INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The term "intellectual property rights" refers to the specific legal rights that inventors,
creators and other right holders may hold and exercise. Intellectual property rights
include patents, copyright, trademarks and design rights.
Intellectual Property of whatever species is in the nature of intangible incorporate
property. In each case it consists of a bundle of rights in relation to certain material
object created by the owner. P. Narayanan
Intellectual property law regulates the creation, use and exploitation of mental or
creative labour. Bently & Sherman (2008)
o IPR is one of the most leading branch of Commercial Law
o When people sell their Intellectual Property they actually sell the right
o Proprietary rights over intangible things
o You can sell the right but not something which is tangible i.e. Non Physical
Property
o What is its object? To remunerate the Author, Creator, Inventor for further
development
o Ideas are not protected under IPR

One of the first known references to intellectual property protection dates from 500
B.C.E., when chefs in the Greek colony of Sybaris were granted yearlong monopolies
for creating particular culinary delights. Vitruvius (257180 B.C.E.) is said to have
revealed intellectual property theft during a literary contest in Alexandria. While
serving as judge in the contest, Vitruvius exposed the false poets who were then tried,
convicted, and disgraced for stealing the words and phrases of others.

Some IP found in a mobile phone: -
TRADE MARKS:
Made by "Blackberry"
Product "Bold 9700"
Software "OS 6", "Java"

PATENTS:
Data-processing methods
Semiconductor circuits
Chemical compounds

COPYRIGHTS:
Software code
Instruction manual
Ringtone

TRADE SECRETS:
?

DESIGNS (some of them registered):
Form of overall phone enclosure
Arrangement of buttons in this oval shape
Three-dimensional wave pattern of buttons

1) COPYRIGHTS: -
According to The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a Copyright is a
legal term describing rights given to creators for their literary and artistic works.
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It
further says that the works covered by copyrights are literary works such as novels,
poems, plays, reference works, newspapers and computer programs; databases; films,
musical compositions, and choreography; artistic works such as paintings, drawings,
photographs and sculpture; architecture; and advertisements, maps and technical
drawings.
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So what copyrights actually protects is creative works which can be clothing patterns,
labels and fabrics in a material form which is the original work of the author and
place of publication. Copyright confers this right to the author by giving him the right
to reproduction and copying, adaptation, distribution and communication of his
original work for 70 years after the death of the author or 50 years after the recording
is done (UK and Europe).

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http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/copyright.html
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http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/copyright.html
Copyright literally means right to copy.
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According to copyright law mere ideas are
not protected, but the ways in which it is expressed are protected.
According to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 -
1. Copyright and copyright works
(1)Copyright is a property right which subsists in accordance with this Part in
the following descriptions of work
(a) original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works,
(b) sound recordings, films or broadcasts, and
(c) the typographical arrangement of published editions
(2)In this Part copyright work means a work of any of those descriptions in
which copyright subsists.
(3)Copyright does not subsist in a work unless the requirements of this Part with
respect to qualification for copyright protection are met (see section 153 and
the provisions referred to there).
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2) Author of a work means the person who has actually created that work. This
means if he fixes any creative expression in a tangible medium, and this expression
has not been copied from any existing work, then he has created a set of right in that
expression and this right is called copyright. This copyright will give the author a
material right over his creative expression and through this right he can control the
ways in which his work can be used.

3) Duration of a copyright is the time period for which the copyright subsists on the
owner. It starts as soon as the above mentioned literary works are fixed into a
tangible medium e.g. for a poet the copyright over that poem will start as soon as he
has written down that poem in a tangible medium i.e. a piece of paper and not when
he has actually registered or published his poem. A copyright registration is
necessary so that it can identify the creator of that work in case there is some conflict
of interest in that subject matter, and further guarantees the right to the rightful owner.
So even if someone copies the work of that poet before the poem has been registered
the poet still has right to claim for his copyright.

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http://www.worldwideocr.com/Copyright_Fashion_designs.asp
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A. Christie & S. Gare, Blackstones Statutes on Intellectual Property (10
th
Edition, Oxford
University Press, New York 2010)
o In UK for literary, dramatic, musical, films, or artistic works a copyright
expires at the end of the period of 70 years from end of the calendar year in
which the author dies. If the work is computer generated then it is 50 years.
For sound recordings and broadcasts it is for the period of 50 years from the
end of the calendar year in which the recording or broadcast was done.
o In USA the copyright in a work is for a period of 70 years after the death of
the author.
o In India 60 years after the death of the author.
o In case of joint authorship 60 years after the death of
o For orphan works 60 years after the death if the identity is disclosed else 60
years from publication

2) COPYLEFT: -
Copyleft is a general method for making a program (or other work) free, and requiring
all modified and extended versions of the program to be free as well. The simplest
way to make a program free software is to put it in the public domain, uncopyrighted.
This allows people to share the program and their improvements, if they are so
minded. But it also allows uncooperative people to convert the program into
proprietary software. They can make changes, many or few, and distribute the result
as a proprietary product.
Copyleft also helps programmers who want to contribute improvements to free
software get permission to do so. To copyleft a program, we first state that it is
copyrighted; then we add distribution terms, which are a legal instrument that gives
everyone the rights to use, modify, and redistribute the program's code, or any
program derived from it, but only if the distribution terms are unchanged. Thus, the
code and the freedoms become legally inseparable.

