Today, we are living in the age of information technology & spreading our wings to every aspect of the society. We exchange our information (ideas, techniques, process, and product) to a target group but we never come to know this thing that someone is also targeting our information. So we are much prone to unintentionally leakage of our precious ideas as our information passes through different portals.
It is the human tendency to share their innovative thoughts with their near & dear ones but that proves fatal, in most of the cases, in respect of the that original creation or your property i.e. intellectual property (IP).Most of the people acts indiscreetly & ignorantly which results in jeopardizing the chance of saving their intellectual property i.e. novelty of ideas as they comes under public domain & lose their chance to be protected by the INELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.
Intellectual property literally means some academic or scholar work. Intellectual property (IP) pertains to any scholar or any original creation of the human intellect; that work can be artistic, literary, technical or scientific creation.
Intellectual property rights mean those rights which are given by the State to the inventor or creator to protect one’s invention or creation for a certain period of time.
Need for intellectual property rights:-
For individual: - IP helps to protect investment of time, money, effort & such other resources of the inventor or creator.
For public:-IP provides a pool of information to the general public since all forms of IP are published in journals & magazines except in case of trade secrets.
For country:-IP provides a mechanism of handling infringement, piracy and unauthorized use & it encourages industrial development & technological advancement which leads to overall economic development of the country.
Bundle of rights:-
IPR are bundle of rights i.e. it includes the various independent rights. Following are the various independent rights for which IPR collectively provides protection:
1. Patent Right(Patent Act,1971 & Patent Rules,2000)
2. Industrial Design(Design Act,)
3. Trademarks (Trademarks Act)
4. Copyright(Copyrights Act)
5. Geographical Indication(Geographical Indication Of Goods Act)
6. Trade secrets(Common Law)
7. Circuit Layout Design(Semiconductor Layout Design Act)
India at International level:-
• The fact that India is a member state of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), an international organization, responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world proves that India has proved its potential & has been acknowledged at international level.
We are here concerned with Patent Law; A patent is an exclusive right granted to inventor or creator of a useful or improved article or a new process of making an article for a specified period of time. After the expiry of the duration the invention becomes part of public domain i.e. everyone can use it. So Patent means monopoly rights of inventor in respect of an invention.
Geographical limits of the patent:-
Patent is granted for a specific invention in a particular country in which an application is made for the same cause. There is no international patent as such though it has acquired an international character. For e.g. a patent granted in India is valid only for India and not in the USA. However, a patent granted in the EPO is valid in all the contracting states recognized by European Patent Organization. The protection so granted in a country / region not only identifies the rights of the creator/ inventor or his assignees, but also enables the right holder to enforce his rights against infringers.
Moreover, several international agreements, treaties & conventions exist to monitor that the inventor/creator are not denied of his/her rights like European Economic Community Treaty(EEC),Patent co-operation Treaty(PCT),European Patent Conventions and Protocols(EPC),Community Patent Convention and Protocols(CPC) resulting in a common patent office for granting common patents applicable to the member countries.
What can be patented?
Only inventions can be patented.Sec.2 (1) (j) defines invention as an invention means a new product or a new process involving an inventive step & capable of industrial application. Invention includes within its scope any new & useful improvements of any manner of manufacture, article or substance whether patented or not but such improvement must qualify independently to satisfy the pre-requisites of the patent i.e. novelty, inventive step & capable of industrial application.
Who may apply for patent?
An application for a patent may be made by inventor, either alone or jointly with another, or his/their assignee, legal representative of deceased inventor or assignee are entitled to apply. For e.g. If a person invents a new product or process & unfortunately soon after that he dies then his legal heirs can or any person authorized by him before his death can apply for patent.
Term & date of patent:-
Term of every patent will be from 20 years from the date of filling of patent application & date of patent is the date on which the application for patent is filed, irrespective of the fact whether it is filed with provisional or complete application. To keep the patent in force renewal fee is to be paid every year. The first renewal fee is payable for the third year of the patent’s life & must be paid before the patent’s second anniversary. Term of patent can’t be extended beyond the specified term of patent.
