What do you understand by Intellectual Property laws? What laws have been enacted to protect the interest of the holders of seen property and how far the law has been successful in this direction?

Meaning of Intellectual Property Rights Laws)

          This law which provides the right to control the activities of other persons in relation to intellectual property rights is called Intellectual Property Rights Law.

              In the modern era, increasing competition in the commercial and industrial sector at the international and national level has strengthened the market system and people associated with the market have aimed to earn maximum profits.  For this it was necessary to keep oneself connected with the new changes.  Intellectual property rights helped to encourage people who successfully developed new inventions, technical know-how and marketing know-how to reap unlimited commercial rewards.  The grant of a large number of patents, registration of trademarks etc. in the world, especially in the industrially developed countries, support the continuous progress in the process of development.  While scientific and technological progress has developed the field of intellectual property, at the same time theft, infringement and passing off of intellectual property etc. have stressed the present legal system and as a result, in the course of development of intellectual property.  The demand to preserve this wealth is increasing.

          In the present times, international conventions, treaties, agreements and organizations under the framework of the United Nations Organization and apart from it have provided a platform for discussion on the rights and claims related to intellectual property in view of the importance of its international character.  In particular, the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) protects the provisions of the former Paris Convention on Industrial Property.  The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PTC), the Berne Convention and the Rome Convention deal with the registration of copyright and related rights and the Madrid Agreement deals with the registration of trademarks.  In addition, the 'UNESCO Universal Copyright Convention' (UCC), as an alternative to the Berne Convention, protects authors and other copyright owners of literary, scientific and artistic works, including writings, musical works, drama, cinematograph films, paintings, engravings and sculptures.  In order to provide adequate and effective protection to the rights of intellectual property, it encourages the contracting states to participate in related international agreements and arranges for other necessary provisions related to the protection and promotion of intellectual property.  GATT (General Agreement on Tariff's and Trade), which is not a part of the United Nations, has done important work in the field of intellectual property.

       

    Following the end of the Uruguay talks, the 'World Trade Organization' (WTO) was formed in April 1994, headquartered in Geneva, under whose auspices, among other things, an important instrument, TRIPS (Agreements on Trade Related Aspects and Intellectual Property Rights  ) has been arranged.  The TRIPS Agreement adopts the provision of the Paris Convention that nationals of a signatory state shall enjoy equal rights and treatment with respect to intellectual property in all other signatory states.  India was not a member of the Paris Convention, so was not under the obligation to implement the provisions of the Convention, but India has signed the TRIPS Agreement, so it has the responsibility to recognize and implement the provisions related to "national treatment of nationals of other members".  Is under the responsibility of.

Laws made to protect the interests of holders of intellectual property -

  In India too, like various developed countries, various acts have been passed to protect the interest of the holders of intellectual property, which include copyright and adjacent rights, patent trademark, industrial design, know-how, confidential information (  Confidential Information), Geographical Indication, Bio-diversity and Semi-conductor Integrated Circuits etc. are included.  Intellectual property laws are based on certain basic concepts, copyright law is based on the concept of originality of the work or its reproduction in any physical form.  'Patent law' centers around technological innovation, inventiveness and commercial and industrial utility.  The substantive law of trademark is based on the concept of distinctiveness, distinctiveness of the goods or services, similarity of the marks or goods, goodwill or commercial reputation.  Similarly, the design method is based on the originality or novelty of the design, which has not been published before in India or any other country.  Although these concepts have been expressed in general terms, yet they have been given special meaning and importance under intellectual property law.  Similarly, copyright law is related to original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinema films and sound recording and computer programs etc.  This includes literary, cultural and artistic expressions related to copyright and related rights along with their display and broadcast.

'Patent' is an exclusive right to protect the invention, under which any product or new process of its manufacturing or solution to any technical problem can also be patented.  According to the Patent Act, 1970, the discovery of a new product or process which is capable of industrial use is called invention.  Generally, novelty, extraordinaryness and commercial and industrial utility are the principles on the basis of which patent rights are granted.

