By : Dikshant Kapoor 05414803910

Question !!
IPR has gained prominence and can be used as a resource for economic development and protecting the rights of the intellectual. Discuss with special reference to India.

Solution
The right of an individual to derive benefits from his

intellectual property and to exclude others from doing so is referred to as intellectual property rights. The rights to intangible property that is the product of the human intellect. Intellectual property may be protected by copyright, trademark or patent. The holder of intellectual property rights is usually the person or persons who developed the product or the organization that funded it.

KEY FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Copyright
Trade marks

TRADE SECRETS
Any information that may be used in the operation of a business and

that is sufficiently valuable to afford an actual or potential economic advantage is considered a trade secret. Examples of trade secrets can be formulas for products, such as the formula for Coca-Cola . Advantages:
Unlimited duration Lack of legal formalities and requirements Reduced risk of someone improving upon the process formulation etc.

No need for filing application.

PATENTS
A patent is the form of a certificate granted by a government. It gives the inventor the right to exclude others from imitating, manufacturing, using or selling the invention in question for commercial use during the specified period. Its features include the following:
Valid only in the country that has granted it. It is granted for an innovation, invention, process of

producing a product, and a concept.

COPYRIGHT
Copyright is a legal term describing the economic

rights given to creators of literary and artistic works, including the right to reproduce the work, to make copies, and to perform or display the work publicly. Copyright protects arrangements of facts, but it does not cover newly collected facts as such. Moreover, copyright does not protect new ideas and processes; they may be protected, if at all, by patents.

TRADE MARK
Trademarks are especially important when consumers and

producers are far away from one another. Children ask for Barbie dolls, Lego building blocks, and Hot Wheels toy cars. Some adults dream of Ferrari automobiles, but more can afford to buy Toyota or Honda brands. These consumers need trademarks to seek or avoid the goods and services of particular firms. Trademarks are commercial source indicators, distinctive signs that identify certain goods or services produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT IN INDIA

The year 1999 witnessed the consideration and passage of major legislation with regard to protection of intellectual property rights in harmony with international practices and in compliance with India's obligations under TRIPS. These include: 1. The Patents (Amendment) Act, 1999 passed by the Indian Parliament on March 10, 1999 to amend the Patents Act of 1970 that provides for establishment of a mail box system to file patents and accords exclusive marketing rights for 5 years. 2. The Trade Marks Bill, 1999 which repeals and replaces the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958 passed by the Indian Parliament in the Winter Session that concluded on December 23, 1999. 3. The Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1999 passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament, and signed by the President of India on December 30, 1999. 4. A sui generis legislation for the protection of geographical indications called the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Bill, 1999 approved by both houses of the Indian Parliament on December 23, 1999. 5. The Industrial Designs Bill, 1999 which replaces the Designs Act, 1911 was passed in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament in the Winter Session which concluded on December 23, 1999 and is presently before the Lower House for its consideration. 6. The Patents (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 to further amend the Patents Act, 1970 and make it TRIPS compliant was introduced in the Upper House of Indian Parliament on December 20, 1999.

ADVANTAGES OF IPR
Encourages and safeguard intellectual and artistic creations. Spread of new ideas and technologies. Investment in R&D efforts. Consumers got large range of products. Direct sales revenue

Revenue from adjacent industries

PROBLEMS OF IPR
Encourages monopolies. Cost enhancement Perceived as a threat to food security by many. May affect diversity and ecological balance. May be detrimental to the livelihood of poor.

IPR : A RESOURCE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Robust IPR protections foster innovation, investment, and economic growth. IPRs foster innovation and economic growth by enabling inventors to capture the commercial value of their innovations in the marketplace. IPRs thus provide the foundation for a beneficial cycle of innovation, as the profits that inventors earn from their innovations can be invested back in additional R&D, which generates further innovation. Robust IPR protections also enable firms to share their innovations with others in a manner that maximizes their social utility while preserving their economic value. Microsoft routinely licenses and cross-licenses its innovations to others to maximize the social and economic value of the innovations and to promote follow-on innovation by others. Effective enforcement that is consistent with international norms is necessary to ensure that IPRs fulfill their primary purpose of promoting innovation and investment. Without effective enforcement rules, even the most well-conceived IP regime will fail to promote innovation. IPR regimes should permit expeditious and effective action against infringers, treat all parties equally regardless of nationality, be broadly accessible, and enable rights-holders to exercise their IPRs as they see fit. Countries should also update their intellectual property laws to reflect developments in digital technologies and should ensure that their laws and enforcement regimes are consistent with international norms. Adherence to international norms is crucial for any nation that desires to participate fully in the global innovation economy.

 The benefits of a robust IPR regime flow to large and small businesses alike. IPRs are especially important to small and medium-sized enterprises

(SMEs). The incentives created by IPRs encourage SMEs to identify and make the best use of their core competencies and enable them to attract venture capital and other forms of financing that can be critical to their survival. IPRs also enable SMEs to compete effectively against their larger rivals. In the absence of effective IPRs, smaller firms would be particularly at risk of free riding by larger, better-funded competitors.
IPRs are essential to fostering innovation and economic growth in developing markets. IPRs spur innovation and economic growth in developing markets just as they do in developed markets: Increased innovation

yields new business and employment opportunities, greater competition, and enhanced consumer choice. Effective IPRs also provide a market-based means of technology transfer, ensuring that domestic firms have access to the best innovations available in the global marketplace while encouraging direct foreign investment by multinational firms.

R & D EXPENDITURE IN INDIA

the science and technology policy (in Jan 2003) has the target to raise it to 2% by the year 2007.And 80% of Indias total expenditure is made by govt. itself. In most of developed countries pvt. sector incurs 60-80% of the total R& D expenditure.