Intellectual Property Rights:-

Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are the rights

associated with intangible property owned by a
person/company and protected against use without
consent. Thus, rights relating to ownership of intellectual
property are called Intellectual Property Rights. These
rights aim to protect intellectual property (creations of
human intellect) by allowing the creators of trademarks,
patents, or copyrighted works to benefit from their
creations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) also refers to intellectual property rights under
Article 27 which states that “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.”

Thus, the purpose of IPR is to reward human intellect by

providing exclusive rights to the creators over their
inventions, artistic, musical works, etc.

Meaning and nature of the intellectual property

Intellectual property (IP) is an intangible property that
comes into existence through human intellect. It refers to
the creations of the mind or the products of human
intellect such as inventions; designs; literary and artistic
works; symbols, names and images used in commerce.
The “Convention Establishing the World Intellectual
Property Organisation” states that “intellectual property”
shall include the rights relating to: —

1. literary, artistic, and scientific works,

2. performances of performing artists, phonograms,
and broadcasts,
3. inventions in all fields of human endeavour,
4. scientific discoveries,
5. industrial designs,
6. trademarks, service marks, commercial names and
designations,
7. protection against unfair competition, and
8. all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in
the industrial, scientific, literary, or artistic fields.
Meaning of Intellectual Property Rights
The term “Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)” is used to
refer to the bundle of rights conferred by law on a
creator/owner of intellectual property. These are the
rights that a person has over the creations of his mind.
They seek to protect the interests of the creators by
rewarding their mental labour and allowing them to
retain property rights over their creations. The creators
and inventors are thus allowed to benefit from their
creations. IP rights are the legal rights governing the use
of intellectual property.

Need for legal protection of intellectual property:-

The various reasons behind granting protection to
intellectual property through the enactment of suitable
Intellectual Property (IP) laws are as follows:

1. To encourage inventions and creations that

promote the social, economic, scientific, and
cultural development of society by incentivising the
creators and allowing them to make economic
gains out of their creations.
2. To provide legal protection to intellectual creations.
3. To prevent third parties from enjoying the fruits of
someone else’s creativity.
4. To facilitate fair trading.
5. To promote creativity and its dissemination.
6. Giving recognition to the efforts of creators.
7. Preventing the infringement of proprietary rights of
creators in their creations from unauthorised use.
8. To encourage investment of skill, time, finance, and
other resources into innovation activities in a
manner that is beneficial to society.
Advantages and disadvantages of Intellectual Property
Rights:-

Advantages of Intellectual Property Rights:-

1. IPR protection gives your business a competitive

advantage over other similar businesses.
2. IPR protection allows you to prevent unauthorised
use of your intellectual property and works.
 3. IPR enhances the value of your company and also
opens avenues for collaborations and opportunities
for generating income such as by entering into
licensing agreements to exploit/work the
invention/work.
4. IPR helps to attract clients and creates your brand
value. For example, the consumers start identifying
your products wit/h the unique logo or registered
trademark.
5. It should help masses.

Disadvantages of Intellectual Property Rights:-

1. You have to incur additional costs for getting IPR

protection including legal costs and other fees.
2. Even after getting the intellectual property right,
you might still face a lot of difficulties in curbing the
copying and unauthorised use of your work.
Moreover, sometimes an attempt to enforce IP
rights could lead to a reduction in the consumer
base.
3. IP rights aren’t absolute. There are certain
limitations and conditions imposed by law on the
exercise of these rights (such as a limited period of
protection and compulsory licensing provisions) in
the interests of the general public.
Components of Intellectual Property Rights:-
Copyright
The term ‘copyright’ concerns the rights of the
creators/authors of literary and artistic works. A
copyright is also called a ‘literary right’ or ‘author’s right’.

Copyright gives an author exclusive rights to his creation

and prevents the copying and unauthorised publishing of
his work. Copyright protection begins at the very
moment a work is created and expressed in some
tangible form. Copyright protection is granted to a work
that is an original creation. Mere ideas without any
tangible expression are not granted legal protection and
do not form the subject matter of copyright. Copyright
protects the following two rights of the author:

1. Economic rights i.e., the right of the owner to

derive financial benefit from the use of their works
by others. For instance, the right to prohibit or
authorise reproduction of the work in various
forms, the right to prohibit unauthorised translation
of the work, etc.
 2. Moral rights i.e., protection of non-economic
interests of the author. For instance, the right to
oppose changes to work and the right to claim
authorship, etc.( monkey selfie)

What kind of works can be protected under copyright:-

The following categories of works typically come under
copyright protection:

 Literary works such as novels, plays, poems, and

newspaper articles;
 Computer programs and databases;
 Films, musical compositions, and choreography;
 Artistic works such as photographs, paintings,
drawings, and sculpture;
Architecture and advertisements, maps, and
technical drawings.
In India, the term of copyright protection extends
throughout the lifetime of the author and then 60 years
after his death.

