Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are legal rights for innovations and/or works of art emerging from intellect in the field of science, literature, and the arts. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets are among the most often used intellectual property. When a study group determines that it is technically wise to include an entity’s intellectual property in the text of an ITU-T Recommendation, many issues come into play; the issues change depending on the type of intellectual property. The collection of legal rights granted to a creator or owner of intellectual property is referred to as “intellectual property rights” (IPR). These are the controllable rights that an individual has over his or her mental works. By paying the creators for their mental labor and preserving their ownership rights over their works, they aim to preserve their interests. Thus, the innovators and producers are permitted to profit from their innovations. The legal rights that control the use of intellectual property are known as IP rights.

The rights connected to intangible property that is owned by a person or business and is prohibited from being used without permission are known as intellectual property rights (IPRs). So-called intellectual property rights are those that pertain to the ownership of intellectual property. By allowing the producers of trademarks, patents, or works protected by copyright to profit from their efforts, these rights seek to protect intellectual property (creations of human intelligence). Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which declares that “Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests emanating from any scientific, literary, or creative achievement of which he is the creator,” also mentions intellectual property rights.

Protection of Intellectual Property by law is necessary

The following list outlines the different justifications for providing intellectual property (IP) protection through the adoption of appropriate IP laws:

  • By rewarding inventors and enabling them to profit financially from their works, we may stimulate innovations and creations that advance society’s social, economic, scientific, and cultural progress.
  • To grant intellectual property legal protection.
  • To prohibit others from benefiting from someone else’s creative work.
  • To make fair dealing easier.
  • To encourage the spread of innovation.
  • Giving credit for the creators’ work.
  • Preventing the infringement of authors’ intellectual rights by unauthorized usage of their works.
  • To promote the use of knowledge, time, money, and other resources to support innovative initiatives that are good for society.

Definition and characteristics of Intellectual Property

An intangible asset created by human mind is known as intellectual property (IP). It alludes to mental constructions or intellectual outputs such as commercially useful symbols, names, and pictures as well as innovations, designs, literary and creative works.

According to the “Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization,” “Intellectual Property” refers to the following rights: –

  • Literary, artistic, and scientific works;
  • Performances by performing artists;
  • Phonograms and broadcasts;
  • Inventions in all branches of human endeavor;
  • Scientific discoveries;
  • Industrial designs; trademarks; service marks; commercial names;
  • And all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the fields of industry, science, literature, or art.

Intellectual Property Rights’ Benefits

  1. IPR protection offers your company a competitive edge over other organizations with comparable business models.
  2. IPR protection enables you to stop unauthorized usage of your works and intellectual property.
  3. IPR increases the value of your business and makes it easier to collaborate with others and find ways to make money, like by signing license agreements to use the innovation or work.
  4. IPR enhances your brand value and draws in new customers. Customers could begin to recognize your items by their distinctive logo or registered brand, for instance.

Intellectual Property Rights drawbacks

  1. In order to obtain IPR protection, you must pay additional fees and charges, such as legal fees.
  2. You could still have a lot of trouble stopping the copying and unauthorized use of your work even after obtaining intellectual property rights. Furthermore, occasionally an effort to protect IP rights may result in a decline in the number of customers.
  3. IP rights are not unassailable. In the interests of the general public, the law places restrictions and limits on the use of certain rights (such as a finite time of protection and requirements for compulsory licensing).

Intellectual Property Rights Components

Copyright: The term “copyright” refers to the legal rights of the authors and creators of creative works. A copyright is frequently referred to as a “author’s right” or a “literary privilege.” An author is granted exclusive rights to his or her work through copyright, which also forbids unauthorized publishing and copying. The instant a work is created and expressed in some concrete way, copyright protection kicks in. A work that is an original invention is given copyright protection. Additionally, only expressions are covered by the protection. Simple concepts that have no physical manifestation are not protected by law and are not covered by copyright. The two rights listed below are safeguarded by copyright for authors:

  1. Economic rights or the owner’s ability to profit financially from the use of other people’s heir works. For instance, the ability to permit or deny the use of the work in various forms of reproduction, the ability to forbid the translation of the work without permission, etc.
  2. Moral rights or the preservation of the author’s non-economic interests Examples include the ability to object to modifications made to a piece of work and the ability to claim authorship.

Patent: A patent is an exclusive right given for an innovation that gives a new technological approach to a problem or presents a unique way of doing something. This innovation can be a product, a technique, or a process. In other terms, it is a monopoly right awarded to someone who has created a new and beneficial product, an improved version of an existing product, or a brand-new method of producing an object.

For inventions of economic and industrial value, a patent is given. In exchange for disclosing the innovation, you are given the only authority to produce the novel item or produce the novel product using the inventive technique for a set amount of time (often 20 years from the application filing date). An owner of a patent may sell it or grant another party a license to use it.

Trademark: A trademark is a design that separates a company’s products from those of its rivals. A trademark can be made up of a single letter, a logo, a symbol, a pattern, or even numbers, as well as three-dimensional elements like form, packaging, etc. A “trademark” is a mark that may be represented graphically and that can be used to differentiate the goods or services of one person from those of others, according to Section 2(zb) of the Trademarks Act, 1999. An item’s packaging, form, or color scheme might all be considered trademarks. Thus, the distinguishing feature of a trademark is uniqueness. Service Marks are trademarks that are used in conjunction with goods and services like travel, banking, etc. An authorized trademark may only be used by the registered owner. There are 45 different trademark classes, with 34 different classes for products and 11 different classes for services.

Industrial Designs: Industrial design refers to the decorative or aesthetically pleasing elements of a product. It might include two-dimensional elements like lines, patterns, or color, as well as three-dimensional elements like the geometry of an object. Industrial design is merely aesthetic, utilitarian, and non-functional. To prevent others from imitating an industrial design, its creative uniqueness must be given legal protection.

Geographical Indications: Products with a particular geographic origin are identified using a geographical indicator (GI). These signs indicate the caliber, reputation, or other qualities of these commodities that are primarily related to their place of origin. Geographical designations are often utilized for food, agriculture, wine, industrial goods, and handicrafts. GI products include things like Basmati rice and Darjeeling tea.

Trade Secrets: Trade secrets are intellectual property rights on private knowledge that may be licensed or sold. Any proprietary business information, such as plans, blueprints, drawings, company strategies, R & D-related data, etc., is referred to as a trade secret. Knowledge must be helpful in a trade or company, be known only to a small number of persons, and be subject to reasonable measures taken by the legitimate owner of the information to keep it secret in order to qualify as a trade secret.

Conclusion: In a world of scientific, technical, and medical innovation, the value of IP cannot be undervalued. Since it gives the owner a competitive edge over other companies, IP is a valuable asset. It is advised to have IPR filed in order to maximize its potential. A proprietary claim on one’s creation of the mind is known as an intellectual property right. These rights encourage invention and assist innovators at all phases of the creation, competition, and expansion strategies of their businesses. Another important point is that customers may make educated decisions regarding the value, dependability, and quality of their purchases thanks to registered and enforcing IP rights.

References:

  1. Saha CN and Bhattacharya S, “Intellectual Property Rights: An Overview and Implications in Pharmaceutical Industry” (PubMed Central (PMC)) <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3217699/> accessed December 27, 2022
  2. “All about Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) – iPleaders” (iPleaders, May 31, 2022) <https://blog.ipleaders.in/all-about-intellectual-property-rights-ipr/> accessed December 27, 2022

Disclaimer: The present article intends to provide general guidance on the subject, and you can also consult us in your specific case.