3) TRADE MARKS: -
Trademark is any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of
distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.
o It tells you the origin of goods
o Origin of goods is the assurance of the quality and goodwill of the product
associated with that particular brand
A trademark may, in particular, consist of words (including personal names), designs,
letters, numerals or the shape of goods or their packaging.
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What is actually protected by trade marks is consumer choice, origin of goods,
goodwill, identification of goods and service, quality, reputation; subject matter such
as a sign which is capable of being registered graphically and which can be
distinguished from goods and service of one undertaking than others. This right is
guaranteed for a period of 10 years, which can be renewed after the expiry of the term
(UK, Europe and India).
A major restriction on what can count as a trademark is whether or not the symbol is
used in everyday language. In this respect, owners of trademarks do not want their
symbols to become too widely used because once this occurs, the trademark lapses.
o An example of this restriction eliminating a word from trademark protection is
aspirinas the word became a part of the common culture, rights to
exclusively use the trademark lapsed.
o These are called generic words and it varies from region to region

4) TRADE SECRETS: -
The subject matter of trade secret law is almost unlimited in terms of the content or
subject matter that may be protected and typically relies on private measures, rather
than state action, to preserve exclusivity. A trade secret is any information that can
be used in the operation of a business or other enterprise and that is sufficiently
valuable and secret to afford an actual or potential economic advantage over others.

5) DESIGN RIGHTS: -
A design is the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article (i.e. eye appeal should be
there). The design may consist of: -
1. Three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article, or of
2. Two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or colour.
Industrial designs are applied to a wide variety of products of industry and handicraft:
from technical and medical instruments to watches, jewellery, and other luxury items;
from housewares and electrical appliances to vehicles and architectural structures;
from textile designs to leisure goods.

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A. Christie & S. Gare, Blackstones Statutes on Intellectual Property (10
th
Edition, Oxford
University Press, New York 2010)
To be protected under most national laws, an industrial design must be new and/or
original. Novelty or originality is determined with respect to the existing design
corpus. An industrial design is primarily of an aesthetic nature, and does not protect
any technical features (Functional Designs Excluded) of the article to which it is
applied.
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Duration is 10 + 5 years

6) PATENTS: -
Patents are granted for an invention. It is an exclusive right and the invention can be
a product or a process, which is either a new process of doing something or a new
technical solution to a problem. It is granted for a term of 20 years. After the patent
has been granted the patent owner has an exclusive right over the use, production, sale
and distribution of the patented article and no one can use it without the permission or
exclusive licence by the patent holder.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE PATENT SYSTEM?
Encourage technological innovation
Promote competition and investment
Encourage dissemination of information
Promote technology transfer
WHAT CAN BE PATENTED?
Under the European Patent Convention (EPC), patents are granted for:
any inventions in all fields of technology (Article 52(1) EPC)
provided that they are:
new (defined in Article 54 EPC)
involve an inventive step ( defined in Article 56 EPC) and
susceptible of industrial application (defined in Article 57 EPC)
WHAT CANNOT BE PATENTED?
The following are not considered to be inventions for the purposes of granting
European patents:
Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods
(Article 52(2)(a) EPC)
Aesthetic creations (Article 52(2)(b) EPC)

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http://www.wipo.int/designs/en/
Schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games (e.g.
bowling technique of a bowler) or doing business, and programs for computers
(Article 52(2)(c) EPC)
Presentations of information (Article 52(2)(d) EPC)
Inventions whose commercial exploitation would be contrary to "ordre public" or
morality (Article 53(a) EPC)
Plant or animal varieties or essentially biological processes for the production of
plants or animals (Article 53(b) EPC)
Methods for treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and
diagnostic methods practised on the human or animal body (Article 53(c) and Article
54(4)-(5) EPC)

7) GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS: -
Champagne, Scotch, Cologne, Basmati.
Section 2 (e) of Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act,
1999 gives the definition of Geographical Indication. It says that " geographical
indication", in relation to goods, means an indication which identifies such goods as
agricultural goods, natural goods or manufactured goods as originating, or
manufactured in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory,
where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of such goods is essentially
attributable to its geographical origin and in case where such goods are manufactured
goods one of the activities of either the production or of processing r preparation of
the goods concerned takes place in such territory, region or locality, as the case may
be.
Explanation: - For the purposes of this clause, any name which is not the name of a
country, region or locality of that country shall also be considered as the geographical
indication if it relates to a specific geographical area and is used upon or in relation to
particular goods originating from that country, region or locality, as the case may be.