Context:
World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) highlighted surge in Intellectual Property (IP) filings in India
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs):
- Legal rights granted to creators and inventors to protect their inventions, designs, and artistic works.
- Purpose – Encourage innovation and creativity by providing legal protection and exclusive rights to use and commercialize creations.
- Outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides for the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from authorship of scientific, literary or artistic productions.
- Key Features –
- Exclusivity: Grants the holder exclusive rights to use, produce, and sell their creation or invention.
- Duration: Protection is granted for a specific period, after which the work enters the public domain.
- Territoriality: IPR protection is typically limited to the jurisdiction in which it is granted.
- Transferability: IPR can be transferred, sold, or licensed to others.
- International Organizations and Agreements:
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): Specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes the protection of intellectual property worldwide.
- Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS): International agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that sets minimum standards for IPR protection.
Intellectual Property Rights Policy Management (IPRPM) framework in India:
| Right Area | Legal provision | Subject | Term of Protection |
| Patent | Patent Act, 1970 & Patent Rules, 2003 amended in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. | Must qualify requirements of being novel, Inventive and having industrial utility | 20 years |
| Trademarks | Trademark Act 1999 & Trademark Rules 2017 | Protects brand name, logo, design for a business or commercial enterprise | 10 years; renewed for 10 years on payment of additional fees |
| Designs | Designs Act 2000 & Designs (Amendment) Rules 2021 | New or original designs (ornamental / visual appearance discernible to the human eye) which can be replicated industrially | 10 + 5 years |
| Copyrights | Copyrights Act 1957 & Copyrights Rules 2013 amended in 2021. | Creative, artistic, literary, Musical and audio-visual works | Authors – Lifetime+ 60 years; Producers – 60 years Performers – 50 years |
| Geographical Indications | Geographical Indications Act 1999 & GI Rules 2002 amended in 2020. | Goods bearing unique characteristics due to geographical linkage – agricultural goods, natural goods, manufactured goods, handicrafts and foodstuff | 10 years, Renewed for 10 years on payment of additional fees |
| Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design | Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act 2000 & Rules 2001 | A layout of transistors and other circuitry elements including lead wires connecting such elements and expressed in any manner in semiconductor integrated circuits. | 10 Years. |
| Trade Secret | Common Law approach covered through IPC, Contract Act, IP Act and Copyright | Confidential information having commercial value | Till the time confidentiality is safeguarded. |
| Plant Varieties | Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act (PPVFRA), 2001 | Traditional varieties and landraces, all developed varieties (non-traditional and non-landrace) in trade/use for older than 1 year and not older than 15 years or 18 years (in case of trees and vines), and new plant varieties. | 6-10 years. |
Source: BL
Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
1. According to the Indian Patents Act, a biological process to create a seed can be patented in India.
2. In India, there is no Intellectual Property Appellate Board.
3. Plant varieties are not eligible to be patented in India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2019 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Statements 1 and 2 are not correct:
Article 3(J) of the Indian Patent Act, excludes from patentability “plants and animals in whole or in any part thereof other than microorganisms, including seeds, varieties, and species, and essentially biological processes for production or propagation of plants and animals”.
The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) was constituted in 2003 by the Government of India to hear and resolve the appeals against the decisions of the registrar under the Indian Trademarks Act, 1999, and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
