Intellectual Property Rights

What are Intellectual Property Rights?

 Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the rights given to persons over the creations of their
minds: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names and images used in
commerce. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her
creation for a certain period of time.

 These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
1948 which provides for the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material
interests resulting from authorship of scientific, literary or artistic productions.

 The importance of intellectual property was first recognized in the Paris Convention for
the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). Both treaties are administered by
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

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, sculpture, computer programs and films) are protected
by copyright, for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author.

(ii) Industrial property: Industrial property can be divided into two main areas:

 Protection of distinctive signs, in particular trademarks and geographical indications.

o Trademarks distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of

other undertakings.

o Geographical Indications (GIs) identify a good as originating in a place where a

given characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical
origin.

o 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.

o The protection may last indefinitely, provided the sign in question continues to

be distinctive.

 Industrial designs and trade secrets: Other types of industrial property are protected

primarily to stimulate innovation, design and the creation of technology. In this category
fall inventions (protected by patents), industrial designs and trade secrets.
S

What is the need of IPR?

The progress and well-being of humanity rest on its capacity to create and invent new works in
the areas of technology and culture.

 Encourages innovation: The legal protection of new creations encourages the

commitment of additional resources for further innovation.

 Economic growth: The promotion and protection of intellectual property spurs economic

growth, creates new jobs and industries, and enhances the quality and enjoyment of life.

 Safeguard the rights of creators: IPR is required to safeguard creators and other

producers of their intellectual commodity, goods and services by granting them certain
time-limited rights to control the use made of the manufactured goods.

 It promotes innovation and creativity and ensures ease of doing business.

 It facilitates the transfer of technology in the form of foreign direct investment, joint
ventures and licensing.

India and IPR

 India is a member of the World Trade Organisation and committed to the Agreement

on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement).

 India is also a member of World Intellectual Property Organization, a body responsible

for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property rights throughout the world.

 India is also a member of the following important WIPO-administered International

Treaties and Conventions relating to IPRs.

o Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of

Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure

o Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property

o Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization

o Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works

o Patent Cooperation Treaty

o Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International

Registration of Marks- Madrid Protocol

o Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property in respect of Integrated Circuits

o Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol

o Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized

Duplication of Their Phonograms
 o Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired
Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities.

Acts Dealing with Intellectual Property Rights in India:

 The Copyright Act, 1957

 The Patents Act, 1970
 The Trade Marks Act, 1999
 The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

National IPR Policy, 2016

 The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016 was adopted in May 2016 as
a vision document to guide future development of IPRs in the country.

 Its clarion call is “Creative India; Innovative India”.

 It encompasses and brings to a single platform all IPRs, taking into account all inter-
linkages and thus aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual
property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies.

 It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review.

It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario.

 Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP),  Ministry of Commerce,

Government of India, has been appointed as the nodal department to coordinate, guide
and oversee the implementation and future development of IPRs in India.

 The ‘Cell for IPR Promotion & Management (CIPAM)’, setup under the aegis of
DIPP, is to be the single point of reference  for implementation of the objectives of the
National IPR Policy.

 India’s IPR regime is in compliance with the WTO's agreement on  Trade-Related

Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Objectives

 IPR Awareness: Outreach and Promotion - To create public awareness about the
economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society.

 Generation of IPRs - To stimulate the generation of IPRs.

 Legal and Legislative Framework - To have strong and effective IPR laws, which
balance the interests of rights owners with larger public interest.

 Administration and Management - To modernize and strengthen service-oriented IPR

administration.
  Commercialization of IPRs - Get value for IPRs through commercialization.

 Enforcement and Adjudication - To strengthen the enforcement and adjudicatory

mechanisms for combating IPR infringements.

 Human Capital Development - To strengthen and expand human resources, institutions
and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs.

Achievements under new IPR policy

 Improvement in Global Rankings: 

o India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index (GII) issued by WIPO has improved

from 81st in 2015 to 46TH place in 2022.

o India has improved its overall IP score from 38.4 per cent to 38.6 per cent, and
the country is ranked 43 out of 55 countries on the International Intellectual
Property Index 2022. This index was released by the Global Innovation Policy
Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

 Strengthening of institutional mechanism regarding IP protection and promotion.

 Clearing Backlog/ Reducing Pendency in IP applications : Augmentation of technical

manpower by the government, has resulted in drastic reduction in pendency in IP
applications.

o Automatic issuance of electronically generated patent and trademark certificates

has also been introduced.

 Increase in Patent and trademark Filings : Patent filings have increased by nearly 7%
in the first 8 months of 2018-19 vis-à-vis the corresponding period of 2017-18.
Trademark filings have increased by nearly 28% in this duration.

 IP Process Re-engineering: Patent Rules, 2003 have been amended to streamline

processes and make them more user friendly. Revamped Trade Marks Rules have been
notified in 2017.

