CERTIFICATE COURSE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE INTERNET AGE

STUDY MATERIAL
ON
FUNDAMENTAL OF IPRs

INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE

BHAGWAN DAS ROAD
NEW DELHI-110001

Objectives
This paper will give you a basic idea about:

• the concept of intellectual property and rights associated with it;

• rationale behind IP, and the underlying premises;
• significance of IP protection ;
• different categories/forms of intellectual property; and
• Important Institutions -national and international –for management and administration
of IPR.

We encounter intellectual property at every step of our lives today. The design on the bed
linen and other items of furniture in the house, the trademarks on the electronics to cereals,
soft drink bottles, toiletries, latest apps in the mobile, books, films, music etc. Practically
everything we use is the product of human ingenuity, knowledge and skill, besides labour
and capital and falls under some kind of intellectual property that had to be respected before
the item could be lawfully manufactured and used.
With the advent of the knowledge and information technology era, intellectual assets have
gained substantial importance, especially after the establishment of WTO. Consequently,
Intellectual Property and the rights attached thereto have become precious commodities and
are being fiercely protected.

This paper will give you a basic idea about the concept and philosophy behind IPRs, its
history, various forms and significance in the modern era.

What is an Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property (IP) pertains to any original creation of the human intellect such as
artistic, literary, technical or scientific creation. Generally speaking, intellectual property
refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, symbols, names
and images used in trade.
Intellectual property is traditionally divided into two branches, “industrial property” and
“copyright.” The expression “industrial property” covers Patents, Trademarks, Geographical
Indications, Semiconductor Layouts Trade Secrets and Industrial Designs. The copyright
branch of intellectual property covers literary works (such as novels, poems and plays), films,
music, artistic works (e.g., drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures) and architectural
design. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances,
producers of phonograms in their recordings, and broadcasters in their radio and television
programs are also covered by Copyright.
Intellectual property is in the nature of intangible incorporeal property. Just like physical
property, IP is created, protected, bought and sold (assignment) and rented out (licensing).

What are Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)?

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) 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 utilize his
invention/creation for a given period of time excluding or prohibiting the others from using
or exploiting it. Intellectual property rights are conferred as statutory rights by countries for
two main reasons. One is to give statutory expression to the moral and economic rights of
creators in their creations and the rights of the public in access to those creations. The second
is to promote, as a deliberate act of Government policy, creativity and the dissemination and
application of its results and to encourage fair trading which would contribute to economic
and social development.
Intellectual property rights are territorial in nature i.e. they apply only within the borders of
the territory (typically, the country) where they are obtained. It means that an Indian
registration is valid only in India. For protection of Intellectual Property in any other country,
one has to seek protection separately under the relevant law. Copyright, however, may not be
considered a territorial right in the strict sense. A copyright generated in a member country of
the Berne Convention is automatically protected in all the member countries, without any
need for registration. Copyright will not be automatically available in countries that are not
the members of the Berne Convention. The extent of protection and enforcement of these
rights varies widely around the world.

These rights do not apply to the physical object in which the creation may be embodied but
instead to the intellectual creation as such. Like any other property IPR can be transferred,
sold or gifted.
One of the main underlying principles of IPR is that protection is not given for what is
already known in the public domain. IPR are meant to benefit creators of work, inventions
and designs.
These rights are granted for a limited period of time, except that in the case of trademark
wherein the protection period could be extended indefinitely by a process of renewal.

IPR are monopoly rights and thus prohibit unauthorised use of the protected work/invention.
In return for such rights, the State expects that the invention/ original work should be made
public for use by others after the rights have expired or during the period of protection with
proper authorization from the right holder. However, protection of undisclosed information
falls in a different category; the above principle of public disclosure is not applicable in this
case. On the contrary, in order to protect the right, the information has to be kept secret and it
has to be ensured that it does not come in the public domain.

History of IPR system

Human beings, and even animals, have a tendency to protect and possess a physical thing
they have. Thus, a child will not part with her toys, a person with his property and a dog with
his dog-bone. Similarly, most people will not like the idea that anyone without their
permission and without a simple acknowledgement copies their writings, designs or products
made by them. By not having a system in place to formally protect the intellectually created
work of an individual, a society would strike at the root of ingenuity and innovation of its
own people. The society is always in need of new ideas, products, processes, designs, recipes
and so on to improve the quality of life, have better health for its people, produce new things
and have a trade advantage by increasing the size and quality. Trade and commerce have
emerged to be the major deterministic factor for achieving the above goals.
Pressures of globalisation or internationalisation were not intense during 1950s to 1980s, and
many countries, including India, were able to manage without practising a strong system of
intellectual property rights. Globalisation driven by chemical, pharmaceutical, electronic and
IT industries has resulted into large investment in R&D. This process is characterized by
shortening of product cycle time and high risk of reverse engineering by competitors.
Industries came to realize that trade secrets were not adequate to guard a technology. It was
difficult to reap the benefits of innovations unless uniform laws and rules of patents,
trademarks, copyright etc existed. That is how intellectual property rights became an
important constituent of the World Trade Organization.

