Intellectual Property Rights

• Patents
• Copyrights
• Trademarks
• Designs
• Geographical Indications

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state (national government) to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention.

The existing Indian Patent and Designs Act was enacted in 1911 and since then there have been substantial changes in the political and economic conditions of the country. The need for comprehensive law so as to ensure more effectively that patent rights are not worked to the detriment of the consumer or to the prejudice of trade of industrial development of the country was felt as early as 1948 and in that year the Government appointed the Patents Enquiry Committee to review the working of patents law in India. present bill contains comprehensive provisions to amend and consolidate the existing law and also contains amendments/recommendations by the Joint Committee. The Patent Bill having being passed by both the houses of Parliament received the assent of the President on 19th September, 1970. It came on the Statute Book as The Patents Act, 1970 (39 of 1970).

Principles Underlying the Patent Law in India:

Invention must be new, useful and non-obvious. There are some exceptions to this, so inventions in spite of being new, non-obvious and useful cannot be patented under the Act.

• Invention must be disclosed fully.
• The Act recognizes that the Central Government may use the invention without the payment of royalty to the inventor. The idea is that the invention can be put to use for general public benefit by Government in certain circumstances when the patentee would have to forgo his commercial gain in the interest of general public.
• Some restricted use of patented invention permissible under the law.
• Use by a person other than patentee constitutes infringement of the patent.

INVENTIONS WHICH ARE NOT PATENTABLE UNDER THE ACT

Section 3 and 4 of the Indian Patents Act, 1970 lists the following as not being inventions within the meaning of the Act and therefore, being unpatentable:-

• An invention which is frivolous of which claims anything obviously contrary to the well established natural laws.
• An invention the primary or intended use or commercial exploitation of which could be contrary to public order or morality or which causes serious prejudice to human, animal or plant life or health or to environment.
• The mere discovery of scientific principle formulation of an abstract theory or discovery of any living thing or non-living substance occurring in nature.
• The mere discovery of any new property or new use for a known substance or of the mere use of known process, machine or apparatus unless such known process results in a new product or employs at least one new reactant.
• A substance obtained by a mere admixture resulting only in the aggregation of properties of components thereof or a process for producing such substance.
• A substance obtained by a mere admixture or duplication of known devices each functioning independently of one another in a known way.
• A method of agriculture or horticulture.
• Any process of medicinal, surgical, curative, prophylactic diagnostic therapeutic or other treatment of human beings or any process of similar treatment of animals to render them free of disease or to increase their economic value or that of their products.
• Plants and animals in whole or in any part thereof other than micro-organisms but including seeds, varieties and species and essentially bio-logical process of production or propagation of plants and animals.
• A mathematical or business method or a computer programme per se or algorithms.
• Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or any other aesthetic creation including cinematographic works and television productions.
• A mere scheme or rule or method of performing mental act or method of playing games.
• A presentation of information.
• Topography of integrated circuits.
• An invention which in effect is a traditional knowledge or which is an aggregation or duplication of known properties of traditionally known component.
• An invention relating to atomic energy.
• In respect of food, medicine or drug, patents are granted only for the method of processes of manufacture of the substance but not the substance themselves. However in respect of substance themselves intended for use, or capable of being used as medicine or drug except chemical substances which are ordinarily used as intermediate, patent can be granted in the manner provided in the act.
•  In respect of substances prepared or produced by chemical processed which include bio-chemical, bio-technological and micro-biological process or including alloys, optical glass, semi-conductors and inter-metallic compounds, patents are granted only for the process of manufacture but not for the substance themselves.

Copyright is a legal term describing rights given to creators for their literary, artistic works, dramatic, musical and producer of cinematograph films and sound recordings. It is bundle of rights including inter alia, rights ofreproduction, communication to the public adaptation and translation of the work.

The kinds of works covered by copyright includes: literary works such as novels, poems, plays, reference works, newspapers and computer programs; database; films, musical compositions, and choreography; artistic works such as paintings, drawings, photographs and sculpture; architecture; and advertisements, maps and technical drawings.

Frequently Asked Questions
Stages in Registration of Copyrights

A Trademark is a distinctive sign, which identifies certain goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. The system helps consumers to identity and purchase a product or service because of its nature and quality, indicated by its unique trademark, meets their needs. A Trademark is a visual symbol or sign in the form of words, letters, numbers, drawings or pictures, emblems, colors or combination of colors, or the form or other special presentation of containers or packages for the product. Trademark is valuable intellectual property, which can be protected forever as long as its registration is renewed for every 10 years, unlike any other intellectual property. The law relating to the trademark is governed by the Trademark Act, 1999.

Industrial designs means only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament or composition of lines or colors applied to any article whether in two dimensional or three dimensional or in both forms, by any industrial process or means whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye; but does not include any mode or principle of construction and does not include any trademark.

In the case of industrial designs the property consists in the exclusive right to apply the design registered under the statute. The law applicable to designs in India is covered under Designs Act, 2000, which has replaced the earlier law Designs Act, 1911.

A Geographical Indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g. a town, region, or country). The use of a GI may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin.

Under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Geographical Indications are covered as an element of Intellectual Property Rights. They are also covered under Articles 22 to 24 of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which was part of the Agreements concluding the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. The law applicable to Geographical Indications in India is covered under The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999.,