Unit 1 Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights
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UNIT 1 INTRODUCTION TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS Chapter Contents Meaning, Nature, Classification and protection of Intellectual Property The main forms of Intellectual Property Copyright, Trademarks, Patents, Designs , etc. International instruments concerning Intellectual Property Rights The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the UNEESCO, International Trade Agreements concerning IPR WTO TRIPS Reading Material: Berne Convention: https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/berne/summary_berne.html Paris Convention: https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/ip/paris/summary_paris.html TRIPS (Attached with the email) What do we mean by “ Intellectual Property”? Intellectual property (IP) is a term referring to creation of the intellect is assigned to designated owners by law. In simple terms, anything and everything that you create through your knowledge, skill and intellect. For example: A poet writes a poetry. The poetry is his intellectual property. Some common types of intellectual property rights (IPR) copyright, patent and trademarks, trade secrets all these cover music, literature and other artistic works, discoveries and inventions and words, phrases, symbols and designs. Intellectual Property rights provide protection for creations and inventions, to enable creators and inventors to earn recognition and financial benefit from their work. Explanation Tip: Refer the above poetry example: in the above case poetry is the intellectual Property, poet is the writer/owner of that created intellectual property and he has the right called copyright (which is type of Intellectual property right) to protect his work from being stolen by other writers/poets. He can sue others for stealing his content of poetry because it is his own original creative work. How does the average person benefit? Intellectual property rights reward creativity and human endeavour, which fuel the progress of humankind. Some examples: a) The multibillion dollar film, recording, publishing and software industries – which bring pleasure to millions of people worldwide – would not exist without copyright protection. b) Without the rewards provided by the patent system, researchers and inventors would have little incentive to continue producing better and more efficient products for consumers. c) Consumers would have no means to confidently buy products or services without reliable, international trademark protection and enforcement mechanisms to discourage counterfeiting and piracy. Nature of Intellectual Property One important characteristics of intellectual property is that it is intangible. The word “ intangible” means something that you cannot touch because it has no physical appearance. Properties are of two types - tangible property and intangible property i.e. one that is physically present and the other which is not in any physical form. Building, land, house, cash, jewellery are few examples of tangible properties which can be seen and felt physically. On the other hand there is a kind of valuable property that cannot be felt physically as it does not have a physical form. Intellectual property is one of the forms of intangible property which commands a material value which can also be higher than the value of a tangible asset or property Classification of Intellectual Property Although many of the legal principles governing IP and IPR have evolved over centuries, it was not until the 19 th century that the term intellectual property began to be used and not until the late 20 th century that it became commonplace in the majority of the world. BROAD CLASSIFICATION IP is divided into two categories for ease of understanding: I. Industrial Property : which includes inventions (patents), trademarks, industrial designs, and geographic indications of source; II. Copyright : which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems and 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. TIP: One easy method to remember between the two types of IPR is to understand the basic structure of both types. Industrial property as the name suggests is related to business or manufacturing units. Copyright on the other hands deals with creative works of literary, music etc. I. Types of Industrial property Patents: A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention – a product or process that provides a new way of doing something, or that offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent protection provides patent owners with protection for their inventions. Protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 years. Patent protection means an invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner’s consent. Patent rights are usually enforced in courts that, in most systems, hold the authority to stop patent infringement. Conversely, a court can also declare a patent invalid upon a successful challenge by a third party. A patent owner has the right to decide who may – or may not – use the patented invention for the period during which it is protected. Patent owners may give 5 permission to, or license, other parties to use their inventions on mutually agreed terms. Explanation: Patent grants exclusive right to the owner/inventor to use/sell etc his invention. For example: A person invented a new process to make cancer medicine. He can apply for patent. If he gets patent over that process, only he will be able to use that process to make the cancer medicine; no other market players can use the technology for 20 years. Please note that to get patent, there are certain criteria which needs to fulfilled that will be discussed in detail in the chapter exclusively dedicated to Patent. Trade Marks A trademark is a distinctive sign that identifies certain goods or services produced or provided by an individual or a company. Its origin dates back to ancient times when craftsmen reproduced their signatures, or “marks”, on their artistic works or products of a functional or practical nature Over the years, these marks have evolved into today’s system of trademark registration and protection. The system helps consumers to identify and purchase a product or service based on whether its specific characteristics and quality – as indicated by its unique trademark – meet their needs. Above are examples of trade marks, Nike swoosh is a trade mark of the company. The moment a customer enters the shop the trade mark will help him to distinguish between the Nike products with other similar products. The trade mark stands for quality and assurance of a particular trader. These trademarks are granted protection from infringement. For example: Nike swoosh logo cannot be used by other traders; if any trader will use the logo for their own products then Nike company can seek civil remedy i.e. can file case against that trader for trade mark infringement. COPYRIGHT Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work. What is an industrial design? In everyday language, an industrial design generally refers to a product’s overall form and function. An armchair is said to have a “good industrial design” when it is comfortable to sit in and we like the way it looks. For businesses, designing a product generally implies developing the product’s functional and aesthetic features taking into consideration issues such as the product’s marketability, the costs of manufacturing or the ease of transport, storage, repair and disposal. From an intellectual property law perspective, however, an industrial design refers only to the ornamental or aesthetic aspects of a product. In other words, it refers only to the appearance of an armchair. Although the design of a product may have technical or functional features, industrial design, as a category of intellectual property law, refers only to the aesthetic nature of a finished product, and is distinct from any technical or functional aspects INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, AGENCIES AND TREATIES There are a number of International organizations and agencies that promote the use and protection of intellectual property. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was founded in 1883 and is specialized agency of the United Nations whose purposes are to promote intellectual property throughout the world and (Present 26 treaties) dealing with intellectual property. WIPO is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. It was created in 1967, to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of Intellectual Property throughout the world. More than 175 (Present 188) nations are members of WIPO. Its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. WIPO was formally created by the convention (meeting) establishing the world intellectual Property organization which entered into force on April261970. UNESCO : Copyright protection, as an important means for encouraging creativity and innovation and for development of culture, has been included in UNESCO’s. In 1952, the Universal Copyright