Key concepts on Intellectual Property Rights in India

In India the concept of intellectual property and it protection is of vital

importance and is observed at Administrative, Judicial, statutory levels and also
by IPR investigators in India. The norms of protection of intellectual property in
India are laid down under the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS) which was considered to be in force 1
st
January 1995
onwards. The TRIPS agreement is part of the agreement that India ratified with
the World Trade Organization (WTO). This agreement provides the basic
standards related to protection of Intellectual Property within its member
countries and lays down legal systems and practices to be followed. The norms
cover the areas of Patents, Trade Marks, Copyrights, Geographical Indications and
Industrial Designs
Trademarks
According to Section 2 (1) (m) of The Trademarks Act, 1999- mark as includes a
device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral,
shape of goods, packaging or combination of colors or any combination thereof .
Section 2 (1) (zb) of the Act defines a trade mark as a mark capable of being
represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or
services of one person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their
packaging and combination of colors.
Patents
According to the Patents Act 1970, A Patent is a right granted to an inventor for a
limited period of time (currently 20 years under the Patents Act, 1970) by a
country government when the procedure that lead to such invention is disclosed
to the Comptroller of Patent Office. A Patent bestows upon an inventor, the sole
right to exclude others from making, using, or selling his invention.
In order to be eligible for grant of a patent, an invention must be new, novel and
should not present itself as being obvious to a person who is skilled in art. This
implies that everything that is already known in that particular field of art shall
not be eligible for a patent. For an Invention to be regarded new and novel it
must enrich the state of its respective art and eliminate any inconvenience,
difficulty or error substantially.
Geographical Indications
The TRIPS agreement provides intellectual property right solutions and contains
a general obligation that parties shall provide the legal means for interested
parties to prevent the use of any means in the designation or presentation of a
good that indicates or suggests that the good in question originates in a
geographical area other than the true place of origin in a manner which misleads
the public as to the geographical origin of the good. There is no obligation under
the Agreement to protect geographical indications which are not protected in
their country or origin or which have fallen into disuse in that country.
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Industrial Designs
Industrial designs can be defined as any creative activity which results in the
aesthetic, ornamental or final appearance of a product. Industrial designs are an
integral part of intellectual property. The TRIPS Agreement provides the minimum
standards for protection of industrial designs .In order to ratify the agreement
India amended its existing national legislation in order to accommodate these
standards.
Design laws protect the design aspect in industrial production and encourage
innovation in the Industrial manufacturing process. The Act that offers protection
to industrial designs in India is the New Designs Act, 2000