Patents began as instruments for attracting and introducing new products, technologies and
techniques in European countries. If you look at the old patents granted by some of the
countries you will find that they were just a replication of the technologies available
elsewhere. Artisans were invited from one country to the other and given special rights,
amongst them being the exclusive right to exploit the technology. The laws and
administrative procedures related to intellectual property rights have their roots in Europe.
The trend of giving patents started in the fourteenth century. In comparison to other
European countries, in some matters England was technologically advanced and used to
attract artisans from elsewhere on special terms. Once such people decided to come and
settle, they would need to employ the locals who would get trained over time in the relevant
trade and craft; but such trained locals were likely to become competitors to the knowledge
holder and consequently a threat to the monopoly. Therefore, protection was given to the
immigrant to have a monopoly for few years, to enable him to exploit the economic returns
of his art, special expertise, or technological innovation. It is interesting to note that the
original period of protection of 14 years for a patent was not with out reasons. Seven years
was the term of service of an apprentice, so the protection for fourteen years meant protection
for two generations of apprentices. For some reasons, this period continued until recently,
even though the concept of seven years apprenticeship was no longer valid. As early as 1332,
the Venetian Grand Council established a privilege fund for providing loans and other
rewards to a foreign constructor of windmills who offered to bring knowledge of this art to
the city. In 1416 the Council awarded to Fransciscus Petri, from the Island of Rhodes, a
patent for a superior device for fulling (shrinking and thickening) of fabrics, this patent gave
exclusive rights for 50 years to Petri and his heirs to build, alter and reconstruct the
apparatus.

In this period of introducing new art and technologies a thought process slowly started taking
roots, on the question of disclosing secrets of the art or craft or technologies. It really did not
matter whether the inventor was from the same land or from a foreign country. When in
1421, the Florentine commune awarded a patent to Brunelleschi for a design of ship, he
claimed that the ship could haul loads more cheaply on the Arno River; the nature of bargain
for disclosure was spelled out candidly in Bruelleschi’s petition “He refuses to make such
machine available to the public in order that the fruit of his genius and skill may not be
reaped by another without his will and consent, and that, if he enjoyed some prerogative
concerning this, he would open up what he is hiding and would disclose it to all.”

The rights of literary works involving published works were not protected until the advent of
printing machines, which made copying of literary works much easier. Otherwise someone
would have to write the complete manuscript for making a copy, which from commercial
angle, was not profitable. From the beginning copyright laws have been designed more by
the economics of publication than by the economics of authorship. The first known
copyrights appeared in Italy. The craft of printing was introduced in Rome and Venice by the
end of 1460s. A number of privileges were allowed by Venice in terms of import of
franchise, exclusive licenses to print or sell an entire class of books, prohibition of import of
books printed abroad and patents for the improvement of printing and typography. As the
focus was on printing books in public domain (such as the Bible), the rights of authorship
were not considered important. The first franchise for printing was taken from a German
printer Johann von Speyer. In 1493 the Venetian Cabinet gave Daniele Barbaro an exclusive
10-year grant of proprietary rights for the publication of a book authored by his deceased
brother. Such cases were very few and copyrights were by and large issued to the publishers
for works written by others. This is an interesting aspect of copyrights. In the last few
centuries, the emphasis of ownership shifted from that of publisher to creator / author of the
work. With the advent of digital technologies and new forms of works being created,
especially for internet purposes, publishers’ stakes seem to be increasing each day as the
quality of replication and ease of replication have become extremely simple. The publisher
lobby is therefore seeking new treaties such as the Data Protection Treaty, for protecting their
investments. It may become a case of the old order taking over the new order because
technological inputs have brought about a major shift in the publishing business. Venice can
be considered the cradle of intellectual property system as most legal thinking in this area
was done here and laws and systems were made here for the first time in the world, and other
countries followed them. Scholars feel that the first general copyright law in the world came
in the form of a decree issued by the Venice Council around 1545, which prohibited the
printing of any work without the permission of the author. No steps were apparently taken to
maintain a register for the copyrighted works. Similar laws also came into being in other
European countries. Each country introduced an element of censorship to exclude from
publication, material that was considered unacceptable by the society. It is also important to
realize that the laws were applicable to printing and publishing of material generated with in
the country. There were practically no laws which prohibited publishing and printing of
books, pamphlets etc. which were imported into the country. Obviously, the element of
international obligation, which is becoming so pervasive and important in the present day
IPR system, was completely missing. The character of IP management in countries has
undergone a metamorphosis ever since the borders and barriers to global trade and commerce
started becoming less rigid, which perhaps was driven if not consciously, then unconsciously,
by the spirit of promoting fair competition and attaching due honour to, let us say, the
creators of knowledge. The process is an ongoing one, as more and more countries become a
part of the international trade and new variables get introduced in international relations.