Law relating to copyright in India : the Copyright Act, 1957

The Copyright Act, 1957 is a comprehensive legislation
dealing with copyrights in India. The Act regulates the
various aspects relating to copyright regime in India such
as:

 Registration of copyright
 Publication, term of copyright
 Assignment, and licence of copyright
 Infringement of copyright and remedies thereof
  Establishment of copyright authorities and copyright
societies
 International Copyright
The term of copyright protection provided under the Act
for the various categories of works is given below:

1. Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works: Life

of the author plus 60 years after death.
2. Anonymous and pseudonymous works: 60 years
from the date of publication. However, if the
identity of the author is disclosed before the expiry
of that 60 years, then the term of protection shall
be life of the author plus 60 years after death.
3. Posthumous works: 60 years from publication.
4. Cinematograph films: 60 years from publication.
5. Sound recordings: 60 years from publication.

Copyright infringement:-
Section 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957 provides for ‘What
constitutes copyright infringement’. Copyright is said to
be infringed:

1. when a person does something that the owner of

the copyright has the exclusive right to do, or
permits for profit the use of any place for the
purpose of the communication of the work to the
public, where such communication constitutes an
infringement of the copyright in the work, without a
licence or in violation of the conditions of the
licence.
 2. When any person makes, sale or hire, sells or
lets for hire, or displays or offers for sale or hire, or
distributes either for the purpose of trade or to
such an extent as to prejudice the owner of the
copyright, or exhibits in public, or imports into
India any infringing copies of the work.
Section 52 enlists the acts which do not constitute an
infringement of copyright such as fair dealing in any
work for personal, private use or for research,
reproducing any work for the purpose of a judicial
proceeding or replication by a teacher or a pupil in the
course of teaching etc.

It is pertinent to note that the Copyright Act provides

for both civil and criminal remedies against
infringement of copyright.

How to register a copyright in India:-

The Registrar of Copyrights maintains a Register of
Copyrights wherein he enters the names or titles of
works and the names and addresses of authors,
publishers and owners of the copyright. This entering or
recording of names and other particulars of the copyright
owners in the register of copyrights is called Registration
of copyright.

The procedure for registration of copyright in India is

provided under Section 45 of the Copyright Act, 1957
read with Chapter XIII of the Copyright Rules, 2013.

Need and benefits of registration of copyright:-

The registration of copyright is optional. However, the
registration of copyright offers several advantages to the
author or owner of copyright. Section 48 provides that
the register of copyright is prima facie evidence of the
particulars entered therein and shall be admissible in
evidence in all courts. Thus, a person who has got the
copyright registered in his name is generally presumed to
be the author/owner of the work. Registration of
copyright is beneficial due to the following reasons:

 It allows the owner to protect his work from being

used in an unauthorised manner.
 It becomes easier to claim ownership and royalties
for your work when it is to be used or adapted in
any manner.
 Copyright registration specifies the date of
publication.
 Registration of copyright in your name work in your
favour in case of any claim of copyright
infringement.

Trademark:-
A trademark is a symbol that is used to distinguish the
goods of one enterprise from its competitors. A
trademark may consist of a single letter, logo, symbol,
design, or numerals and three-dimensional features such
as shape and packaging, etc. Section 2 (1)(zb) of
the Trademarks Act, 1999 defines “trademark” as a
mark capable of graphical representation and
which can be used to distinguish the goods or
services of one person from those of others. A
trademark may include the shape of goods, their
packaging, and a combination of colours. Hence,
distinctiveness is the hallmark of a trademark.
Trademarks used in connection with services such as
tourism, banking, etc., are called Service Marks.

The owner has the exclusive right to the use of a

registered trademark. There are 45 classes of
trademarks, consisting of 34 classes of products and 11
classes for services.

What is the function/purpose of a trademark:-

 A trademark is a symbol that identifies a product and

its source.
 It reflects the goodwill of a business.
 It assures the consumer about the established
quality of the product.
 It serves as an advertisement for the product.
 A registered trademark provides legal protection
to your brand.
 It helps to establish a dedicated consumer base by
preventing others from imitating your brand.

