Intellectual Property

Chapter-3
Summary

Submitted To:

Prof. Shantanu Mehta

Submitted by:

Upasana Tripathi

Roll No-51
 Brief Summary
Introduction about Chapter

In this chapter they have mainly focused on various kinds of intellectual property legal and
procedural framework supporting them and the strategy for small entrepreneurial firm in this
environment.

Intellectual Property is value able recourse in the modern knowledge driven economy. It have
been seen that many firms don’t invest on the necessary investments to develop, acquire,
maintained and protect intellectual property.

Intellectual property rights (IPR) can be used to protect the technology, brand name, design
and creativity behind the concept. It gives the creator sole ownership of the concept, in a
similar way to owning physical property like a house or car. Owners can control the use of
their intellectual property to gain financial reward.

It is important for anyone to protect his or her ideas. This allows them to benefit from their
creativity without their ideas being directly copied and exploited by others. For entrepreneurs,
the idea is often the entire basis for the new business. Without the idea, the business would
not exist. Entrepreneurs invest money to develop business ideas. It is therefore essential that
entrepreneurs safeguard this investment.

The law relating to IP in India are guided by her commitments following WTO’s agreement
on Trade Related aspects of TRIPS. The TRIPS agreements focused on setting international
standards for laws, their enforcement and settlement of disputes.

The IP laws in India covers the Following things:

 Trademarks
 Copyrights
 Patents
 Geographical indicator of goods
 Designs
 Others

 Trademarks
A trade mark is a sign that can distinguish goods and services from those of other traders. A
sign can include a combination of words, logos and pictures. To register a trade mark, it must
be:

 Distinctive for a group of goods and services

 Not the same as (or similar to) any earlier marks on the register for the same or
similar goods and services.

A trade mark is a marketing tool which helps to develop and distinguish the brand. People
will recognise products more easily when they see them advertised. The trade mark also
provides reassurance for consumers. For example, goods bearing the Nike ‘tick’ logo
demonstrate they are Nike products and meet Nike quality standards.
Registration of Trademarks
The process of registration of trademark can be carried out by the business owner or his/her
representative. The entire process can be described in the following steps.

 Trademark Search
 Application for Registration
 Receipts and Examination
 Acceptance, Advertisement and Opposition

In addition to trademarks the following categories of marks can also registered under
the TM Act:

 Certification marks
 Collective marks

Cancellation
An application for cancellation or rectification of registration of trademarks can only be filed
by aggrieved parties, for example, those claiming to be prior user of the marks. An
application of the trademarks must be filed with the Registrar of trademarks of the appellate
board. The following are some of the usual grounds on the basis of which the registration of
trademarks can be removed

 The application did not intend to use the trademarks in the normal course
 There has been no bona fide use of the trademarks for the continuous period of 5
years
 The trademarks was wrongly registered

 Copyright
Copyright is an IP right that relates to the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. For
example, anyone can write a story based on the idea of a superhero, but they cannot copy he
name, the text or illustrations from other books about the same subject. Copyright protects
sound recordings, films, broadcasts, photographs and original artistic, musical dramatic and
literary works. Unlike patents, designs and trademarks, copyright is an unregistered right.

An inventor who has a new idea should keep it secret until the idea is registered. If an idea is
discussed in public, then it cannot be protected. There is no worldwide legal protection. IP
has to be applied for in each country.

The intellectual property under the copyright laws can be classified as follows.
 Literary works
 Dramatic works
 Musical works
 Artistic works
 Cinematographic films and sound recording

Registration of Copyright
The Indian copyrights Act provides for a procedure for registration of copyright, registration
is not necessary for acquiring a copyright. In fact it is not advisable to go through the trouble
of registering a copyright.
Copyright Protection
There are four basic concepts central to the idea of copyright protection as follows.
 Idea vs. Expression
 Originality
 Fixation
 Fair use

 Patents
Patents are for inventions. Entrepreneurs can seek patents for a new product or a new process
that can be used in industry. For example, James Dyson obtained a patent for his bag-less
vacuum cleaner. A patent can protect the invention, preventing other businesses from
making, using, importing or selling similar products. To apply for a patent, a business must
submit a patent specification. This is a written description, often with drawings of the
invention. This sets out what the invention does and provides important technical details.

A patent can last up to 20 years; if it is renewed every year.

Criteria for Patentability

A patent does not protect an idea but it protects the invention, which is the manifestation of
the idea. Not all the innovative products are invention within the definition of the Patent Act.
Invention is a new product or process involved an inventive step and capable of industrial
application. From this definition of an invention three criteria for patentability emerges that
are as follows.

 Novelty
 Utility
 Inventive step

Applying for a Patent Right

In India patent rights granted on first-to-apply basis. Application for a patent right can be
filed by the inventor or by the inventor’s representative. Here also, foreign applicants are
treated at par with Indian applicants. The entire process of obtaining patent right is as follow.

 Filling Application
 Publication of the Application
 First Examination Report
 Grant
 Post-grant Opposition

 Geographical indication of Goods

Geographical Indication of Goods Act, 1999, came into effect in September 2003. A
geographical indication identifies a product as originating from a place that has quality,
reputation, or other characteristic attributable to its place of origin.

The GI Act Allows for the registration of a GI. A GI can be registered by two or more co-
users and all registered users will have equal rights. To qualify as GI, following requirement
must be satisfied
 Pertain to defined territory.
  A given quality or reputation should be attributable to good originating from that
region.

Rights of GI
 To use the GI in relation to goods for which GI is registered
 To obtain relief in case of infringement

 Design
Registering a design prevents a competitor copying the physical appearance of a product or
component. The appearance of a product includes:

 Lines
 Shape
 Contours
 Texture
 Colours
 Materials.

A registered design lasts initially for five years, although it can be renewed for up to 25 years.
For example, registering designer fashions will stop others from using those designs. This
helps to protect designs from being copied and appearing as cheap fakes on the high street.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurs take great ideas like Innocent smoothes, the biOrb fish tank and the easyJet
budget airline and bring them to market by setting up new businesses. They invest energy,
time and money in developing new ideas.

Starting up a new business is a high-risk activity – there is no guarantee of return on

investment. Registering patents, trademarks and designs protects them from being copied and
gives the owner’s business a competitive advantage. This helps to take some of the risk out of
enterprise.