INTRODUCTION
In the current knowledge-driven economy, ideas and creations hold immense value. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Laws play a pivotal role in protecting these intangible assets. It encompasses a range of legal rights granted to individuals or entities to safeguard their intellectual creations and encourages innovation and creativity. This blog aims to provide an overview of IPR, its characteristics, and its nature.
UNDERSTANDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Intellectual property refers to the creations of human minds. Intellectual property law deals with diverse subjects relating to property rights and ensures that the person is recognized as the creator of things such as invention; literary and artistic works; technical and scientific creations; designs and software. Intellectual property rights give legal rights over creations of the mind, including both artistic and commercial creations. Intellectual property law provides owners with certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, also a financial incentive of monopoly profits. These legal rights confer a prerogative on the inventor to make full use of his invention for a limited period. The Intellectual property law provides ownership to the creator and others need permission from the concerned owners before using it. Legal action can be taken against persons who use those creations without getting prior permission.
As per Article 2 of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) which is a central organization for the protection of Intellectual Property Laws and the expert organization of the UN, “Intellectual Property shall include the rights relating to literary, artistic and scientific works, inventions in all fields of human endeavours, scientific discoveries, industrial designs, trademarks, service marks and commercial names and designations, protection against unfair competition, and all the other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or scientific fields.”[1]
The objective of intellectual property is to encourage the protection of the creativity of the human mind for the benefit of all and ensure that these benefits arising from exploiting a creation benefit the creator. This will promote creativity and innovation and give investors a reasonable return on their investment in the field of research and development. It ensures that the creators and inventors are rewarded for their contributions. Incentives given to the creators and innovators are expected to stimulate innovation and contribute to the technological progress of nations, which depends on the extent of protection given to innovators. It enables the transfer of technology in the form of foreign direct investment, joint ventures, and licensing. Laws relating to intellectual property rights allow creators to benefit from their work by granting them exclusive rights while ensuring that the public can access such creative works in certain situations.
Intellectual property rights comprise copyright, patent, trademark, geographic indication, industrial design, trade secrets, database protection, publicity rights, etc. These different types of intellectual property rights provide legal protection to inventors and owners of intellectual property and aid in promoting innovation and creativity while protecting the interests of creators and society at large.
CHARACTERISTICS AND NATURE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
Intellectual property Laws or IPR laws has its distinctive features which may serve to identify it. Therefore, it is paramount to discuss them.
- Territorial
Intellectual property rights are territorial and apply only within relevant competence. Creators and inventors of different categories of intellectual property have to adhere to their nation’s laws and jurisdictions to secure and implement their rights. The extent of security depends on the legislation referred to. Intellectual property rights protection is granted within the jurisdiction where it is registered or recognized. However, international agreements, such as the Paris Convention and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), facilitate recognition and enforcement across borders.
- Exclusivity
Intellectual property rights are exclusive rights granted to the creators, owners, or inventors. It permits them to have control over the use, distribution, and commercialization of their creations, therefore prohibiting others from using the rights. Most of the intellectual property rights cannot be implemented in practice as soon as the owner gains exclusive rights. Intellectual property rights need to be tested by some public laws. The creator of such intellectual property enjoys rights inherent in his work to the exclusion of anybody else.
- Intangible property
Intellectual property does not cover the created physical object but retains the conceptual development behind that physical object. The main feature that differentiates intellectual property from other forms of property is its intangibility. The strength, idea, knowledge, and initiative of the mind that is included in the product are crucial.
- Assignable
Intellectual property rights can be assigned. A dichotomy between intellectual property rights and the actual form in which the work is embedded is conceivable. Intellectual property can be bought, sold, licensed, hired, affiliated, or attached. This enables the creators to monetize their intellectual property while retaining some rights.
- Subject to Public Policy
They are vulnerable to the profound incarnation of public policy. Intellectual property attempts to maintain and find an adequate reconciliation between two competing interests. On the one hand, the intellectual property rights holders require to be adequately remunerated and on the other hand, consumers try to consume work without getting bothered.
- Divisible
Several persons may have legally protected interests developed from a single original work without affecting the interest of other right holders on that same item. Intellectual property is an inexhaustible resource because it is divisible in nature. This nature derives from territorial nature. For example, an inventor who registered his invention in Italy can use the patent himself in Italy, and can License it in Germany, and can assign it in Norway. Further, copyright is made up of different rights which may be divided into different persons like publishers, adaptors, translators, etc.