Where a patent application should be filed?
The Indian Patent Office has its head office at Kolkata, which has three branch offices located at Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. The Controller General heads the Patent Office and each branch has a Controller as its head. In case of an Indian applicant, the patent application must be filed at the patent office under whose jurisdiction the applicant’s has his place of work, or place of residence or place where he conduct business from.
For e.g. if an applicant provides a Chandigarh based address, the application must be filed at the Delhi Patent Office. In case of foreign applicant/s, the jurisdiction in which the patent application is filed would be based on the address for services of the applicant’s agent. For e.g. if the address for services for foreign applicant is based at Bangalore, the patent application must be filed at the Chennai Patent Office.
What are the rights given to the patentee?
The patentee (i.e. an applicant who has been granted a patent) has the exclusive right to prevent unauthorized third parties from making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the patented product or process in India.
Patent information centre:-
Patent Information Centre (PIC) has been set up in 20 states & is further expanding in other states. Patent information centre provides information regarding the techniqulities & procedure laid down by the government to get a patent. One can get all the information regarding the filing of the patent application & further procedure up till the patent is not granted. The centre provides general precaution for the applicant before & after applying for a patent. The most common mistake which an applicant often does is to publish their invention in newspaper or scientific & technical journals, before applying for patents.
Publication of an invention, even by the inventor himself, would (except under certain rare circumstances) constitute a bar for the subsequent patenting of it. Similarly, the use of the invention in public, or the commercial use of the invention in public or even in secrecy, prior to the date of the patent would be a fatal objection to the grant of the patent. However the secret working of the invention by way of reasonable trial or experiment, or the disclosure of the invention to other confidentially may not result into loss of novelty.
Another mistake, which is frequently made by the inventors, is to wait until their inventions are fully developed for commercial working, before applying for the patents. Delay in making application for a patent involves certain risks. so it is advisable to apply for the patent as soon as one’s invention get a physical appearance with 3-D drawings sheets depicting the whole model.
Incentives for obtaining patents:-
An innovative industry can gain competitive advantage in the market if it develops the necessary expertise and skills in developing and manufacturing new products, which are patented. For example, the advantage of a three year excise duty exemption or exemption from Drugs Price Control Order may translate into reserves / income which may offset the cost towards R&D. In order to promote R&D and innovation in Indian industries, Government of India provides a number of fiscal incentives and support measures to industries. Some of them are following:-
• Excise duty waiver on the patented article for a period of 3 years from the date of commencement of commercial production provided that such products be designed &developed by wholly owned Indian companies.
• Exemption from drug price control for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production provided that they are produced from the basic stage by a process of manufacture developed by the unit through its own R&D efforts.
• Weighted tax deduction @ 150% on R&D expenditure is available to companies engaged in the business of biotechnology, or the business of manufacture or production of drugs, pharmaceuticals, electronic equipment, computers, telecommunication equipment, chemicals and manufacture of aircraft and helicopters. The expenditure on scientific research in relation to drugs and pharmaceuticals shall include expenditure incurred on clinical trials of drugs, obtaining approval from the regulatory authority under any Central, State or provincial Act and the filing of a patent application in India.
• Depreciation allowance at a higher rate is available in respect of plant and machinery installed for manufacturing goods based on indigenous technology developed in recognized in-house R&D units, Government R&D institutions, national laboratories and Scientific and Industrial Organizations (SIRO). The present rate of depreciation for plant and machinery is 40% as against 25% for other plants and machinery.
• Income tax exemption:-Under Section 35(1)(i) of the Income Tax Act 1961, the revenue expenditure on scientific research, by recognized R&D units, on activities related to the business of the company is allowed full deduction. Under Section 35(1)(iv) expenses of capital nature could be deducted totally from the income of the year in which the expenses have been incurred. Section 35(2AA) of the IT Act 1961 provides for a weighted tax deduction of 125% for expenses on sponsoring research programmes at National laboratories functioning under ICAR, CSIR, ICMR, DRDO, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Electronics; IIT and universities.
