should be a unique design in the world which is not published before in any country, and should not hurt the public emotion of any community.

The economic liberalization has stimulated intellectual property rights in the Indian economy. After 1990, IPR laws in India were amended and a new set of rules were introduced to strengthen the regulatory system of Intellectual Property. In the modern scenario, protection of IPR is mandatory not only for fair trade and business but it also encourages credibility and innovations.