Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

Intellectual Property refers to creations of mind. The ideas, thoughts, solution to problems etc. that arise in one’s mind cannot be protected. But their representation in specific forms can seek rights for legal protection. Such forms which are the products of mind are known as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

The different types of IPR are

1. Patent
2. Geographical Indication
3. Copyright
4. Trademark
5. Design
6. Semiconductor Integrated Circuits and Layout Design
7. Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights

Intellectual Property Rights are statutory rights, once granted allows the creator(s) or owner(s) of the Intellectual Property to exclude others from exploiting the same commercially for a given period of time. It allows the creator(s)/owner(s) to have the benefits from their work when these are exploited commercially. Intellectual Property Rights are granted to an inventor or creator, designer in lieu of the discloser of his/her knowledge.

Patent

A Patent is the grant of exclusive right, for a limited period, provided by the Government to the patentee, in exchange of full disclosure of his or her invention, for excluding others, from making, using, selling, importing the patented product or process producing that product for those purposes. In other words, a patent is a contract between the inventor or applicant for the patent and the government, whereby the inventor or applicant gets a monopoly from the government for a certain period in return for disclosing full details of the invention.

The purpose of this system is to encourage inventions by promoting their protection and utilization so as to contribute to the development of industries, which in turn, contributes to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology. The patent system ensures that information on new inventions is made available for eventual public use so as to encourage technical and economic development and discourage secrecy. Besides, royalty can be gained through licensing of patents to various firms and commercial bodies. It also provides inspiration to other innovators for new creations.

Patent right is territorial in nature and a patent obtained in one country is not enforceable in other country. The inventors/their assignees are required to file separate patent applications in different countries for obtaining the patent in those countries. Once the patent is granted, the inventor or applicant has the sole right to make, use or sell the invention for a limited period. This period is usually 20 years after which the owner no longer holds any right to his or her patented work as it then becomes a free technology in public domain.

Basic Criteria for Patent

To qualify for being a patentable invention, the following are to be satisfied by that invention

Novelty: It refers to the newness associated with the invention. The invention must be a new one and not being published anywhere in the past. There must not be any prior public knowledge about it.

Inventiveness: The invention must have come through some definite inventive steps. It also must not be obvious to a person skilled in the art associated with it. It should offer a definite technical advantage and proper economic significance.

Industrial applicability: The invention must be capable of being made or used in an industry.

Inventions which are non-patentable

Some inventions in spite of being new, non-obvious and useful cannot be patented. An invention which is :

1. frivolous or which claims anything obviously contrary to well established natural laws
2. the primary or intended use or commercial exploitation of which could be contrary to public order or morality or which causes serious prejudice to human, animal or plant life or health or to the environment
3. the mere discovery of a scientific principle or the formulation of an abstract theory or discovery of any living thing or non-living substance occurring in nature
4. the mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or the mere discovery of any new property or new use for a known substance or of the mere use of a known process, machine or apparatus unless such known process results in a new product or employs at least one new reactant. Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, salts, esters, ethers, polymorphs, metabolites, pure form, particle size, isomers, mixtures of isomers, complexes, combinations and other derivatives of known substance shall be considered to be the same substance, unless they differ significantly in properties with regard to efficacy
5. a substance obtained by a mere admixture resulting only in the aggregation of the properties of the components thereof or a process for producing such substance
6. the mere arrangement or re-arrangement or duplication of known devices each functioning independently of one another in a known way
7. a method of agriculture or horticulture
8. any process for the medicinal, surgical, curative, prophylactic diagnostic, therapeutic or other treatment of human beings or any process for a similar treatment of animals to render them free of disease or to increase their economic value or that of their products
9. plants and animals in whole or any part thereof other than microorganisms but including seeds, varieties and species and essentially biological processes for production or propagation of plants and animals
10. a mathematical or business method or a computer programme per se or algorithms
11. a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or any other aesthetic creation whatsoever including cinematographic works and television productions
12. a mere scheme or rule or method of performing mental act or method of playing game
13. a presentation of information
14. topography of integrated circuits
15. an invention which in effect, is traditional knowledge or which is an aggregation or duplication of known properties of traditionally known component or components.