 Creating IPR Awareness:

o On April 26 every year we celebrate World Intellectual Property Day to promote

discussion of the role of IP in encouraging innovation and creativity.

o The campaign ‘KAPILA’, which stands for Kalam Program for Intellectual
Property Literacy and Awareness campaign, was launched on 15th October 2020.
The day was launched in honour of the 89th birth anniversary of former President
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.

o IPR Awareness programs have been conducted in academic institutions, including

rural schools through satellite communication, and for industry, police, customs
and judiciary.
  Technology and Innovation Support Centres (TISCs ): In conjunction with WIPO,
TISCs have been established in various institutions across different states.

Issues in India’s IPR regime

 Section 3(d) of the Indian Patent Act 1970 (as amended in 2005) does not allow patent
to be granted to inventions involving new forms of a known substance unless it differs
significantly in properties with regard to efficacy.

o This means that the Indian Patent Act does not allow evergreening of patents.

o This has been a cause of concern to the pharma companies. Section 3(d) was
instrumental in the Indian Patent Office (IPO) rejecting the patent for Novartis’
drug Glivec (imatinib mesylate).

 Issue of Compulsory licencing (CL): CL is problematic for foreign investors who bring
technology as they are concerned about the misuse of CL to replicate their products. It
has been impacting India-EU FTA negotiations.

o Compulsory Licencing (CL) is the grant of permission by the government to

entities to use, manufacture, import or sell a patented invention without the
patent-owner’s consent. Patents Act in India deals with CL.

o CL is permitted under the WTO’s TRIPS (IPR) Agreement provided conditions

such as ‘national emergencies, other circumstances of extreme urgency and anti-
competitive practices’ are fulfilled.

 India continues to remain on the United States Trade Representative's (USTR’s) ‘Priority

Watch List’ for alleged violations of intellectual property rights (IPR).

o In its latest Special 301 report released by the United States Trade Representative

(USTR), the US termed India as “one of the world’s most challenging major
economies" with respect to protection and enforcement of IP.

 No Data Exclusivity Law: Foreign investors and MNCs allege that Indian law does not
protect against unfair commercial use of test data or other data submitted to the
government during the application for market approval of pharmaceutical or agro-
chemical products. For this they demand a Data Exclusivity law.

 Enforcement of the Copyright act is weak , and piracy of copyrighted materials is

widespread.

Way Forward
  Promoting an environment of innovations in schools. The academic curricula need to be
rebooted.

 A proper resolution mechanism for resolving IPR related issues is needed.

 India will be unable to take full advantage of the transformative benefits of a strong IP
system unless and until it addresses gaps in its IP laws and regulations.

 Success of India’s flagship programmes - Make in India and Start up India - depends

on the boost of innovation ecosystem with better IPR safeguarding.

o More awareness is needed about the creation, protection and enforcement of IPRs
to encourage the Indian industry not only to innovate but also to protect and
enforce their innovations.

Conclusion

 India has made a number of changes in its IPR regime to increase efficiency and has cut
down the time required to issue patents. The culture of innovation is taking centre stage
in the country. India is well poised to focus on R&D. This has been reflected in its
improved ranking in Global Innovation Index over the years.

 Government’s effort to strengthen National IPR policy, IP appellate tribunal, e-

governance and commitment to abide by the TRIPS agreement of WTO in letter and
spirit will help in improving perception of India globally.

 An efficient and equitable intellectual property system can help all countries to realize
intellectual property’s potential as a catalyst for economic development and social &
cultural well-being.

Geographical Indication (GI)

 It is an insignia on products having a unique geographical origin and evolution over

centuries with regard to its special quality or reputed attributes.

 It is a mark of authenticity and ensures that registered authorized users or at least those

residing inside the geographic territory are allowed to use the popular product names.

 It is used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods.

 GI tag in India is governed by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration &

Protection) Act, 1999. It is issued by the Geographical Indications Registry
(Chennai).

How long the registration of Geographical Indication is valid?

The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years.

It can be renewed from time to time for further period of 10 years each.

Geographical Indications – States in India

1. Karnataka has the highest registered GI products in India. It has 42 GI products.

2. Tamil Nadu has the 2nd highest GI registered products. It has 35 GI products.

3. Maharashtra has the 3rd highest GI registered products. It has 30 GI products.

4. Jharkhand has no GI’s registered.

5. Haryana and Punjab does not have GI products registered under its name individually.

Geographical Indication Registered Products – India

 As of March 2020, India had registered 361 Geographical Indication Products.

 Darjeeling Tea of West Bengal was the first product to receive the GI tag in India. Both
the product and the logo received the GI tag  2004-05.
 In the first year apart from Darjeeling Tea, the other products to receive GI tags were
Aranmula Kannadi a Handicraft from Kerala, Pochampalli Ikat a Handicraft from
Telangana.

