1) a) Explain role of IP in the economic and cultural development of the society?

 Creativity being the keystone of progress, no civilized society can afford to ignore the basic
requirement of encouraging the same. The economic and social development of a society is
largely dependent on creativity.
 The protection provided by the IPR to the creators/innovators is in fact an act of incentivization
for encouraging them to create more and motivates others to create new.
 However, if IPR is practiced rigidly, it may have a negative impact on the progress of society. For
example, compliance with the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Agreement has affected the farming community as they are unable to store seeds for the next
crop. Multinational companies regulate the price of seeds, which is generally beyond the reach
of a majority of the farmers.
 To circumvent the negative impact of IPR, certain laws, exceptions and limitations associated
with IPR have been enacted to maintain a balance between the interests of the
creators/inventors and the community.
 For example, farmers rights under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights (PVP&FR)
Act, 2001 entitles them to many privileges, such as Rights on seeds provides rights to the
farmers to save seeds, use seeds and share, exchange or sell seeds to other farmers.
 Right to protection against accusations of infringement protects the farmers from infringement
and other legal accusation levied upon them due to his legal ignorance in using other‘s plant
varieties.
 The use of copyrighted material for education and religious ceremonies is exempted from the
operation of the rights granted in the Copyright Act.
 Similarly, a patent can be revoked in favor of compulsory licensing by the government during an
emergency or a natural calamity.
 In addition, if an invention/creation is not in the interest of society, it is not registered by the
government for grant of any rights associated with IP. For example, cloning of human embryos is
banned for IP protection, and so is the creation of super microbial pathogens, which can play
havoc with human lives.

1) b) Write any six inventions eligible for patenting?

Ans: * Patents may be granted for inventions/technologies in any field, ranging from a paper clip or
ballpoint pen to a nanotechnology chip or a Harvard mouse (mouse with cancer genes).

*It is a general belief that patents are awarded only to major scientific breakthroughs. But, it is not true.

*In fact, the majority of patents are granted to inventions displaying an improvement over the existing
invention.

*For example, many patents can be awarded to a single molecule e.g. penicillin’s (an antibiotic that kills
microbes) and its derivatives. The derivatives are made by making subtle changes in the structure of the
penicillin resulting in new/improved properties, such as acid stability or temperature stability or killing a
wide range of microbes (germs). The new antibiotic molecules, known as second, third or fourth
generation penicillin’s can also be patented.

*In our daily life, we use many patented items, such as toothbrush, toothpaste, shoes, pen, eyeglasses,
textiles, mobile phones, wrist watch, bicycle, scooter, car, television, cold drinks, beverages and many
more.

*It is not uncommon that many products contain several inventions (patents) e.g. the laptop computer
involves hundreds of inventions working together. Similarly, cars, mobile phones and televisions have
many patented components.

2) With flow chart explain the procedure for GI registration documents?

Ans:
* Prior to filing an application for registering GI, it is prudent to search whether the concerned GI is
already protected or not. This can be done by using search engines created by WIPO.

*The list of registered GI in India can be accessed from the official website of CGPDTM.

* Once the prior search for registered GI is done, the applicant has to file an application.

*The application for GI can be forwarded by an individual or an organization or authority of people

*The application in a prescribed format is submitted to the Registrar, Geographical Indications along
with the prescribed fee.

*In the application, the applicant needs to mention the interest of the producers of the concerned
product.

*The application should be duly signed by the applicant or his agent with all the details about the GI that
how its standard will be maintained.

*The submission of three certified copies of the map of the region where the GI belongs is mandatory.
Once the application is filed at GI Registry, the Examiner will scrutinize the application for any
deficiencies or similarities.

*If the examiner finds any discrepancy, he will communicate the same to the applicant, which is to be
replied within one month of the communication of the discrepancy.

*Once the examiner is satisfied with the response/s, he files an examination report and hands over the
same to the Registrar. Once again, the application is scrutinized.

*If need be, the applicant is asked to clear any doubts/objections within two months of the
communication otherwise, the application will be rejected.

*After getting a green signal from the Registrar, the application is published in the official Geographical
Indication Journal for seeking any objections to the claims mentioned in the application.

*The objections have to be filed within four months of the publication. If no opposition is received, the
GI gets registered by allotting the filing date as the registration date.

*Initially, GI is registered for ten years but is renewable on the payment of the fee.

3) a) Explain criteria for copyright?

Ans: *To qualify for Copyright protection, a work must exist in some physical (or tangible) form.

* The duration of the existence of the physical form may vary from a very short period to many years.

* Virtually any form of expression which can be viewed or listened to is eligible to qualify as Copyright.
Even hurriedly scribbled notes for an impromptu speech are considered copyrightable material.
* The Copyright work has to be expressed by the creator in his frame of thought. In other words, the
work has to be original i.e. the author created it from independent thinking void of duplication. This type
of work is termed as an Original Work of Authorship (OWA). It may appear similar to already existing
works but should not be the same.

* The original work may lack quality or quantity or aesthetic merit or all these parameters; still, it will
pass the test of copyrightable work.

* In addition to originality for the work, Copyright protection also requires at least some creative effort
on the part of the author.

3) b) Explain eligibility and criteria for trademark?

Ans: For goods/services to be legally classified as Trademark, they need to pass the following
conditions:

* Distinctiveness - The goods and services for which the protection is sought should possess enough
uniqueness to identify it as a Trademark. It must be capable of identifying the source of goods or
services in the target market.

* Descriptiveness - The Trademark should not be describing the description of the concerned goods or
services. Descriptive marks are unlikely to be protected under Trademark law. However, descriptive
words may be registered if they acquire ―secondary meaning, such as the brand name Apple is used by
a USA based multinational company that manufactures electronic gadgets.

* Similarity to the prior marks - The mark should be unique and should not be having similarity to the
existing marks.

4) Explain judicial powers of the registrar of copy rights with flow chart for the process of copyright
registration?

Ans: * The Registrar of Copyrights has the powers of a civil court when trying a suit under the Code of
Civil Procedure in respect of the following matters:

 Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath.
 Requiring the discovery and production of any document.
 Receiving evidence on affidavit.
 Issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents.
 Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office.
 Any other matters which may be prescribed.

* Usually, it takes around 2-3 months to get the work registered by the Copyright Office. After applying,
there is a mandatory waiting period of 30 days.

* If any person has any objection to the claim/s made in the application, he can contact the office of the
Registrar of Copyrights.
* After giving an opportunity of hearing to both the parties, the Registrar may decide the case in favor or
against the author of the work. Once the objections (if any) are cleared, the application is evaluated by
the examiners.

* If any doubts/queries are raised, the applicant is given ample time (around 45 days) to clear these
objections.