Significance of IPR
Intellectual property rights are accepted all over the world due to some important reasons.
They were essentially recognized for the acceptations of these rights:-
• Provides incentive to the individual for new creations.
• Providing due recognition to the creators and inventors.
• Ensuring the material reward for intellectual property.
• Ensuring the availability of the original products.
• For economic growth and advancement in technology sector protection of Intellectual
property protection is important.
• They are benefited for the growth of the business in the field of technology.

It is now a known fact that IP plays a vital role in the modern economy. IPR is a strong tool
which protects investments, time, money, effort which were invested by the creator of an
idea/product, as IPR grants the creator an exclusive right for a certain period to fully utilize
the creation. This results in the economic development by promoting a healthy environment
towards new ideas and creations.
The progress and well-being of humanity rest on its capacity to create and invent new works
in the areas of technology and culture. Also, the legal protection of new creations encourages
the commitment of additional resources for further innovation. 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 creates new jobs and industries, and enhances the quality and
enjoyment of life. It is very well settled that intellectual property play a vital role in the
modern economy. It has also been conclusively established that the intellectual labour
associated with the innovation should be given due importance so that public good emanates
from it.
An efficient and equitable intellectual property system can help all countries to realize
intellectual property’s potential as a catalyst for economic development and social and
cultural well-being. The intellectual property system helps strike a balance between the
interests of innovators and the public interest, providing an environment in which creativity
and invention can flourish, for the benefit of all.
IPR is a strong tool, to protect investments, time, money, effort and the like invested by the
inventor/creator of an Intellectual Property, since it grants the inventor/creator an exclusive
right for a certain period of time for use of his invention/creation. Thus IPR, in a way, aids
the economic development of a country by promoting healthy competition and encouraging
industrial development and economic growth.
Further it also enhances technology advancement in the following ways:

a. it provides a mechanism of handling infringement, piracy and unauthorized use

b. it provides a pool of information to the general public since all forms of IP are published
except in case of trade secrets .

A spurt in interest about intellectual property rights (IPR) has been visible in the country for
almost the last 15 years. The recent interest started with a curiosity and an element of
apprehension but it has now graduated to a need-based compulsion and desire to play the
new game introduced with the formation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the
introduction of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS). With the opening up of trade in goods and services, the IPRs have become more
susceptible to infringement without adequate return to the creators of knowledge. There has
been a quantum jump in Research and Development (R&D) costs with an associated jump in
investments required for putting a new technology in the marketplace. The stakes of the
developers of technology have become very high and hence the need to protect the
knowledge from unlawful use has become expedient, at least for a period, that would ensure
recovery of the R&D and other associated costs and adequate profits for continuous
investments in R&D. Globalisation, multilateral trade and new economic order are
continuously reducing the geographical barriers to trade rendering the global trade very
complex. IPRs become important parameters influencing trade. Therefore, one expects that a
large number of IP rights would be generated and protected all over the world including
India.
The current importance of IPRs is dictated by the following reasons:

(i) Technologies are changing rapidly,

 (ii) Product life cycle is becoming shorter,

(iii) Investments on R&D, production, marketing have become very high,

(iv) Human resources should possess high level of skills, and

(v) The industry is becoming very competitive.

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.

Justification for protection of IPRs-Theories of IPR

Moral Desert Theory (also called Labour theory)

According to John Locke, every man has a property in his own person’. i.e., the fruits of a
man’s labour belong to him. In this scheme intellectual property would seem to follow
naturally since the individual must surely be permitted the fruits of his mental and physical
labour.

Personality Theory

According to Kant and Hegel, ‘if ones artistic expressions are synonymous with ones
personality, then they are deserving of protection just as much as the physical person is
deserving of protection since in a sense they are a part of that physical person.

