COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION OF

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN DIFFERENT JURISDICTION

The Intellectual Property rights are recognized as human rights in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. According to Article 27 of UDHR, “Everyone has the right, freely to participate
in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and
its benefits; and Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests
resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.”
Furthermore, Article 15 of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
1966, the state parties to the covenant recognize the right of everyone to benefit from the
protection of the moral and material interest resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic
production of which he is the author.

Intellectual Property under Constitution of India

The Indian Constitution plays an important role in upholding and enforcing the rule of law.
Economic liberty is one of the most significant liberty as recognized by the Constitution. The
term “Intellectual Property Rights” has not been defined under any Indian statute. In the case of
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India vs. Shaunak Satya 1, the Hon’ble Supreme Court
of India has relied on the definition of the Intellectual Property as provided in Black's Law
Dictionary and had equated intellectual property with tangible property and has upheld its
constitutional validity under Article 300A of the Constitution. Later, in the case of Gurukrupa
Mech Tech Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Gujarat, the Gujarat High Court has provided with the definition
of Intellectual Property. The fundamental rights which are expressed in the Constitution of India,
including right to property, right to freely excess information, freedom of trade under freedom of
speech and expression, right to privacy, plays an important role in the application of intellectual
property rights. Intellectual rights are a type of incorporeal property. Intellectual property can be
considered as a property under Article 300A. In the case of K.T. Plantations Pvt. Ltd. v. State of
Karnataka2, the court held that “The expression 'Property' in Art. 300A is confined not to land

1
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India v. Shaunak H. Satya, AIR 2011 SC 3336.
2
K. T plantation v state of Karnataka, (2011) 9 SCC 63.
alone, it includes intangibles like copyrights and other intellectual property and embraces every
possible interest recognized by law."