PGP 10 IB SESSIONS at SPJIMR

Glossary of Terms used in IPR Session

1) Copyright: Intellectual property protection for literacy, Scientific and artistic works. Software
is normally covered through copyright protection.
2) Geographical Indications: Form of intellectual property under substantive standards of
protection. A provision of the TRIPS Agreement which prevents producers from using
indicators that misrepresent and identify good as originating from a region essentially
attributes to the territory of another member, region, area or locality. There is special
protection for spirits and wines under the provision and prevent use of expressions such as
kind, type, style, imitation, etc. Such violations of property are commonly visible in
the consumer good sectors. Examples are Darjeeling tea, Champagne, Scotch Whiskey.
3) Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs): Intellectual Property (IP) refers to a creation of human
mind that is of value to the society, while Intellectual Property Rights are rights granted by
the States to person over creation of their mind.
4) Layout Designs for Integrated Circuits: This is a property right recognized as the result of
Washington Treaty in 1989. The TRIPS Agreement prevents unauthorised reproduction of
layout designs of integrated circuits (ICs) in entirety or in part. The primary consideration is
topography of the integrated circuits. The need for and international system for ICs arose as
a consequence of the emerging role of microelectronics in production and diagnostic
processes. The agreement doesnt require specific laws and many members protect this
right under industrial design. The minimum period of protection prescribes is ten years.
5) New Plant and seed varieties: Must be protected through patents or a sui genius (standing
on its own) system or a combination. There are three different sets of people whose
interests have to be protected: Plant breeders (who invent new seeds), Researchers (who
want to use protected varieties of seeds to conduct experiments in laboratories and invent
newer varieties of seeds) and Farmers (who use protected varieties of seeds to grow crops).
In a complete system of product patents, researcher and farmers have to pay royalties to
plant breeders every time a protected variety of seed is used, regardless of use. In a sui
generis system weaker protection is possible. For example researcher and farmers pay
royalties to plant breeder only when protected seeds are used for commercial purpose, not
otherwise. India has opted for the sui generis system and a Plant Varieties legislation has
been enacted.
6) Patents: This is a property right of the creator or inventor on his creation or invention. A
government grants monopoly rights to the creator or inventor for a fixed period use, while
excluding all others from making and using the invention. After expiration of the patents
term (20 years under the TRIPS Agreement), the invention can be used freely by everyone.
Under the Indian Patents Act of 1970, at present the duration of patents protection in India
is five years from the date of getting the patents or seven years from the date of filling the
application, whichever is less, for food, chemicals and drugs. For everything else, the
duration is fourteen years.

7) Service marks: A word, slogan, design, picture, or any other symbol used to identify and
distinguish services (retail sales services, airlines services, insurance, investment services,
and the like) as opposed to a product.
8) Trademark: Distinctive symbol and signs used by manufacturers to differentiate their
products from those of others. International consensus on rules of trademark has emerged
from the Paris Convention.
9) Trade Secret: Business information that is the subject of reasonable efforts to preserve
confidentiality and has value because it is not generally known in the trade. Such
confidential information will be protected against those who obtain access through
improper methods or by a breach of confidence. Infringement of a trade secret is a type of
unfair competition.
10) TRIPS: Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) The Agreement is
structured in seven parts: Part I contains general provision and basic principles, derived from
provision in existing international conventions, such as those administered by the World
Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO), including, the Paris Convention for the Protection
of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Library and Artistic Works,
the Rome Convention on the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and
Broadcasting organization, and the Washington Treaty in respect of Integrated Circuits. Part
II sets out standards concerning the availability, scope and use of intellectual property rights
(IPRs), and defines them. Part III refers to enforcement at the national level. Part IV covers
the acquisition and maintenance of IPRs. Part V contains the dispute prevention and
settlement provisions and Parts VI and VII covers provisions such as transitional and
institutional arrangements and final provisions. The agreement covers several forms of
intellectual property - Copyright and neighbouring rights, trademarks, industrial design,
patents, plant and seed varieties and mcro- organisms, geographical indications, integrated
circuits and undisclosed information (trade search).
11) WTO: The World Trade Organization (WTO), established on 1st January 1995, is the legal and
institution of the multilateral trading system. It provides the principal contractual obligations
determining how government frame and implement domestic trade legislation and
regulations. And it is the platform on which trade among countries evolve through collective
debate, negotiation and adjudication. The WTO is the embodiment of the results of the
Uruguay Round Trade negotiation and the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT).
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Feb 2014

Prof. Jiban. K Mukhopadhyay