Intellectual Property in India
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) refer to the ownership of intangible creations by an individual or an organisation. These include artistic works, literature, pictures, logos, symbols, names, quotes etc. The main objective for the protection of intellectual property is the core belief that the labour, hard work and effort that goes into the creation or invention of the property must be rewarded and the inventors must be able to reap the economic benefits of their intellectual property.
IPR bestow certain exclusive rights to the creators of the intellectual property for a given period, which would allow the creators to commercialise their ownership of the said intellectual property. Additionally, ownership over their intellectual property rights enable organisations and individuals to preclude third parties from using and commercially benefitting from the use of, the said intellectual property.
While Intellectual Property rights are extremely vast and cover various aspects, they include, amongst others, Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents. In India, various laws and acts have been put in place to govern the protection of intellectual property. These include the Trade Marks Act 1999, the Patents Act 1970, the Copyright Act 1957, the Designs Act 2000, etc..
Alternatively, looking beyond the statutes, intellectual property can also be protected as Trade Secrets.
A brief description of the most common types of intellectual property is given below:
1. Trademarks
Trademarks are creative and unique words or logos/ images used to distinguish one organisation’s goods and services from others in the same industry. For a trademark to be considered fit for registration and thus statutory protection, it must be unique and not descriptive of the goods or services associated with the use of the trademark. Trademark protection is granted for a period of ten years at a time, and upon the expiry of each ten-year period, the proprietor or the owner of the trademark has the option of extending their trademark registration for a further period of ten years. Trademark registrations can be infinitely renewed.
2. Copyrights
Copyright is usually held by the creator of the work to hold exclusive rights to print, publish, perform or commercially benefit from their literary, artistic or musical work. Copyrights are automatically earned by the creator of these works and the right remains in existence until sixty years following the death of the creator, following which, the work enters the public domain, where it may be used by third parties.
While registration of a copyright is not mandatory as per Indian Law, registering a copyright would bring the creator additional benefits, for example, the owner of a registered copyright is able to present tangible proof of their ownership over the copyright, should such proof be necessary. Additionally, the copyright holder would be able to publish information about their copyright to advertise the same to the public, they can license the use of the copyright to third parties while still retaining ownership over the same, and they would have the right to file a suit in the courts for infringement of their copyright.
For a copyright to be considered for registration, the work must be a created work and not just a mere idea, it should be original to the author, it must be creative, it must not have been published before, the author must be a citizen of India at the time of publication of the work.
3. Patents
Patents are granted to inventors in exchange of full disclosure of the invention. A patent will enable the inventor to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing the patented product or process without the explicit consent of the inventor. Patents are valid for a period of twenty years, following which the patented product or process enters the public domain. Patents are awarded for inventions which satisfy the criteria of global novelty, non-obviousness and industrial or commercial application.
4. Industrial Designs
The protection of Industrial Designs is governed by the Designs Act in India and protects the ornamental or aesthetic aspects of an invention. The main consideration for protection to be granted is the visual design of the product, excluding the utilitarian aspect of the same. If the product is purely utilitarian, it does not qualify for industrial design protection. Industrial Design protection is valid for a period of ten years and may be renewed for up to five more years.
5.Trade Secrets
While trade secrets are not governed or protected by any specific statute in India, organisations may safeguard their intellectual property by protecting them as trade secrets by way of executing confidentiality agreements. The information is protected as a trade secret until it is disclosed to third parties or the public. Organisations may effectively protect their trade secrets by implementing strong and robust contractual measures, like non-disclosure agreements and highly restricted access to the information protected as trade secrets. The remedy available to organisations in the event a trade secret is made public without their knowledge is purely contractual in nature and would be contested as a breach of contract or trust.
6. Traditional Knowledge
Traditional knowledge refers to the skills, processes and practices developed by indigenous or ancient communities that have been a part of cultural or traditional practices for generations. This usually is encompassed by certain agricultural practices, ancient medicinal practices or biodiversity. In India, traditional knowledge is protected under the Biological Diversity Act and the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) initiative. For example, certain practices that form a part of Ayurvedic healing rituals or practices would be considered traditional knowledge and therefore would be communal property and no one party or person would be able to claim exclusive use of the same.
Conclusion
Intellectual Property Rights in India covers a broad spectrum of intangible assets and the protection of the same has been widely discussed and theorised over the years. While certain forms of intellectual property are not specifically registrable under the statues in force presently, the protection of the three main forms of intellectual property, which are trademarks, copyrights and patents, have been standardised and made comprehensive under the law. The rights granted in terms of intellectual property not only incentivises creativity and enables artists, inventors and corporations alike to protect their ownership of their intangible assets, but also enables them to commercialise and profit from the hard work, creativity and thought that goes behind the creation of intangible assets in the form of their intellectual property.