Write notes on Intellectual Property Rights.
Answers
Intellectual property rights are customarily divided into two main areas:
(i) Copyright and rights related to copyright.
The rights of authors of literary and artistic works (such as books and other writings, musical compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs and films) are protected by copyright, for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author.
Also protected through copyright and related (sometimes referred to as “neighbouring”) rights are the rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), producers of phonograms (sound recordings) and broadcasting organizations. The main social purpose of protection of copyright and related rights is to encourage and reward creative work.
(ii) Industrial property
Industrial property can usefully be divided into two main areas:
One area can be characterized as the protection of distinctive signs, in particular trademarks (which distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings) and geographical indications (which identify a good as originating in a place where a given characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin).
The protection of such distinctive signs aims to stimulate and ensure fair competition and to protect consumers, by enabling them to make informed choices between various goods and services. The protection may last indefinitely, provided the sign in question continues to be distinctive.Other types of industrial property are protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design and the creation of technology. In this category fall inventions (protected by patents), industrial designs and trade secrets.
The social purpose is to provide protection for the results of investment in the development of new technology, thus giving the incentive and means to finance research and development activities.
A functioning intellectual property regime should also facilitate the transfer of technology in the form of foreign direct investment, joint ventures and licensing.
The protection is usually given for a finite term (typically 20 years in the case of patents).
While the basic social objectives of intellectual property protection are as outlined above, it should also be noted that the exclusive rights given are generally subject to a number of limitations and exceptions, aimed at fine-tuning the balance that has to be found between the legitimate interests of right holders and of users.
An intellectual property right pertains to any original creation of the human intellect such as artists, library, technical or scientific creation. Intellectual Property Rights refers to the legal rights given by the state to the inventor/creator to protect his invention/creation for a certain period of time. These legal rights confer an exclusive right to the inventor/creator or his assignee to fully utilise his invention/creation for a given period of time.
Intellectual property rights illustrate the nation’s ability to translate knowledge and thereby creating social good and wealth through innovations. These innovations hold the key to any nations’ prosperity as well as processing of knowledge. It is very well settled that intellectual property play a vital role in the modern economy
Intellectual property rights as a collective term, according to the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, include the following independent (ip) rights namely,
Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks, Registered (industrial) design, Protection of IC layout design, Geographical indications, and Protection of undisclosed information
These are different forms of IPR and are mutually exclusive; each being independent of the other and governed by a separate law. Their mutual exclusiveness and independence can be gauged by the fact that it is possible to protect different aspects of an original or inventive work with different rights.
All IP rights are awarded by a country and most of such rights are territorial in natur