Law regulating to trademarks in India: The Trademarks Act,

1999
The Trademarks Act, 1999 was enacted to provide for the
registration and better protection of trademarks for
goods and services, as well as to prevent the use of
fraudulent marks. The Act contains provisions regarding:

1. Registration of trademarks
2. Effect of registration
3. Rights of the trademark holder
 4. Use of trademark and registered users
5. Certification of trademarks
6. Assignment and transmission of trademark
7. Infringement and passing off action in trademark
and legal remedies thereof, etc.
A trademark is registered for 10 years but it can be
periodically renewed and can be used for an indefinite
period.

Infringement of trademark:-
In order to constitute infringement of a registered
trademark, following conditions are required to be
fulfilled:

1. The person is not authorised to use the trademark.

2. The infringing trademark is
similar/identical/deceptively similar to the already
registered trademark.
3. The infringing trademark must be used in the
course of regular trade in which the registered
proprietor or user is already engaged.
4. The infringing trademark must be printed
represented usually in advertisement, invoices or
bills. Mere oral use of a trademark is not
infringement.
5. Using either the whole of the registered trademark
or an adopted one by making a few additions and
alterations.
Section 29 of the Trademarks Act provides for the
common forms of trademark infringement. For
instance, the advertisement of a registered trademark of
another for promotion of one’s trade amounts to
infringement. Following remedies are available to the
trademark owner against infringement of his trademark:

1. Filing suit for infringement

2. Criminal remedies

Benefits of trademark registration:-

1. A registered trademark is an intangible asset that

adds value to the business.
2. Trademark registration aids in creating brand value
and gaining a strong position in the market.
3. Registration of a trademark is prima facie evidence
of its validity.
4. The registered trademark holder has the exclusive
right to use that mark and to obtain relief in case of
infringement of trademark.
5. Trademark registration is for a period of 10 years
and can be renewed as well.
6. A registered proprietor of a trademark has the right
to transfer his right through licence or assignment
of his trademark.

Remedies:- Remedies act as a measure for

infringement of both the registered as well as
unregistered trademarks.

1.Injunction
2.Damages

3.Cost of proceedings

4.Delivery of violating material

Remedies act as a measure for infringement of

both the registered as well as unregistered
trademarks.
In the former case, it acts as an action to initiate the
proceedings of infringement in a court of law while in the
latter case, it helps in passing off the infringement to the
hands of common law.

In India, it is Section 29 and Section 30 of the Trade

Marks Act, 1999 which lays down remedies for
infringement of trademarks. The remedies discussed
below are the ones which are adopted according to the
facts and circumstances of the case in hand.

Civil remedies :-
The Trade Marks Act, 1999 lays down certain civil
remedies to be given to the ones whose trademark has
been infringed. They are:

1. Injunction or authoritative direction by the court

of law is a common civil remedy that can be
provided with. This rather fulfills the purpose of
filing the suit and thus stays the defendant to
continue usage of the mark similar as that of the
plaintiff.
 2. Damages can be claimed by the aggrieved party
on grounds that the exclusive right of using the
trademark he owns has been ceased and this
subsequently has led to him or his enterprise
suffering losses.
3. A civil remedy that is often claimed is handling of
the profit accounts along with a command for
delivery or removal of the products that have been
infringed.
So in case of civil remedy, the court either provides
for the grounding of the defendant’s goods or
services that is responsible for causing confusion in
the minds of the consumers or makes him pay the
damages caused to the plaintiff.

Criminal remedies :-
If we take a look at the Trade Marks Act,1999, it can be
viewed that there are several provisions that can be
counted as a criminal remedy for the infringement of
trademark. The following are laid down below:

1. Sections 103 of the Act lays down criminal remedy

for the contravention of the trademark of any
individual or entity which lays down a period of
six months of imprisonment which can be
extended till a time frame of three years for
infringing trademark rights.
2. Section 104 of the Act talks about penalties that
need to be provided as a sanction against an
infringement. The section mentions a fine of fifty
thousand rupees which can be increased till an
 extent of two lakhs in case someone is found to
transgress the trademark rights.