Utilitarian Theory

Advocated by economists such as Bentham and Mill, the utilitarian theories assume that the
objective of any policy should be the attainment of the greatest good for the greatest number.
The utility gains from increased incentives for inventions must be weighed against the losses
incurred from monopolization and their diminished diffusion
A detailed study about the various forms of intellectual property rights will give you
more idea about the subject.

Forms of IPR
TRIPS Agreement under WTO, 1994 classifies Intellectual Property Rights under seven
category-Copyright & Related Rights, Trademarks, Geographical Indications, Industrial
Designs, Patents, Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits and Undisclosed Information
including Trade Secrets to bring harmonisation between the standards and principles of
protection of Intellectual Property Rights with a well defined dispute settlement/ redressal
machinery. The Agreement evolved minimum standards for the protection for the member
states to incorporate in their municipal laws.

See TRIPs Agreement http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm

There are different forms of IPR, 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.

1. PATENT: A patent is an exclusive right granted by the Government to the inventor

for an invention – a product or process that provides a new way of doing something,
or that offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides patent owners
with protection for their inventions. Protection is granted for a limited period,
generally 20 years for various kinds of inventions, which fulfill the patentability
criteria of novelty, non-obviousness (inventive step) and industrial applicability. A
patent provides the patent owner with the right to decide how - or whether - the
invention can be used by others. In exchange for this right, the patent owner makes
technical information about the invention publicly available in the published patent
 document. Patent owners may give permission to, or license, other parties to use their
inventions on mutually agreed terms. Owners may also sell their invention rights to
someone else, who then becomes the new owner of the patent. Once a patent expires,
protection ends and the invention enter the public domain. This is also known as
becoming off patent, meaning the owner no longer holds exclusive rights to the
invention, and it becomes available for commercial exploitation by others.

2. Copyright: Copyrights subsist in original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic

works generally. It protects the expression of an idea. The expression can be in
various forms, including but not limited to literary, musical and dramatic works,
motion pictures and sound recordings, pictorial, graphic and sculptural art, and even
computer programs. The creators of works protected by copyright, and their heirs and
successors (generally referred to as “right holders”), have certain basic rights under
copyright law like reproduction, translation and adaptation of the work, its public
performance and communication to the public by broadcasting or other means. They
hold the exclusive right to use or authorize others to use the work on agreed terms.
The economic rights relating to copyright are of limited duration – as provided for in
the relevant WIPO treaties – beginning with the creation and fixation of the work, and
lasting for not less than 50 years after the creator’s death. National laws may establish
longer terms of protection. Copyright and the protection of performers also include
moral rights, meaning the right to claim authorship of a work, and the right to oppose
changes to the work that could harm the creator’s reputation. Rights provided for
under copyright and related rights laws can be enforced by right holders through a
variety of methods and fora, including civil action suits, administrative remedies and
criminal prosecution. Injunctions, orders requiring destruction of infringing items,
inspection orders, among others, are used to enforce these rights.

3. Trademark: Trademark rights exist for distinctive visual sign/ symbols including a label
or a logo by which the buyers can identify the goods / services of a particular seller / service
provider. Trademarks date back to ancient times when artisans used to put their signature or
"mark" on their products.
Over the years, these marks have evolved into today’s system of trademark registration and
protection. The system helps consumers to identify and purchase a product or service based
on whether its specific characteristics and quality – as indicated by its unique trademark –
meet their needs. The main functions of trademark are –identification of goods, identification
of source, indication about quality of goods and advertising. In a larger sense, trademarks
promote initiative and enterprise worldwide by rewarding their owners with recognition and
financial profit. Trademark protection also hinders the efforts of unfair competitors, such as
counterfeiters, to use similar distinctive signs to market inferior or different products or
services. The system enables people with skill and enterprise to produce and market goods
and services in the fairest possible conditions, thereby facilitating international trade.
4. Industrial Design: An industrial design constitutes the ornamental or aesthetic aspect(not
functional or technical features -which may be protected under patents) of an article. A
design may consist of three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article,
or of two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines or colour. Industrial designs are
applied to a wide variety of industrial products and handicrafts, from technical and medical
instruments to watches, jewellery and other luxury items, from house wares and electrical
appliances to vehicles and architectural structures, from textile designs to leisure goods.
5. Geographical Indications: Geographical indications are signs used on goods that have a
specific geographical origin and possess qualities, a reputation or characteristics that are
essentially attributable to that place of origin. Most commonly, a geographical indication
includes the name of the place of origin of the goods. False use of geographical indications
by unauthorized parties, for example “Darjeeling” for tea that was not grown in the tea
gardens of Darjeeling, is detrimental to consumers and legitimate producers.
An appellation of origin is a special kind of geographical indication used on products that
have a specific quality exclusively or essentially due to the geographical environment in
which the products are produced. The term geographical indication encompasses appellations
of origin.
6. Trade Secrets - A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design or compilation of
information used by a business to obtain an advantage over competitors. Trade secrets are by
definition not disclosed to the world at large. Unlike other forms of intellectual property,
trade secrets are essentially internal instruments, the responsibility for their protection
remaining with the owner of the secrets. They are not disclosed to anyone including the
Government and are kept confidential. The most quoted trade secret and the one which has
established the credibility that trade secrecy can be ensured is the case of the Coca-Cola
formula, which is kept locked in a bank vault in Atlanta, can be opened only by a resolution
of the company’s board and is known to only two employees at the same time. The public
has no access to the names of those employees and they are not allowed to fly on the same air
plane. It is obvious that such extreme systems and standards for protection of trade secrets
are neither necessary nor practiced by many other corporations
7. Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout- Designs: It provides protection for
semiconductor IC layout designs. Under this act “Layout-Design”, which essentially is the
mask layout or floor planning of the integrated circuits, can be registered and protected.
Information such as a procedure, process, system, program, and method of operation among
others are exempted from protection.