- Rights and Duties
Intellectual property not only gives rise to rights but also to duties. The intellectual property owner has to perform some specific functions regarding his work. He has the prerogative to produce the work, make copies of the work, market the work, etc. He also has a negative right to prohibit third parties from exercising their statutory rights. In this manner, intellectual property rights law grants the proprietor’s exclusive right to exclusion.
- Dynamism
Intellectual property rights are constantly evolving. The Intellectual property area is developing as technology in all areas of human activities is changing exponentially. As per the demand for scientific and technological advancement, the scope of its preservation is expanded and new items are being added to this area. Copyright and protection of plant variety are referred to as a few of the recent developments in the field of Intellectual property rights. Technological progress and social development need a steady reassessment of this system. Developments especially in the field of IT and biotechnology demand regular review of Intellectual property rights.
To sum up, intellectual property rights are largely based on territory or geography, it may differ from nation to nation, except the copyright. These rights are awarded by the State and are monopoly rights meaning thereby that no one can use these rights without the consent of the right holder. Except for the copyrights and trade secrets, all the other intellectual property rights are required to be regularly renewed. Intellectual property rights can be assigned, gifted, sold, and licensed like any other property. Geographical indications can be utilized for protecting some agriculture and traditional products.
IMPORTANT CASES
Yahoo! Inc. v. Akash Arora & Another[2]
This is a landmark judgment relating to cybersquatting in India. This case is related to unauthorized registration and use of internet domain names that are almost identical to registered trademarks.
The defendant was using a domain name ‘Yahoo India’ which was immensely similar to that of the plaintiff’s ‘Yahoo!’. It was held that the defendant’s ‘Yahoo India’ is likely to baffle and deceive internet users to think that they are the same. The court explained that a disclaimer in this regard by the defendant to make people aware is insufficient and it is immaterial if the term ‘Yahoo’ has a dictionary meaning as over the years Yahoo! has already gained ‘distinctiveness’ and ‘uniqueness’ as necessary under the trademark law. The court has also held that domain names on the internet are used by business groups for the same object as any trademark or service mark.
ISKON v. ISKON Apparel Pvt Ltd.[3]
The plaintiff has filed a case on infringement of its trademark by the defendant, where the defendant has used the word ‘ISKON’ on its products and has also passed off his brand. The plaintiff has also sought to get their trademark proclaimed as a well-known mark. The court held that it can be clearly understood that the defendant has infringed the trademark of the plaintiff and has also passed off his brand by cheating people and giving them a mistaken belief that its products are associated with the plaintiff. The court also held that the plaintiff’s trademark has fulfilled all the necessary criteria to become a well-known mark.
Coca Cola v. Bisleri International Pvt Ltd & Ors[4]
The owners of Bisleri had sold the trademarks, formulation rights, know-how, intellectual property rights, and goodwill of their product MAAZA amongst others to the plaintiff by a master agreement. The defendant sent a legal notice repudiating the Licensing Agreement when the plaintiff filed for registration of the MAAZA trademark in March 2008. It led to ceasing the plaintiff from manufacturing MAAZA and using its trademarks, etc. directly or indirectly, by itself or through its affiliates. As a result, the plaintiff alleged permanent injunction and damages for infringement of trademark and passing off and also claimed that the defendant had unauthorisedly permitted the manufacture of some ingredients of the beverage bases of MAAZA to be produced by a third party in India.
The court ruled that the Delhi High Court had jurisdiction to decide the case. It was indicated that an intention to use the trademark besides direct or indirect use of the trademark was adequate to give jurisdiction to the court to rule on the issue. The court observed that it is a settled position of law that exporting products from a country is to be regarded as a sale within the country where the goods are exported and it is an infringement of the trademark. It was observed that the situation of this case mandated the exercise of a permanent injunction to ensure that the plaintiff didn’t suffer more damage.
- Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (as amended on September 28, 1979), Art 2. ↑
- Yahoo! Inc. v. Akash Arora & Another, 78 [1999] DLT 285 <https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1741869/> ↑
- ISKON v. ISKON Apparel Pvt Ltd, [2020] SCC Online Bom 729. <https://indiankanoon.org/doc/83405343/> ↑
- Coca Cola v. Bisleri International Pvt Ltd & Ors, [2009] SCC Online Del 3275. <https://indiankanoon.org/doc/109517976/> ↑
