The technological advancement in the current scenario have grown leaps and bounds in the past decade, so has law.
The first time the world heard of something called a computer it was way back in 1822. Fast forward to now where we all have a computer in our hands. The advancements have been immense, we have seen the developments of major technology with the advent of semi-conductors, microchips and nanochips. The world has seen many things but the fastest space of development has taken place in the field of technology when the human minds have worked tirelessly to bring this about.
Now to protect these innovations, inventions and intellect the human brain has created we brought in something called Intellectual Property Rights.
What are Intellectual Property Rights?
The legal rights provided to the inventor or manufacturer to protect their innovation or manufactured product are known as intellectual property rights. These legal rights award the inventor/manufacturer or operator who makes full use of his/her, invention/product for a short time an exclusive right.
It could also be defined as the legal rights conferred on an inventor which prohibits all other people or companies from using that particular invention or product without the prior agreement of the inventor himself.
In India the IP Rights include:
a) Patents, Designs, Trade Marks & Geographical Indications
b) Copyright and related rights
c) Semiconductor, Integrated Circuit Layout Design Rights
d) Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights
IPR is a powerful tool for protecting the inventor/creator of IP's investment of time, money, and effort, since it grants the inventor/creator an exclusive right to use their invention/creation for a certain amount of time.
Current IP Law in India:
In 1856 the India Patent Act was introduced which existed for 50 years since, it was later renamed to The India Patent and Designs Act 1911, finally in 1970 there was an overhaul and it was called as “The Patent Act,1970”.
There have been developments post the Patent Act, 1970 such as
b) Trademark Act,
c) The Geographical Indications of Goods
d) Copyrights Act
a) Patent Act, 1970:
The current 1970 Patent Act came into force in 1972, amending and integrating existing legislation related to India's 1911 Patent Design Act. The 2005 Patent (Amendment) Act came into effect on January 1, 2005, changing the previous Indian patent system, where product patents were expanded to cover all subjects of technology consisting of food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and microorganisms. Added.
In addition, Section 3 (d) was introduced in the aforementioned 2005 Amendment Act, the first in India to introduce a drug patent. The 2005 Patent (Amendment) Act defines what an invention is and makes it clear that existing knowledge and things cannot be patented.
b) Trademark Act, 1999:
Trademarks are registered to show that a particular insignia or symbol belongs to a particular person or company, ex: Nike Tick Symbol, Apple Logo etc. This cannot be used by anyone else.
The Trademark Register appeared in 1940. However, it was created under the Trademark Act of 1999. When a trademark is registered, it is registered under the Trademark Act of 1999 and then registered in the Trademark Register. As part of this process, the registry will verify that the insignia/symbol of the call meets all the conditions of the law prior to registration. Once the trademark is registered, the above validity period is extended to 10 years from the date of application for registration.
The renewal process may only commence within one year of the expiration of such registration.
c) Geographical Indication of Goods:
One of the types of IPR which identifies an object originating within the respective territory of the country, or a place in a unique territory, wherein a given quality, popularity or different function associated with exact is largely due to its geographical beginning.
Rights granted to the holder-
Right to sue: The different rights had been granted to the individual that is covered below geographical indication act and, therefore, may be inherited, gifted, sold, licensed, entrusted or mortgaged.
Right to grant license to others.
Right to get reliefs: Registered Proprietors and licensed Users or Users have the Rights to attain comfort in terms of the violation of such geographical Indication.
d) Copyrights Act:
The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 was enacted with the primary goal of providing a fair and just framework for copyright administration and income sharing in order to safeguard the rights of owners and writers in cinematography and audio recordings.
The burden of "providing or granting licence" in relation to the above-mentioned works was increased by the 2012 amendment. Previously, the Copyright (Amendment) Act of 1994 amended Section 33 to the Act, requiring only copyright organisations to grant or issue copyright licences. Section 33(3A) was added as part of the 2012 Amendment, which established a new rule requiring any copyright society that grants or issues copyright licences to register.
Section 33(3A) was added as part of the 2012 Amendment, establishing a new rule that any copyright society engaged in the business of awarding or issuing copyright licences must register within 12 months of the amendment's effective date. As a result, every copyright organisation that existed before to the amendment must re-register within the time range specified.
Conclusion:
Hence, we can see that the Government of India and all the other countries provide a multilateral dimension to safeguard our rights as inventors and intellects. In this world where cryptocurrency and another gazillion new products are being developed and are currently undergoing research require IPR as they are always meant to be protected as they are the brainchild of people and it is only right that the persons who created them to be awarded generously for their skills and inventions.
This article is written by Jayaprakash G of Ramaiah College Of Law.
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