Process of registration of trademark in India:-

The various steps involved in registration of trademark
are as follows:

Application for registration

 A person claiming to be the proprietor of a

trademark used or proposed to be used by him,
who desires to register it has to file an application
with the Registrar for registration of his trademark.
Such an application shall be made in writing and
must be accompanied by prescribed fees.
 A single application may be made for registration of
a trademark for different classes of goods and
services.
The application has to be filed in the office of the

Trade Marks Registry within whose territorial limits
the principal place of business in India of the
applicant is situated.
Refusal, acceptance and withdrawal of acceptance

 The Registrar may accept or reject an application

after it has been received. The application may be
accepted with or without amendments,
modifications, conditions and limitations.
 If after acceptance, but before registration, the
Registrar discovers that the application was
erroneously accepted, he may withdraw the
acceptance.
Advertisement of application

 The Registrar shall after acceptance of the

application, cause the application to be advertised
in the prescribed manner.
 The application is advertised in the Trademark
Journal for the purpose of inviting objections from
interested persons.
The Registrar may cause the application to be

advertised before acceptance in certain cases.
Opposition to registration

Any person may within 4 months from the date of


the advertisement give a written notice of his
opposition to the registration. The notice of such
registration is given to the applicant and thereafter
evidence is submitted to the Registrar. After
hearing the parties, the Registrar decides as to
whether the registration is to be permitted or not.
Registration

 If the application for trademark registration is

accepted and not opposed, or if opposed, the
objection is ruled in the applicant’s favour, the
Registrar must register the trademark within 18
months of the filing of the application.
 The date of registration of a trademark is the date of
making of the said application.
 On registration of a trademark, the Registrar shall
issue to the applicant a certificate in the prescribed
form of the registration thereof, sealed with the
seal of the Trademarks Registry.
Patents:-
A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention
or innovation, which might be a product, a method or a
process, that introduces a novel way of doing something
or offers a new technical solution to a problem. In other
words, it is a right of monopoly granted to a person who
has invented:

1. a new and useful article, or

2. improvement of an existing article, or
3. a new process of making an article.
A patent is granted for inventions having industrial and
commercial value.

It is the exclusive right to manufacture the new

article/manufacture the article with the invented process
for a limited period of time (usually 20 years from the
filing date of the application) in exchange for disclosure
of the invention. A patent owner can sell his patent or
grant licence to others to exploit the same.

Criteria for patentability of an invention:- There is a set

criterion as provided in section 2(1)(j ) of Patent Act, 1970
which must be fulfilled for a product or a process to qualify
for the grant of a patent.

1. It should be novel(new).
2. It should have inventive steps.
 3. It should be capable of Industrial application.

Patent law in India: the Patents Act, 1970

The invention of a person can be patented only if the
procedure and other requirements prescribed in
the Patents Act, 1970 are fulfilled.

The Patent Act, 1970 provides for a detailed procedure

for obtaining a patent, right from the filing of an
application to the grant of a patent.

The Act also contains provisions for rights(48) of the

patentee, term of the patent(53), surrender(63),
revocation, and restoration of patent(60,61),
infringement of patent, and remedies thereof.

The Act provides for patent protection for a period of 20

years after which the technology or invention goes to the
public domain.Section 3 of the Act provides a list of
non-patentable inventions for which no patent could be
granted. Under Section 4, the inventions relating to
atomic energy are also declared as non-patentable.

It is worth mentioning that earlier no product patent

could be granted for medicine, food items and chemicals
and only the process of manufacturing medicines, food
items and chemicals could be patented. However, after
the Patent (Amendment) Act, 2005 product patents can
be issued for manufacturing these products.

Patent of addition(Section-
54(add),55(fee),56(period)
Patent infringement and remedies:-
Any violation of the rights of the patentee constitutes
infringement of patent such as a colorable imitation of
your invention or taking of the essential features of your
invention. Under the Patents Act, Sections 47 and 107-
A provides for the acts that shall not be considered as an
infringement of patent. For example, the import of any
machine or other articles by or on behalf of the
government or the manufacturing or use of a patented
process by or on behalf of the government does not
constitute patent infringement. The various remedies
available against patent infringement are as
follows:

 Injunction
 Damages or account of profits
 Delivery up or destruction of infringing goods

Procedure of obtaining a patent in India:-

You can file a patent application at the Patent Office in
physical mode or in electronic mode.

Following are the steps involved in obtaining a patent:

1. Filing of application

 Place of filing patent application: A patent application

has to be filed at the head office of the patent
office or the branch office, within whose territorial
limits:

1. Applicant normally resides or has a domicile, or

2. Applicant has a place of business, or
3. At the place where the invention actually
originated.

 Mode of filing application: You can submit the patent

application through post or by hand. You can also
opt for e-filing
through https://ipindiaonline.gov.in/epatentfiling/u
ser/frmLogin.aspx.
 Who can file the application: Following persons either
alone or jointly can file the patent application:

1. Any person claiming to be the true and first

inventor of the invention;
2. Assignee of the above in respect of the right to
make such an application;
3. The legal representative of any deceased person
who was entitled to make such an application
immediately before his death.

