Intellectual Property Rights and new IPR policy in INDIA
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are about creations of the mind, they are granted to creators of IP, for ideas and innovations, which are new and original, by the respective governments.
Intellectual Property refers to creation of mind such as inventions, designs for industrial articles, literary, artistic work, symbols which are ultimately used in commerce. Intellectual Property rights allow the creators or owners to have the benefits from their works when these are exploited commercially. These rights are statutory rights governed in accordance with the provisions of corresponding legislations. The intellectual property is classified into seven categories.
(1) Patent
(2) Industrial Design
(3) Trade Marks
(4) Copyright
(5) Geographical Indications
(6) Lay out designs of integrated circuits
(7) Protection of undisclosed information/Trade Secret according to TRIPs agreements.
New IPR Policy in India
As per latest figures of 2016, a total of 2.37 lakh patent applications and over 5.44 lakh trademark registrations were deemed as pending for years due to shortage of manpower in the country’s intellectual property offices and other cumulative factors.
Recently the Govt. has formulated new national Intellectual Rights Policy, approved by the Cabinet, which nominates the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) as the nodal agency for regulating intellectual property rights in the country and seeks to put in place a legal framework that will encourage the IPR regime and reduce the time taken by the government to approve a trademark to a month by 2017. The objectives of the government’s new IPR policy focus on strengthening the legal and legislative framework of IPRs, their commercialisation; and reinforcing the enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for IPR infringements.
This has been a work in progress. In the run up to the policy, the government has sanctioned 481 additional posts in the office of Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks under the Twelfth Plan as part of the Plan Scheme for Modernisation and Strengthening of Intellectual Property Offices. The selection process to fill up 458 vacant posts of Examiners of Patents and Designs has already been completed and the approval of competent authority for appointment to these posts has been accorded. As a short-time measure, 263 contractual posts of Examiners of Patents and Designs and 100 contractual posts of Trademarks Examiners have also been created.
In a nutshell, the new policy seems to take the IPR in India in right direction but more efforts are needed to make it at par with international standards.
Source: News