Intellectual Property refers to intangible assets not having any physical form and which are created by the human intellect and mental effort. For example, music, art, literature, technology etc. created by a person. As these do not have any physical body, it is more essential to protect them because they can be easily stolen, copied and misused. Hence, over the years, Intellectual Property laws have emerged to protect these valuable assets by giving ownership to the creator through certain rights such as trademarks, patents, copyright etc., so that their work cannot be copied or stolen by other people. These rights are governed by the legal statutes and documents such as The Trade Marks Act 1999, Copyrights Act 1957, The Patents Act 1970 and other such Acts. Unlike the other subfields of law, the Intellectual Property Laws deal with creativity, innovation and technology and help in protecting the valuable creations of the human mind. The IP Law sector is witnessing a boom as more and more technologies and innovations come up every day that require to be protected. This sector is becoming a unique law field in itself that is unconventional.
HISTORY OF IPR IN INDIA
‘IP Laws such as Trademarks, Patents and Copyrights emerged late back in England and was used by the then monarch to distribute patents on newly developed technologies to create monopolies in the market. These laws later made their way to India through the colonial rule. Patents, which provide the inventor exclusive right to the technology developed by them and control over how it is to be used first emerged in India through Act VI of 1856 which went through several amendments to be renamed as The Patterns and Designs Protection Act which remained in force for 30 years and was finally replaced by The Patents Act 1970 which is still in use today.’[1]
Copyright is a right that protects the work of creators such as music, literature work, novels etc. and also provides them the authority to license their work and gain profit from it. It also emerged in England and was used by the government to control the publications and not just provide them rights over their work. It made its way to India through the British laws in Colonial era. At that time it provided copyright for a duration of forty two years and seven years after that on. These enactment went through several amendments, the major one being in 1957 which was taken as the Copyright Amendment Act and is in use today. It is still amended as per the needs of the present.
‘Trademarks are logos, symbols, mottos, phrases etc. that are used by a company to make it distinguishable from other products. It is important as it allows the customers to differentiate between the products of different brands and each brand is able to create its different identity. Trademarks originated in England in the thirteenth century and was initially used by the bakeries to distinguish their products and goods. India first adopted the Trade Mark Act in 1940 which was based on the British Trade Mark Act. After various amendments, Trade Mark Act 1999 is in use today. The two key features of the Act are the protection of the owners from duplicity of the products and to increase the goodwill of the businesses.’ [2]
CURRENT STATUS OF IPR IN INDIA
‘Over the past twenty years, the importance of intellectual property rights has increased due to globalization and the growth of the world economy as new technologies are invented on a daily basis. Companies and Organizations are now investing heavily in the creative field and also want to protect their work through Patents, Trademarks and other Intellectual Property Rights. Many nations independently upgraded their laws and regulations in this area in the 1990s.With the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Systems (TRIPS) Agreement established the function and significance of intellectual property protection. Numerous new laws for the protection of intellectual property rights were created in response to the creation of the WTO and India’s signing of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). These new legislations and Acts include Designs Act 2000, Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, and Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 apart from the previously present legislations for Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents.’[3]
India amended The Patent Act periodically in the years 1995, 1999, 2002, and 2005 to comply with its obligations under the TRIPS agreement. The amendments were made for the purposes of reducing errors and limitations to international trade and promoting the efficient safeguarding of intellectual property rights. Additionally, it has been modified to accommodate India’s numerous technical advancements. Additionally, to keep up with the expansion of international laws pertaining to intellectual property, India has modified its other intellectual property rights. It has helped in maintaining a uniform, universal standard for intellectual property rights. These revisions sought to modernise, harmonise, and make rights easier to use, and more accessible while protecting national and public interests.
Currently, apart from the conventional IPR Laws such as Trademark, Copyright and Patents, several other Intellectual Property Rights have been brought into force. These are
The Designs Act 2000
According to Section 2(d) of the Designs Act, a “design” is defined as “only the features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornaments, or composition of lines or colours, applied to any article whether in two-dimensional or three-dimensional form, or in both forms, by any industrial process or means, whether manual, mechanical or chemical, separate or combined, which in the finished article appeal to and are judged solely by the eye.” Design refers to the appearance of a product. It is what makes the article attractive. Companies spend a lot on the design of their products to make them attractive and unique. For eg. the bottles of perfume. Apart from the fragrance, people are also attracted by the design of the bottle of the perfume and hence it is important for such designs to be registered and protected from being copied. In addition, after a design is registered, the registered proprietor is given protection for a first period of 10 (ten) years, which is then extendable (upon filing an extension request) for a subsequent period of 5 years.