 Form of application: Every patent application shall be

for one invention only.
 Every application must specify that the applicant
possesses the invention and identify the individual
claiming to be the true and first inventor. If the
individual claiming to be the true and first inventor
is not the applicant or one of the applicants, the
application must state that the applicant believes
the person so listed/named to be the true and first
inventor.
 Application must be accompanied by a provisional or
a complete specification.
2. Filing of provisional and complete
specification

 What is patent specification: A patent specification is

a technical document describing the invention. The
provisional specification gives the initial
description of the invention on the filing of the
patent application. Whereas a complete
specification gives full and sufficient detail of an
invention in such a manner that a person skilled in
the art can use the invention when he reads such a
description.
 If the patent application is accompanied by a
provisional specification, the complete
specification has to be filed within 12 months from
the date of the filing of such application. In case it
is not filed within the said period, the application is
deemed to have been abandoned.

3. Amendment of specification: The applicant may

amend the application, the complete specification
and other documents before or after the grant of
the patent. Such amendment shall be in
accordance with the procedure prescribed as
regards to the permission of the Controller and
publication of the amendment.
4. Publication and Examination of application:-

 The patent application shall not be open to the public

until the expiry of 18 months from the date of
filing of the application.The application is published
 within one month after the expiry of the said period
of 18 months.
 Thereafter, a request has to be made by the
applicant or other interested persons for
examination of the application. Such a request shall
be made within 48 months from the date of filing of
application. If the request is not made within the
prescribed period, the application is treated as
withdrawn.

6. Time for putting application in order for

grant: The applicant must comply with all the
requirements imposed on him by or under the Act
in relation to the application within 12 months from
the date on which the Controller forwarded to the
applicant the first statement of objections to the
application, complete specification, or other
documents related thereto.
7. Opposition to grant of patent

 Pre-grant opposition: Before the patent has been

granted, any person may, in writing, represent by
way of opposition to the Controller against the
grant of the patent.
 Post-grant opposition: After the grant of the
patent , any interested person may give notice of
opposition to the Controller. Thereafter, the
Controller constitutes the Opposition Board and the
patent may be revoked on the basis of the report of
the Board.

8. Grant of patent(COR)
  If the application for patent is found to be in order
for grant of patent, the patent shall be granted.
 On the grant of patent, the Controller publishes the
fact of such grant and thereupon the application
and other documents shall be open for public
inspection.

What are the benefits of patent registration:-

1. Patent registration ensures the complete protection

of your patent/invention against any unauthorised
use for a period of 20 years.
2. Patent registration allows you to enjoy monopoly in
the market as regards your invention during the
period of patent protection.
3. Patent registration confers exclusive right to
exploit the patent on patentee or his licensee or
assignee.
4. You can licence the patent and gain royalties for
the same.

Industrial designs:-
An industrial design means the visual aspects of an
article. It may consist of three-dimensional features, for
instance, the shape of an article, or two-dimensional
features, such as lines, patterns, or colour. An industrial
design is purely aesthetic, non-functional, and has no
utility. It is necessary to provide legal protection to the
creative originality of an industrial design to prevent
others from copying it.
Type of protection provided by industrial design:-
The owner of registered industrial design reserves the
right to prevent others from manufacturing, selling, or
importing articles bearing or embodying a design which is
a copy of or similar to the protected design.

Kinds of products that can come under Industrial design

protection

 Products of industry and handicraft items

 Household goods
 Lighting equipment
 Jewellery
 Electronic devices
 Textiles, etc.

Law relating to designs in India: the Designs Act, 2000

The Designs Act, 2000 seeks to promote the creation of
novel, original designs along with balancing competing
interests by granting the time-bound monopoly right to
use registered industrial design by the owner. The Act
contains provisions regarding registration of designs,
copyright in registered designs, industrial and
international exhibitions, restoration of lapsed designs,
the penalty for infringement of registered designs, etc.