     A trademark refers to a word, sign, name, device or appearance denoting specific goods or services and identifying the source of manufacture of the goods or the commercial origin of the goods or services.  This includes packaging of a product, separating it from other products by its shape and color combination.  A manufacturer or producer can register a trademark to differentiate his product or service from other products or services on the basis of its manufacturing process, origin, quality, performance of services and accuracy, etc.

Design is the external features of a product which look beautiful and attractive.  Designs may be two-dimensional or three-dimensional features i.e. shape, pattern, ornament, line, color or a combination of these.  These are used to increase the market of industrial or handicraft products.  The duration of copyright on a registered design is 10 years, which can be extended further by 5 years.

      Geographical indication is used in relation to those goods which have some special characteristic or quality due to their place of origin.  Such goods are identified as agricultural goods, natural goods or manufactured goods, whose quality, reputation or other characteristics can be directly linked to their geographical location.  A registered geographical indication may be used only by authorized persons.

The layout of any earth conducting integrated circuit, components, layout of any transistor and the method of use of wires connecting the components, which are mentioned in any way, are included in the layout design.  The circuits or transistors used in electrical appliances, which are connected to each other through wires, are called conductor integrated circuits.  Its design has been recognized as intellectual property.  Registered designs enjoy protection for a period of up to 10 years.

            Although no separate intellectual property protection right has been provided to the new plant variety under the TRIPS Agreement, it is the responsibility of the member states to grant patents in respect of the new plant variety through their own made acts and rules.  Protect it.  In India, a separate law has been made to protect it, which also protects the rights of farmers.  According to international rules, a plant variety can be registered to obtain protection.  The period of protection is 15 years in case of annual crops and 18 years in case of trees and grape vines.

Similarly, information technology has also been included in intellectual property.  It is worth remembering that India is a member of the World Trade Organization and a signatory to GATT and TRIPS, hence necessary acts, amendments and changes are being made to make the intellectual property law in India at par with the laws of developed countries.  The following are the laws related to intellectual property rights in India:

   1. Copyright Act, 1957 (as amended in 1999)

 2. Trademark Act, 1999

  3. Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

 4. Design Act, 2000

 5. Patent Act, 1970 (as amended in 1999 and 2002).

 6. Plant Diversity and Farmers' Rights Protection Act, 1999

 7. Earth Conductor Integrated Circuit Layout Design Act, 2000

 8. Information Technology Act, 2000

To what extent has intellectual property law been successful in protecting the interests of property holders? 

Since both intellectual property and intellectual property rights are created by law, when the intellectual property is recognized and protected by law.  When rights were granted, provisions were also made regarding enforcement of rights through various acts for their protection in case of violation of rights.

       Enforcement of rights against violation of intellectual property rights is done by the District Court or the High Court.  There is close similarity in the remedies available in the Acts against infringement of various intellectual property rights.  In case of patent infringement, the patentee can file a suit before the court to obtain an injunction to prevent the infringer from using the patent and the remedy of damages or account of profit.  .  Apart from this, provisions regarding powers have also been made in sections 118-124 of the Patent Act, 1970 and the infringer is punishable with imprisonment or fine or both.  The amount of penalty has been increased significantly by the Patent (Amendment) Act, 2005.  Similar civil remedies are also available in case of breach of a registered design.

In case of infringement of a registered trade mark, the registered proprietor of the trade mark has the remedy of injunction against the infringer, compensation or delivery of profit account and erasure and destruction of the infringing goods.  Apart from this, under the Trade Mark Act, 1999, the infringer can be punished with imprisonment or fine.

       In case of copyright infringement, the copyright owner has the civil remedy of injunction, compensation or profit account.  Apart from this, he can also claim compensation for conversion.  In penal remedies, the violator can be punished with imprisonment and fine.

          There is a provision to seize infringing copies of the work and return them to the copyright owner.

Finally, it is also worth remembering that intellectual property rights can be enforced not only by the owners of the rights but also by their assignees, agents, exclusive licensees or licensees, as the case may be, as detailed in the various Intellectual Property Acts.  The provisions have been mentioned.

         Thus, the objective of Intellectual Property Law is a commendable step towards protecting the interest of intellectual property holders which appears to be successful in protecting intellectual rights to a greater extent as compared to the earlier Acts.  Since the law related to intellectual property has been changed recently, we hope that it will continue to serve its purpose in future also.