Report on IPR for students and faculty members

The MHRD Innovation Cell conducted a seminar on IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) and its importance for students and faculty members all over India on 10 January 2019, which was stream live on Facebook at 1:45 pm. The seminar was conducted by Divya Shrivasan from the IPR management cell along with Ms Shwetasree Majumder, Principal of Fidus Law Chamber who is also an IPR lawyer and an expert in the field. The viewers were asked to send their questions in advance so that they could obtain their answers from the expert itself.

Ms Majumder began the seminar stating that our country has one of the strongest IP law in the world. Since most of the viewers for that day’s session were engineers, they tend to produce various ideas which ultimately need to be protected. IPR is a regime -a pillar of protection and second enforcement by IP lawyers.

IP is basically a property which is the product of an individual’s intellect in the form of symbols, names, sound, music, invention, paintings, photographs, movies, technologies and design etc. IP are classified further into types as patents, copyright, trademarks, designs, geographical indications, integrated circuits and semiconductor layout designs, plant varieties and trade secrets.

Patents are exclusive rights to an inventor to capitalize an invention and prevent third parties from manufacturing, using, selling or importing the said invention. There are two kinds of patents namely product patent and process patent. The type of inventions to be included in a patent is new (novelty), non-obvious to a person skilled in the relevant field (involves an initiative step) and that has industrial application. The validity of a patent is only 20 years.

The type of innovations that can be included in a patent are explained in brief as follows.

First, it should be a new product which includes novelty, it should be non-obvious and include an initiative step .Furthermore, and it should have an industrial application. Novelty alone means the invention should be new and original i.e. it should never been seen or done before. Also, it should involve a technical advance as compared to existing knowledge. It must distinguish from “state of the art”(prior art) and lastly, it should not be anticipated by publication in any document in any part of the world or used in the country. Secondly, Inventive step: it includes an invention ‘non-obvious to a person skilled in the art’. It also involves technical advance as compared to the existing knowledge or having economic significance or both. The question arose here was, “who is a person skilled in the art?” .He is one who belongs to the relevant field, he looks at the prior art from a position of his personality considering his/hers interest in the risk taking. He is one who is well aware of the fact that even a small structural change in a product or in its procedure can cause dramatic functional changes to the invention itself. Finally, industrial application: which includes inventions that are capable of being used or made industrially. An invention though new and non-obvious that is incapable of commercial exploitation/ industrial application is not patentable. Inventions with no practical application such as a product or a process alleged to operate in a manner clearly to laws of nature.

The next questioned arose was “What is not patentable?” Inventions that are frivolous or against established natural laws, which may get harmful to humans and animal health, a person’s discovery already known including new properties of substance, scientific principles or formulations, mathematical formulae, algorithms etc. are not patentable. Methods of agriculture or horticulture, a rule or method of performing mental act or playing games are also non patentable.

The next topic focused on was Copyrights and related rights. Copyright is an exclusive right given by law for original literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, cinematograph films and sound recordings.

Secondly, related rights are as follows:

-Performer’s rights: rights of an actor, singer, musician, dancer, acrobat, juggler etc.

-Broadcasters right: communication to public by any means of wireless diffusion, sound or visual images

-Economic rights: to reproduce, make copies, sell, distribute, display to public, assign/license

-Moral rights: right of acknowledgement, right to object against mutilation/distortion of work

Copyright infringement includes making infringing copies for sale or hire, distributing infringing copies for trade or incorporation of infringing copies into India. it does not include a fair deal for research, study, criticism, review and news reporting.

Trademarks and branding: A trademark is a mark capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others such as a visual, symbol, word, name, label, numerals of combination of colours’ Trademark is registered for 10 years and can be renewed. Trademark cannot be a descriptive word, national and registered symbols, colour, functional or common shapes, numerical or letters etc. To register a trademark one must be able to represent the mark graphically that means trademarks which are not words one can use them as symbols in the form of text or a combination of both. For a sound trademark, one will have to provide the trademarks registry with an accurate description of the sound. Precise information should be produced as to which instrument is used, the exact melody, the elements that make up the sound, also the musical representation of the sound.

Counterfeiting is when a counterfeit product which is either an exact copy of a genuine product, with the same words, logos and colours or  so similar that one can mistake it for a real product .Industrial designs features of shape, configuration, pattern, ornament, composition of colours or lines or a combination there of , applied to an article by any industrial process/ means , which appeal and judged solely by eye .These designs are protected by registering them. The registration is a protection given to artistic features (shape, pattern, ornamentation that are not functional).The design is registered by the design controller in the Indian IP office. After registration a design is valid for 15 years during which a registered design can only be used after getting a license from its owner. Once the validity period is over the design is free for anybody to use.

Geographical Indication is a sign used on product that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. The importance of geographical indication is that primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. GI conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness. GI promotes economic prosperity of producers of goods produced in a geographical territory. The registration is valid for 10 years and can be renewed every 10 years.

Semiconductor Integrated layout design: Semiconductor integrated circuit is defined as a product having transistors and other circuitry elements designed to perform an electronic circuitry function. A layout design is the layout of transistors and other circuitry elements including lead wires connected in semiconductor integrated circuits. One must register the semiconductor integrated layout design. The act 2000 deals with “layout design” used in semiconductor integrated circuits which is in the form of intellectual property. The act provides protection for a period of 10 years. The criterion for registration of semiconductor integrated layout design is as follows:

-The design should be original.

-Should be distinctive.

-Should be capable of distinguishing from any other layout design.

-Should not have been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a convention country..

Protection of plant varieties: is exclusively and recognition provided to plant breeders and farmers for their contributions in developing, improving and cultivating new varieties of plants. So one must register plant varieties under the farmer’s rights act 2001 a far reaching legislation establishing rights of breeders. This act grants IPRs to farmers and plant breeders who cultivate or develops new or extant plant varieties. It recognizes the farmer as a cultivator, conserver and breeder. Criterion for registration of a plant variety:

-Novel

-District

-Uniform

-Stable

Trade secrets:  Is any commercially valuable and sensitive business information. Trade secrets may include R&D information, software algorithms, invention, designs, formulas, financial records, ingredients, lists of customers, devices, methods, consumer profiles and advertising strategies or policies of a company etc.

India like many other countries does not have a statute to protect trade secrets. Trade secrets are protected through common law rights and equity. Businesses can protect its trade secrets through confidentiality agreements for its employees and vendors and by restricting access to the information any other means. A trade secret can be protected for an unlimited period of time.

The session was concluded by Ms.  Majumder explaining an individual’s responsibility towards IP protection methods which includes: Originality in business approach, by not purchasing/accessing counterfeit products/pirated content, due diligence resisting party IP and by securing protection for one’s own IP.