In India, industrial designs are protected by Design Act

2000. Designs are usually one of the marketing
techniques used by successful entrepreneurs to seek
recognition and for the popularity of the brand.
Important features of Designs Act 2000
 The proprietor can also apply for the copyright in the design
for the period of 10 years from the date of registration and
for avoiding confusion as many products can be registered
for copyright and also for design but remedies cannot be
sought in both the as individual. (Sec 11) reads as
 “When a design is registered, the registered proprietor of the
design shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have
copyright in the design during ten years from the date of
registration.
 If, before the expiration of the said ten years, application for
the extension of the period of copyright is made to the
Controller in the prescribed manner, the Controller shall, on
payment of the prescribed fee, extend the period of copyright
for a second period of five years from the expiration of the
original period of ten years”.
 This act prohibits and punishes infringement of registered
layout design with imprisonment of up to three years or fine
of Rupees 50,000 approximately to maximum of Rupees 10
lacs approximately. Sec 22(2)
 This act also provides for the delegation of powers of
Controller and the duty of the examiner. (Ch.7)
 It also provides for restriction to avoid Anti-competitive
practices in the market.
Locarno classification
The Locarno classification is administered by the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) through a multilateral
treaty. This classification consists of a list of 32 classes and 219
subclasses with the explanatory notes into which any design can
be incorporated[1]. Before India has adopted the Locarno
classification it classified products for industrial designs on the
basis of the material which has been used to make the product.
Only after the enactment of the new law the design was classified
on the basis of the subject matter of the design.

Landmark judgments

1. Crocs Inc. USA v. Bata India Ltd. and Ors.

Judgment date: 24th January 2019.

Facts: In this case, Crocs filed a suit against Bata for

infringement of its registered sandal designs and passing
off its trademarks in the shape and configuration of its
footwear. Before filing the date of the design application,
the designs were issued on the Crocs website.

Judgments: The court held that based on the previous

publication the validity of design registration was
questionable. It further added that the designs claimed
was only modifications of pre-existing designs, the court
stated that the novelty or originality of the designs was
also questionable. In this case, The Delhi High Court also
sustained the grant of legal costs to the defendants.

Ritika Private limited V. Biba Apparels Private


Limited
Judgment date: 23rd March 2016

Facts: In this case, Plaintiff is a famous boutique apparel

designer brand in India. The defendant is also a famous
designer and manufacturer in India.
Plaintiff has filed the suit for seeking an injunction
against the defendant from reproducing, printing,
publishing, selling or offering, etc. of prints or garments
which are a duplication of the Plaintiff’s work.

Arguments: Defendant argued that under the Design

Act, 2000 the designs of the plaintiff have not been
registered. Defendant further added that by an industrial
process, the plaintiff’s designs have been reproduced
more than fifty times. Hence, there wouldn’t be any
infringement of copyright.

According to Section 15 (2) of the Copyright Act, 1957 as

there was no registration and the design has been
reproduced more than fifty (50) times by an industrial
process, the plaintiff’s designs cease to exist.

The court stated that there was no copyright

infringement on the part of the defendant as the designs
of the plaintiff were not registered under the Design Act,
2000. Therefore, this judgment proves that registration
of Designs is necessary in order to protect your design
from duplication of work. Hence, the owner of a design
loses all the benefits and rights relating to the designs of
an article.

Layout designs of integrated circuits

Integrated circuits are used in products such as
television, radio, mobile, washing machine, and data
processing instruments. The layout designs of integrated
circuits not only reduce the space but also enhance the
capacity and performance of the system. In India,
the Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Layout Design Act,
2000 regulates the registration, use, and protection of
original and distinct layout designs.

The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Designs Act, 2000

The Act deals with the protection of Semiconductor
Integrated Circuits layout designs. It has been enacted to
give effect to Section 6 in Part II of the TRIPS Agreement
relating to Layout-Design of Integrated Circuits. The Act
contains provisions relating to registration of
Semiconductor Integrated Circuits layout designs
including the procedure and duration of registration, the
effect of registration, assignment and transmission of
registered layout-design, use of layout-design, and
penalty for infringement of layout-design, etc.

Geographical Indications (GI):-

A geographical indication (GI) is used to identify goods
having a specific geographical origin. These indications
denote quality, reputation, or other characteristics of
such goods essentially attributable to their geographical
origin. Generally, geographical indications are used for
foodstuffs, agricultural products, wine, industrial products
and handicrafts. Examples of GI include Basmati Rice,
Darjeeling Tea etc.

Benefits of registration of GI

 Confers legal protection to domestic/national GI

which in turn boosts exports.
  Prevents others from making unauthorised use of a
Registered Geographical Indication.
 Promotes the economic well-being of producers of
items produced in a specific geographic area.

