INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Intellectual property rights are the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. They
usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of
time.
Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creations of the human mind like inventions, literary and
artistic works, symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce. Intellectual property is
divided into two categories: Industrial property, which includes inventions (patents), trademarks,
industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; and Copyright, which includes literary
and artistic works such as novels, poems, plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as
drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures, and architectural designs. Rights related to
copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in
their recordings, and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programs. Intellectual
property rights protect the interests of creators by giving them property rights over their
creations.
Intellectual property rights are customarily divided into two main areas:
(i) Copyright and rights related to copyright.
The rights of authors of literary and artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical
compositions, paintings, sculptures, computer programs, and films) are protected by copyright,
for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author.
Also protected through copyright and related (sometimes referred to as “neighboring”) rights are
the rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), producers of phonograms (sound
recordings), and broadcasting organizations. The main social purpose of the protection of
copyright and related rights is to encourage and reward creative work.
(ii) Industrial property.
Industrial property can usefully be divided into two main areas:
One area can be characterized as the protection of distinctive signs, in particular trademarks
(which distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings)
and geographical indications (which identify a good as originating in a place where a given
characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin).
The protection of such distinctive signs aims to stimulate and ensure fair competition and to
protect consumers, by enabling them to make informed choices between various goods and
services. The protection may last indefinitely, provided they sign in question continues to be
distinctive.
Other types of industrial property are protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design, and the
creation of technology. In this category fall invention (protected by patents), industrial designs,
and trade secrets.
The social purpose is to provide protection for the results of investment in the development of
new technology, thus giving the incentive and means to finance research and development
activities.
A functioning intellectual property regime should also facilitate the transfer of technology in the
form of foreign direct investment, joint ventures, and licensing.
The protection is usually given for a finite term (typically 20 years in the case of patents).
DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES
A Domain Name is a word or a combination of words that help identify a website’s association
with another individual. Domain names are used to locate a website and are popularly known as
Uniform Resource Locators (URL). The Internet Domain Name is very important for every
business that wants to establish its name globally. Domain Names consist of two parts, top-level
and second-level domain names. These are easily identifiable, for e.g., www.google.com, here
‘com’ is the top-level domain and ‘google’ is the second-level domain. Any individual can
purchase a Domain Name from a certified Registrar for a limited amount of time which can be
renewed by the registrant upon its expiry.
A Domain Name Dispute may arise when there is infringing, conflicting, and/or unauthorized
use of a domain name on part of an individual. In order to successfully establish a Domain Name
Dispute, the Complainant is required to satisfy the criteria laid down in the various dispute
resolution policies.
As the internet is not restricted by any borders or boundaries, and due to the global presence of
most businesses, a Domain Name infringement can occur in a country different from where it is
registered. In the event of such a trans-border infringement, the person can use the Uniform
Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), a standard and uniform Policy across the
world, unlike domestic laws that can vary across jurisdictions.
Broadly, there are three different ways in which a Domain Name is infringed:
Cyber-Squatting: Cyber-squatting is carried out through Domain Name Parking, or when an
individual registers a Domain Name with no intention of carrying out any legitimate commercial
or non-commercial activities. It is commonly done by Registrants in order to sell the domain
name further to its authorized user at exorbitant rates.
Linking & Framing: Linking & Framing is when a user clicks on a text hyperlink that takes
them to a different website. This website is similar to a well-known company and is created
solely to deceive the consumers into believing that their domain name bares association with
successful business entities that have a strong online presence.
Meta Tagging: Meta Tagging is when words and tags are used to manipulate search engines into
displaying the infringed website. They work similarly to Hashtags that are used on social media
websites to increase visibility.
TRADEMARK. DISPUTES
Trademarks started to play an important role with industrialization, and they have since become
a key factor in the modern world of international trade and market-oriented economies.
Definition - "A trademark is any sign that individualizes the goods of a given enterprise and
distinguishes them from the goods of its competitors."
India being a mixed market, has many industries that operate under the free market concept. The
competition in the market system is extreme. For any enterprise to thrive in the open market,
they have to create brand recognition and brand value. The simplest way through which this is
achieved is via trademarks.
Since a trademark right registered under the Trademark Law has a proprietary value, the nature
of such a right would bring about various types of disputes. A trademark is a right that takes
effect after a trademark application is filed. Its registration is granted by the Patent Office (the
decision of registration), and the applicant pays the prescribed registration fee with respect to the
trademark. As a corporation or an individual entitled to a trademark runs the business, using the
trademark, the prestige of the trademark will build up. Increasingly a trademark takes on such
nature as a proprietary right with an exclusive right guaranteed under the law.
The causes of a trademark dispute are listed as follows:
 Dispute over the succession of a trademark right
 Dispute between the owner of trademark right and the holder of the right to use
 Dispute arising from a third party’s infringement of a trademark right
Trademark Function
The function of the trademark is the basis for its legal protection, but the trademark does, of
course, have other functions: consumers can usually rely on the consistent quality of the goods
offered under the mark. This is sometimes referred to as the quality function or the guarantee
function. Then again, its owner uses the trademark to communicate with the consumer, not only
through the goods bearing the mark but also in advertising. One can describe these possibilities
as the advertising function of the trademark. Finally, the trademark can, by its acquired
reputation, become a valuable piece of property for the owner, allowing him to license or
franchise it or to make other commercial use of it. Thus, the trademark can have important
economic functions which, however, are not normally protected by trademark law; they depend
mainly on the use made of the trademark by its owner.
Trademark Protection
A trademark can be protected on the basis of either use or registration. Both approaches have
developed historically, but today trademark protection systems generally combine both elements.
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of March 20, 1893 ("the Paris
Convention") places contracting countries under the obligation to provide for a trademark
register. Over one hundred States have adhered to the Paris Convention. Nearly all countries all
over the world today provide a trademark register, and full trademark protection is properly
secured only by registration.