Intellectual Property Rights generally refers to the rights given to any person over their intellectual property i.e. the creation of one’s mind. The intellectual property rights can be broadly classified into:
- Industrial Property; such as patents (invention), industrial designs, trademarks, geographic indications, trade secrets etc.
- Copyrights; such as paintings, writings, musical works, audiovisuals, photographic work, drawings, dramatic works, architectural works etc.
Individuals or companies these days are taking steps to protect their intellectual property to get the best commercial results.
The law governing the registration and protections of intellectual property in India are as follow:
- The Trademarks Act, 1999 and the Trademarks Rules, 2002; Trademarks (Amendment) Act, 2010
The trademark is generally known as “Brand Name”. It has the capability to be represented graphically and to distinguish the goods or services of one person from the others. The introduction of the Trademark Act and Rules is to help individuals or organization with the registration process and to protect the registered trademark from infringement or passing off.
- The Patent Act, 1970
The exclusive right given for the invention, which can be the product or a process which provides a new way of doing something or may be a technical solution to a problem, is known as Patent. These rights are granted if the invention satisfy the three basic tests; NOVELTY (means, something new), NON-OBVIOUS (means, not easily discovered) AND UTILITY (means, useful). The Act grants the patent owner with exclusive rights to prevent or stop the other owners from commercially exploiting his the patented invention.
- The Design Act, 2000 and the Design Rules, 2001; The Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2008
Any individual or industry can register their unique designs applied to their products like jewellery, handicrafts, appliances, watches etc. The basic requirement for designs to be registered under the Act is; it should be original and new; should be visible on the article; should have its applicability to functional articles; no previous publication or disclosure of the design. The Act also provides for the protection of owners from losses and promotion of new and innovative designs in the industry.
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999; The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Rules, 2002;
Geographical Indications are rights which identify a product that originates from a particular geographical area and it possess the characteristics, quality and reputation due to that origin. The Act focuses on threefold objectives; it prohibits unauthorized persons from misusing the geographical indications; protects the consumers from the deceptions and to promote exports of goods bearing the geographical indication.
The Copyright Act, 1957
Any creator or author can copyright his original work and protect it from being copied. The act aims at protecting the creation of work under different classes of work such as (a) original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic; (b) cinematograph films; (c) sound recording; (d) computer programs. It is pertinent to note that the Act does not protect the “ideas”.
WHAT WE DO?
We at Global Vision, with our expert team having years of practice and experience in the Intellectual property Law help people in registering their valuable assets. Not only this, we also provide people with complete consultancy on their intellectual property and help them to defend their work more strongly before the court of laws.
CONCLUSION
With the growing competition, it is important for the individual and organizations to get their intellectual property protected. Registration of one’s intellectual property not only prevents it from being misused, copied, or exploitation but also help people boost their business.