Andhra Pradesh

Sl.No. Geographical Indication Type

1. Srikalahasthi Kalamkari Handicraft

2. Kondapalli Bommalu Handicraft

3. Machilipatnam Kalamkari Handicraft

4. Budiiti Bell & Brass Craft Handicraft

5. Andhra Pradesh Leather Puppetry Handicraft

6. Uppada Jamdani Sarees Handicraft

7. Tirupati Laddu[a] Foodstuff

8. Guntur Sannam Chilli Agricultural

9. Venkatagiri Sarees Handicraft

10. Bobbili Veena Handicraft

11. Mangalagiri Sarees and Fabrics Handicraft

12. Dharmavaram Handloom Pattu Sarees and Paavadas Textile

13. Bandar Laddu Food Stuff

14. Udayagiri Wooden Cutlery Handicraft

15. Banganapalli Mangoes Agricultural

16. Durgi Stone Carvings Handicraft

17. Etikoppaka Toys Handicraft

18. Allagadda Stone Carvings Handicraft

19. Araku Valley Arabica Coffee Agricultural

Potential Benefits of Geographical Indicators (GI)

  Benefits to Local Community: GI protection has wider positive benefits, especially for
local communities. In particular, it encourages the preservation of biodiversity, local
know-how and natural resources and this is where India can do well.
 Economic and Soft Power: Multiple benefits flow from a strong GI ecosystem, which
can be a wellspring of economic and soft power.
 It will automatically resolve the three fraught India issues of poor pay for talent, low
female participation in the labour force, and urban migration.
 It will convert talent into entrepreneurship with gig workers, and create a “passion”
economy, that is, a new way for individuals to monetise their skills and scale their
businesses exponentially.

 It removes the hurdles associated with freelance work to earn a regular income from a
source other than an employer.
 Boost Employment-to-population ratio: The labour-intensive nature of GI offers the
best solution to boosting the employment-to-population ratio in India, an abysmal 43%
compared with the 55% global average.
 Monetising artisanal work done at home will increase India’s low female labour force
participation rate, which at 21% in 2019 was half the 47% global average.
 Reverse Urban Migration: The hyper-localised nature of GI offers solutions to reverse
urban migration and conserve India’s ancient crafts, culture and food.
 Another revenue-earner, GI tourism, is typically a by-product of a strong GI ecosystem.

Drawbacks

The potential of GI has not yet been realized in India as the efforts have so far mainly focused
only on the first step of filing the GI.

Filing a GI application is a huge task that involves documenting historical evidence about the
linkage of the product with the region and the application has to be filed by an association or
group of persons.

Post registration activities in terms of utilizing the GI certification as a marketing/branding tool

to benefit the producers have not been attempted in most of the registered products due to limited
awareness about GI in the country among producers, consumers and policymakers.

International Protection for GI:

 Internationally GI are covered as a component of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)

under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
 The Paris Convention, adopted in 1883, applies to industrial property in the widest sense,
including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade
names, geographical indications and the repression of unfair competition.
  GI is also governed by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

GI Protection in India:

India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical
Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force with effect
from 2003.

The Act provides registration and also protection of GI goods in India.

This Act is administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks, who is
also the Registrar of Geographical Indications.

The Geographical Indications Registry for India is located in Chennai.

Way Forward

 Capacity Building: GI businesses are micro, it is necessary to address the challenges of

capacity-building, formal or easy access to credit, forming marketing linkages, research
and development, product innovation and competitiveness in both domestic and
international markets.

o The groundwork for MSME access to formal credit has already been done with
the new Account Aggregator data-sharing framework.

 Need to Shift to Digital Platforms: There is the vexed issue of middlemen, who run the
system. With the shift to digital platforms, the distribution margins of these gatekeepers
or mandi agents must be competitive so they do not act as countervailing agents by
getting into similar businesses or product lines which will erode GI producer incomes.

o As seen from the experience of the new farm laws, this will be a task for the
central and state governments; they must ensure the transition without breaking
down too many existing linkages.

 Local GI Cooperative Bodies: Local GI cooperative bodies or associations should be

established which can be nationally managed by a GI board under the auspices of the
Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Ministry of
Commerce department which should be tasked with developing this new sector.

 Spreading Digital Literacy: A required skill for GI producers is digital literacy. This
should be a priority agenda item for NGOs and stakeholders like the DPIIT.
 o It is an opportunity for India to redefine the future of work using automation,
technology and artificial intelligence while simultaneously enhancing and
adorning the country’s talented local workforce.

Conclusion

The Indian GI economy can be a platform for India to showcase to the world a model for ethical
capitalism, social entrepreneurship, de-urbanisation, and bringing women to the workforce, on
the back of a robust digital system. It will be truly Made in India.