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act)
Due to their origin, several products are very well-liked in India and are popular due to their association with a certain place. Some examples are Kannauj perfume, Ratnagiri mangoes, Nagpur Oranges, Apples from Kashmir etc. This Act is meant to provide protection to these goods which are associated with a certain place so that their uniqueness can be maintained and these goods and services may be better promoted. ‘A Geographical Indication is described as an indication that designates such goods as commodities from agriculture, natural goods, or manufactured items as originating, or manufactured in a specific area of country, or a region or locality in that area, where a given quality, credibility, or other characteristic of such goods is mainly attributable to its geographical location and, in the case where such goods are manufactured goods, one of the activities of either the production or processing of a product takes place in a particular area. It is important to note that only some types of items are covered under the GI Act, including those that are natural, manufactured, agricultural, and food-related.’[4]
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer’s Rights Act, 2001 (Plant Varieties Act)
‘The Protection of Plant variations and Farmer’s Right Act, 2007, seeks to safeguard plant variations in order to promote the expansion and diversification of plant species while also recognising the rights of Indian farmers. All kinds of plants that have been recognised and given protection by the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) were added to and recorded in the National Register of Plant Varieties after India became a member of the organization. Any breeder, farmer, or other person who is authorised may submit an application for registration of a new plant variety under the Plant Varieties Act. If a new plant variety meets the requirements of novelty, distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability, it may be registered.’[5] Novelty refers to the fact that at the time of registration, there should not have been any prior sale of the plant that is to be registered. Distinctiveness means that the plant should have characteristics that make it different from already existing similar plants that are protected under the Act. Uniformity suggests that all the samples of the plant or all the plants that have been grown should have the same characteristics and features in common. And lastly stability means that each time the crop is grown, it should have consistent characteristics with no variations.
The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout- Design Act, 2000 (SICLD Act)
‘This act plays a very important role in the field of electronics as it protects intellectual property and layout designs related to semiconductors and related technology. As per this Act, a semiconductor integrated circuit is a product with transistors and other circuitry parts that are inseparably created on a semiconductor material, a material that is insulating, or inside the semiconductor material that is designed to perform an electronic circuitry function.
All layout designs that can be registered under the SICLD Act must be original, economically unused in India and in any other convention countries, intrinsically distinctive, and fundamentally differentiable from other registered designs. Under the Act, registered layout designs are protected for a further ten (10) years.’[6]
CONCLUSION
The creation of the mind includes things like logos, symbols, texts, and machinery. This output of the human mind is valuable since it significantly boosts the economy of the country. These breakthroughs are encouraged, and entrepreneurs are rewarded in many ways through IP rights which they can use to protect their creations and also use them to earn profits. One of the blazing examples of successful Intellectual Property in recent times is JK Rowling’s Harry Potter which has been converted into a huge franchise of movies and merchandise and earns millions of profits for the author. It also goes on to show how important it is for the creators to be in control of their intellectual property.[7]
The idea of intellectual property has been around for a very long time and is regarded by industries as one of the most significant rights. While many sectors have relied on these rights for the safeguarding of their work for generations, consumers use intellectual property (IP) to make sure that they buy products that are safe, legitimate, and certified. The expansion of digital IP is one of the main trends in IP law. Companies are relying more and more on intellectual property (IP) to secure their online holdings as digital technologies like the internet, social media, and e-commerce are used more often.
‘In conclusion, a number of significant patterns and advances, such as the growth of digital IP, increased emphasis on protecting patents, modifications to trademark law, and the influence of new innovations, are expected to have an impact on the course of IP law in India in the years to come. Businesses and legal professionals will need to be informed of the most recent developments and adjust their strategy as these developments continue to shift. By doing this, they may successfully negotiate India’s complicated IP legal system and stay on top of this quickly developing area.’[8] And with the arrival of the Artificial Intelligence such as ChatGPT and Google Bard which are being used to churn out content such as articles, blogs, scripts, novels, art, music etc. at wild rates, the IP system will only get more and more complicated. These AI systems work based on the data that is already present and hence the originality of the work created by these AI is questionable. It remains to be seen how the world is going to deal with the Intellectual Property created by the AI.
[1] IPR Law-History, Legal Service India – Law, Lawyers and Legal Resources, https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3581-ipr-law-history.html#:~:text=Origin%20In%20India%3A,as%20Act%20XV%20of%201859.
[2] IPR Law-History, Legal Service India – Law, Lawyers and Legal Resources, https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3581-ipr-law-history.html#:~:text=Origin%20In%20India%3A,as%20Act%20XV%20of%201859.
[3] Ajay Thakur, All you need to know about the IPR Laws in India, iPleaders (2017), https://blog.ipleaders.in/need-know-ipr-laws-india/
[4] Ahlawat & Associates – Tanya Nair, Types of Intellectual Property Rights in India, Lexology (2022), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7045cf52-4a2c-465f-980b-b5af034e2064
[5] Ahlawat & Associates – Tanya Nair, Types of Intellectual Property Rights in India, Lexology (2022), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7045cf52-4a2c-465f-980b-b5af034e2064
[6] Ahlawat & Associates – Tanya Nair, Types of Intellectual Property Rights in India, Lexology (2022), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=7045cf52-4a2c-465f-980b-b5af034e2064
[7] Admin, WOMEN AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, Law ’n justice (2023), https://lawnjustice.in/women-and-intellectual-property/
[8] Gopikrishnan Mukundan, The Future of Intellectual Property Law in India: Trends and Predictions, ACURA IP (2023), https://acuraip.com/the-future-of-intellectual-property-law-in-india/
Author: Harshwardhan Mishra
Juris Centre 