1. What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property (“IP”) is a creation of human mind. It could be a research, logo,

invention, drawing or painting, musical compositions etc. IP is an intangible right exercisable
in respect of tangible work. IP is treated as a movable property and can be assigned and
transferred. IP laws provide the owner of such rights to exclusively use his IP at his desire
and also prevent others from using it without owner’s permission.

Thus, the characteristics of IP are:

 Creation of Human mind;

 It is an intangible right over tangible work;
 It is movable property which is assignable and transferable;
 The owner of IP has absolute and exclusive right over it; and
 IP exists only under law i.e., it
i is a legal right.

2. The Concept of Intellectual Property

A Venetian Law of 1474 made the first systematic attempt to protect inventions by a form of
patent, which granted an exclusive right to an individual for the first time. In the same
ntion of movable type and the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around
century, the invention
1450, contributed to the origin of the first copyright system in the world. The International
Intellectual Property system also started to take shape with the setting up of the Paris
Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883 and the Berne Convention for
the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in 1886. The Convention establishing the
World Intellectual Property Organization (1967) gives the following list of th
the subject matter
protected by intellectual property rights:

• literary, artistic and scientific works;

• performances of performing artists, phonograms, and broadcasts;
• inventions in all fields of human endeavor;
• scientific discoveries; • industria
industrial designs;
• trademarks, service marks, and commercial names and designations;
• protection against unfair competition; and
• “all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or
artistic fields.”

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 stablishment of the world trade Organization (WTO), the importance and role of
With the establishment
the intellectual property protection has been crystallized in the Trade
Trade-Related Intellectual
Property Systems (TRIPS) Agreement. It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Roun
Round of
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) treaty in 1994. The TRIPS Agreement
encompasses, in principle, all forms of intellectual property and aims at harmonizing and
strengthening standards of protection and providing for effective enforcement
enforceme at both
national and international levels.

The TRIPS Agreement, which came into effect on 1 January 1995, is to date the most
comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property. As discussed above,
historically the first system of protection of intellectual property came in the form of
(Venetian Ordinance) in 1485. This was followed by Statute of Monopolies in England in
1623, which extended patent rights for Technology Inventions. In the United States, patent
laws were introduced in 1760. Mos Mostt European countries developed their Patent Laws
between 1880 to 1889. In India Patent Act was introduced in the year 1856 which remained
in force for over 50 years, which was subsequently modified and amended and was called
"The Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911". After Independence a comprehensive bill on
patent rights was enacted in the year 1970 and was called "The Patents Act, 1970".

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