Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
Dr. Meghna Dhar
April, 26 is a symbolic date in the world of Intellects .It is the date which is observed as “World Intellectual Property Day”. The intellectual’s excellence and artistic creations determine the quality of the culture of an age. Intellectual Property is an intangible property which is created by mind and the creator has the right to use it and sell it .It is just like any other property governed by laws. The concept’ Intellectual Property Rights’ is abbreviated and commonly called as IPR. In the year 2000, IPR Day was recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in order to raise awareness of how copyright, trademarks, patents and designs impact on daily life and to celebrate creativity and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines intellectual property as the result of creativity e.g. ‘patents’ or ‘copyrights’. Intellectual Property Right refers to creations of the intellect such as Inventions, Literary and Artistic Works, Industrial Designs and Symbols names and images used in commerce. The importance of intellectual property was first recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1886. Both treaties are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Patent an exclusive right granted for invention-a product or process that provides a new way of doing something and offers a new technical solution to a problem. They allow creators, or owners of patents, trademarks or copyright works to benefit from their own work or investment in a creation. These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which provides the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from authorship of scientific to literary or artistic productions.
Kinds of IPR’s
Under IPR, two acts are most relevant to us, one is Copyright Act, 1957, and the other one is Patents Act, 1970.
IPR is divided into following types:
Copyright is an exclusive and assignable legal right granted by law given to the originator for a specified number of years to produce copies, print, publish, perform, film or record and to control an original literary work such as writing of poems and novels, films, plays or artistic works such as drawings, photographs and sculptures, paintings, architectural designs, musical and dramatic creations whether in printed, audio or video form. Rights related to copyright also include those of performing artists in their performances, those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs and producers of phonograms in their recordings. Works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of the author or creator. The duration of copyright is not fixed. For example, in our country the copyright of a book remains in force till 60 years. It varies from country to country. Infringement of copyright is a common phenomenon. In photocopying shops, books after books are photocopied at the request of students in flagrant infringement of copyrights.
Patents refer to an Industrial Property, which includes inventions and can be used to protect inventions or discoveries that are innovative, non-obvious, and useful. Some of the examples of Innovations are sticky notes-small coloured chits, bladeless fans, vegetable peeler, i-phone etc. Patent & Design Office is at Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.
Trade Secrets refer to specific, private information that is important to a business because it gives the business a competitive advantage in its marketplace. If a trade secret is acquired by another company, it could harm the original holder. When a person or business holds a trade secret protection, others cannot copy or steal the idea. Some examples of trade secrets include recipes for certain foods and beverages like Kellogg’s Coco Cola or Sprite, Hamdard, Dabur etc.
Trademarks refer to phrases, words, or symbols that distinguish the source of a product or services of one party from another. Trade Marks are visual symbols such as a Name, Word, Label, Logo, Monogram, and Slogan etc. such as Apple which are applied on Article of a Manufacture or Service. It also indicates the origin of goods and services.
Geographical Indications (GIs) of source identifies agricultural, natural or manufactured goods originating from a definite place possessing special quality or unique characteristics of the geographical location. Some of the examples of Geographical Indications are, Darjeeling Tea, Nagpur Oranges, Kolhapuri Chappal, Mysore Silk Saree, Kashmir Silk Saree, Pashmina Shawl of Kashmir, Basoli Paintings, Morels/Gucchi Mushrooms, which are found in village Shapore Distt Ganderbal Kashmir, Saffron from Kashmir and Basmati Rice of R.S.Pura, Jammu is GI-tagged .Now farmers in the Jammu and Kashmir are able to sell their products on domestic and international market places by GI tag of Saffron from Kashmir and Basmati Rice of Jammu.
Validity of IPR’s: The maximum period of validity of a Patent is 20 years. Renewal of Patent is mandatory every year and if Patents are not renewed within 6 month of expiry of concerned year by paying renewal fee, then the patents will cease and can be transferred to public domain. The period of protection of Trade Mark is life -long .After 10yrs the Trade Mark is to be renewed. The maximum protection period of Design is 15 years and its renewal is after 10 years and thereafter it is next 5 years .Maximum protection period for Copyright is 60 years and its renewal is done after 10 years. The protection period of Geographical Indication (GI) is life -long and it is to be renewed after 10 years.
Conclusion: Trade Secrets, Industrial Designs and Paintings drawn by a painter, an invention patented by a patentee, a novel penned by an author, a photograph snapped by a photographer and so on are all intellectual properties. The intellectual property rights are accepted all over the world as it provides an incentive to individuals for new creations, it accords due credit to the inventors and creators and also ensures material reward for intellectual property and makes available genuine and original products. The Intellectual Property Right is helpful to deal with the challenge of new business environment. Awareness regarding various IPR’s is necessary for present day society in order to acquire the legal protections associated with trade secrets and protection of the information concerning with innovative ideas and creativity.
(The author is Assistant Professor at University of Jammu, Jammu)
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