Law relating to GI in India: the Geographical Indications of

Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and
Protection) Act, 1999 provides for the registration and
better protection of geographical indications relating to
goods. The Act contains provisions relating to registration
of geographical indications of goods, rights conferred by
registration, registration of authorised users of registered
geographical indications, provisions for renewal, and
restoration of geographical indications, and prohibition of
registration of geographical indication as a trade mark,
etc.

Trade Secrets:-
Trade Secrets are IP rights on confidential information
which may be sold or licensed. A trade secret refers to
any confidential business information and may include
designs, drawings, plans, business strategies, R & D
related information, etc. In order to qualify as a trade
secret, the information should be commercially valuable
i.e. useful in a trade or business, known to a small
number of people, and subject to reasonable steps taken
by the rightful holder of the information to keep it secret.
Types of trade secrets:-

 Technical information such as information regarding

manufacturing processes, designs, drawings of
computer programs (Google)
 Financial information, formulas, recipes, secret
combination of elements, source codes, etc.
Other laws relating to Intellectual Property Rights in India
A quick glance at the important Intellectual Property Rights
TRADEMA
PATENT COPYRIGHT
RK

Original Any
works of symbols,
Patents may be
authors and phrase,
granted in any
artists word,
field of technology
ranging from design that
for inventions that
books, music, identifies
are new and
paintings, and
Subject of useful including a
sculpture to distinguish
protection new product or an
computer es the
improvement of
programs, source of
an existing
databases, the goods
product or a new
advertisemen of an
process of making
ts, maps and enterprise
a product.
technical from those
drawings. of others.

Requireme Novelty and Original Distinctive

 usefulness
Inventive step/
Non- (capable of
creative work
obviousnessIndust identifying
Must be in
rial the source
nts some
applicationMust of a
tangible
be patentable particular
medium
according to the good)
Patent Law in
force

It should be
equal to or
Can vary
longer than
but is
50 years after
usually 10
the creator’s
years and
death. In
20 years from the can be
Term of India, the
date of filing of renewed
protection copyright
application on
protection
payment
lasts for the
of an
life of the
additional
author plus
fee.
60 years after
death.

Rights Right to decide Right to Right to

granted to who may use the derive exclusive
patentee/ invention/Right to financial use of
copyright authorise the use reward from trademark
owner/ of patent by the use of by the
trademark issuing licence and work by owner or
holder through othersRight its
assignment/Right to authorise licenseeRig
to surrender the or prevent ht to
patent/ Right certain uses assignRight
against of the to seek
infringement workRight to legal
authorise or remedies
prohibit against
reproduction infringeme
of workRight nt
to authorise
or prohibit
recording, for
example in
the form of
CDs and
DVDsRight to
prohibit or
authorise
broadcasting
by radio,
satelliteRight
to authorise
or prohibit
translation of
 work in other
languagesRig
ht to
authorise
adaptation of
the work into
a movie
etc.Moral
right to claim
authorship of
the
workRight to
transfer the
rights
through
assignment
or grant
permissive
use of the
copyright to
any
personRight
against
infringement

Registratio Being a territorial Copyright Trademark

n right, a patent protection s can be
must be runs registered
registered in a automatically or
 unregister
ed. The
Trademark
Law offers
without the protection
need for any for both
registration registered
formalities. and non-
country according
However, a registered
to the procedure
system of trademarks
prescribed by its
voluntary . However,
Patent Law.
registration is a
established registered
by most trademark
countries. provides
prima facie
evidence
of its
ownership.

International regime of Intellectual Property Rights

Various agreements and conventions have been
formulated at the international level to govern and
regulate the various aspects and emerging issues relating
to intellectual property rights. Some of the major efforts
undertaken in the form of major international
instruments, treaties, conventions, and forums dealing
with intellectual property rights are as follows:
The Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property
The Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial
Property adopted in 1883 is the oldest international
convention and was the first major step taken towards
the protection of IP rights. The Convention contains 30
Articles dealing with various aspects and types of
industrial property including patents, trademarks, service
marks, utility models, industrial designs, geographical
indications, and the repression of unfair competition. The
Convention was revised in July 1967 in Stockholm.

The Convention is based on three guiding principles:

1. National treatment: Each contracting state must

provide the same level of protection to nationals of
other contracting states as it grants to its own
nationals.
2. Right of priority: The Convention provides for the
right of priority in the case of patents , marks and
industrial designs. This right means that the
applicant may, within a certain period of filing a
regular first application in one of the contracting
states, apply for protection in any of the other
contracting states as well. The subsequent
applications filed within the grace period shall be
regarded as being filed on the same date as the
first application. The benefit of this provision is that
applicants seeking protection in several countries
need not present all of their applications at the
same time and have a period of 6/12 months to
decide in which country they wish to seek
protection.
 3. Uniform rules: The Convention lays down some
common rules that must be followed by all member
states such as:

1. Patents granted in different contracting states for

the same invention are independent of each other.
2. Industrial designs must be protected in each
contracting state, and protection may not be
forfeited on the ground that articles incorporating
the design are not manufactured in that State.
3. Protection must be granted to trade names in each
contracting state without there being an obligation
to file or register the names.

