Key concepts on Intellectual Property Rights in India
In India the concept of intellectual property and it protection is of vital
importance and is observed at Administrative, Judicial, statutory levels and also by IPR investigators in India. The norms of protection of intellectual property in India are laid down under the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) which was considered to be in force 1 st January 1995 onwards. The TRIPS agreement is part of the agreement that India ratified with the World Trade Organization (WTO). This agreement provides the basic standards related to protection of Intellectual Property within its member countries and lays down legal systems and practices to be followed. The norms cover the areas of Patents, Trade Marks, Copyrights, Geographical Indications and Industrial Designs Trademarks According to Section 2 (1) (m) of The Trademarks Act, 1999- mark as includes a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colors or any combination thereof . Section 2 (1) (zb) of the Act defines a trade mark as a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colors. Patents According to the Patents Act 1970, A Patent is a right granted to an inventor for a limited period of time (currently 20 years under the Patents Act, 1970) by a country government when the procedure that lead to such invention is disclosed to the Comptroller of Patent Office. A Patent bestows upon an inventor, the sole right to exclude others from making, using, or selling his invention. In order to be eligible for grant of a patent, an invention must be new, novel and should not present itself as being obvious to a person who is skilled in art. This implies that everything that is already known in that particular field of art shall not be eligible for a patent. For an Invention to be regarded new and novel it must enrich the state of its respective art and eliminate any inconvenience, difficulty or error substantially. Geographical Indications The TRIPS agreement provides intellectual property right solutions and contains a general obligation that parties shall provide the legal means for interested parties to prevent the use of any means in the designation or presentation of a good that indicates or suggests that the good in question originates in a geographical area other than the true place of origin in a manner which misleads the public as to the geographical origin of the good. There is no obligation under the Agreement to protect geographical indications which are not protected in their country or origin or which have fallen into disuse in that country. 1
Industrial Designs Industrial designs can be defined as any creative activity which results in the aesthetic, ornamental or final appearance of a product. Industrial designs are an integral part of intellectual property. The TRIPS Agreement provides the minimum standards for protection of industrial designs .In order to ratify the agreement India amended its existing national legislation in order to accommodate these standards. Design laws protect the design aspect in industrial production and encourage innovation in the Industrial manufacturing process. The Act that offers protection to industrial designs in India is the New Designs Act, 2000