Patent Co-operation Treaty, 1970:-

The Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT) was concluded on
19th June, 1970 and came into effect on 24th January,
1978. The treaty aims to simplify the procedure of filing
patent applications in states that are party to the treaty
agreement. It provides a system for filing a patent
application and entitles the nationals of a contracting
state to obtain patents in multiple countries around the
world on the basis of a single patent application.

Berne Convention for Protection of Literary and Artistic

Works, 1886
The Berne Convention for Protection of Literary and
Artistic Works adopted in 1886 is the most significant
International Convention dealing with copyright
protection. It provides for a minimum term of protection
of copyright i.e. life of the author plus 50 years or an
alternative of 50 years from the publication of
anonymous and pseudonymous works. The Convention is
based on three basic principles:

1. Principle of national treatment: The works

originating in one member state must be given the
same protection in each of the other member
states as the latter grants to the works of its own
nationals.
2. Principle of automatic protection: Protection
should not be conditional upon compliance with any
formality. This means that the original artistic and
literary works shall be given automatic global
protection from the moment of their creation, in a
fixed medium, thereby ensuring equal treatment to
such works.
3. Principle of “independence” of protection: This
means that the protection is independent of
whether the protection exists in the country of
origin of the work or not.

Universal Copyright Convention, 1952

Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) was developed
under the auspices of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as an
alternative to the Berne Convention of 1886. The
Convention came into force in 1955. The Convention is
based on the principle of national treatment and also
requires each contracting state to maintain specific
minimum legal safeguards protection of copyright. The
Convention prescribes that the formalities required by the
national law of a contracting state shall be considered to
be satisfied if all the copies of a work originating in
another contracting state carry the symbol ©,
accompanied by the name of the copyright owner and the
year of first publication.

Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of

Industrial Design, 1925

The Hague Agreement concerning the International

Deposit of Industrial Design, 1925, as revised in 1960
seeks to facilitate international protection of industrial
design through the provision of a single deposit with the
International Bureau of WIPO in order to prevent possible
infringement by other member states. The protection is
offered when the industrial design is deposited on
payment of a prescribed fee. Once the industrial design is
registered and published, it will have the same effect in
the contracting states as if it had been registered under
the national laws.

World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

Established on 14th July 1967, WIPO is a global forum for
intellectual property (IP) services, policies, information,
and cooperation. It aims to develop an effective and
balanced international IP system that encourages
innovation and creativity for the benefit of all. WIPO has
193 member states.
Objectives of WIPO

 Promoting intellectual property protection around the

world through state cooperation and partnership
with any international organisation;
 Harmonising, promoting and strengthning national
intellectual property legislations and procedures;
 To provide services with regard to international
applications for intellectual property rights;
 For exchanging information on intellectual property;
 To provide legal and technical assistance concerning
IP to developing and other countries;
 Facilitating resolution of intellectual property
disputes
WIPO and India
India joined the WIPO in 1975.
India is a part of the following WIPO Treaties:

 IPO Convention (1975)

 Paris Convention (1998)
 Berne Convention (1928)
 Patent Cooperation Treaty (1998)
 Phonograms Convention (1975)
 Nairobi Treaty (1983)
 Nice Agreement (2019)
 Locarno Agreement (2019)
 Vienna Agreement (2019)
What other WIPO-administered International Treaties and
Conventions are there to which India is a Member?
 Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property
Organization
 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic
Works
 Patent Cooperation Treaty
 Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in respect of
Integrated Circuits
 Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol

TRIPS Agreement
The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) 1994 is an
international level multilateral agreement that deals with
the protection of intellectual property rights. The
TRIPS Agreement recognizes the importance of IP in
international trade and also provides a dispute resolution
and prevention mechanism for trade-related IP issues.
Every member of WTO is required to observe the
provisions of TRIPs and provide a minimum level of IP
protection in their national laws.

Categories of IP covered by TRIPs

 Copyright and related rights

 Trademark
 Geographical indications
 Industrial design
 Patent
 Layout designs of integrated circuits
 Protection of undisclosed information