Originally, only patent, trademarks and Industrial designs were protected as ‘Industrial
Property’, but now it includes trade secrets, geographical indications. The term “Intellectual
Property” has a much wider meaning presently.

What are the types of protection offered in India?

In India, as a signatory of TRIPS Agreement, has provided a statutory mechanism for the
protection of different forms of Intellectual property rights in its territory:

● Patents Act, 1970 as amended last in 2005 to give exclusive rights to exploit the
invention from all fields of technology for a period of 20 years e.g. patent granted for
pharmaceutical preparations;
● Designs Act, 2000 for protecting Industrial designs which relate to features of any
shape, configuration, surface pattern, composition of lines and colours applied to an
article whether in 2-D form e.g. textile or 3-D form e.g. toothbrush. The term of
registration shall only be for a period of ten years maximum and one renewal for 5
years, that is 15 years in total.
● Trademark Act, 1999 covers any mark, name or logo under which trade is conducted
for any product or service and by which the manufacturer or the service provider is
identified. Term of every trademark registration is 10 years from the date of making
of the application which is deemed to be the date of registration. It can be renewed
indefinitely on payment of fees;
● Copyright Act, 1957 as amended in 2012 relates to expression of ideas in material
form and includes Literary, Musical, Dramatic, Artistic, Cinematography works,
audio tapes & computer software;
● Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999 covers indications, which identify a
good as originating in the territory of a country or a region or locality in that territory
where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the goods is essentially
attributable to its geographical origin;
● Undisclosed Information/ Confidential Information/ Trade secrets is protected under
Common Law in India as there is no specific legislation to provide for protection to
trade secrets/confidential information till date. Some of the provisions of contract in
the trade can be handled by “The Contract Act, 1872”;

● Plant breeding (the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001), a sui
generis legislation for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers, and plant
breeders in India to encourage development of new plant varieties. The duration of
protection of registered varieties is different for different crops namely 18 years for
trees and vines, 15 years for other crops and extant varieties; and

● Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of India for preservation/
conservation of biological diversity in India, sustainable use of its components and
provides mechanism for fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of
traditional biological resources (plants, animals and microorganisms or part thereof,
their genetic material but does not include human genetic material) and knowledge.
The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party.
 ● Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout- Design Act, 2000 to protect the rights of
electronic circuit layouts, designs on semiconductor chips used in consumer and
industrial products The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout- Design Act, 2000
provides for protection of layout design by registration for a period of ten years. The
Act provides for civil(injunction and fine of Rs.50000 to 10 lakh rupees)as well as
criminal remedies(imprisonment upto 3 years) against infringement.

The patent office in India works under the “Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion
(DIPP)” of the “Ministry of Commerce and Industry” of Government of India. DIPP appoint
one person as “Controller General of Patent, Design & Trade Mark” (CGPDTM), under
whose guidance all patent offices, trade mark registry offices and Design offices are
functioning. There are 4 patent offices in India having work distribution according to their
geographical location viz. Kolkata (Head office), Delhi, Mumbai & Chennai.
Official website of Patent Office are:
http://www.ipindia.nic.in/ ; http://www.ipindia.nic.in/patents.htm
Geographical Indications Registry is situated at Intellectual Property Office Building
Industrial Estate, G.S.T Road Guindy, Chennai. The link to the official website is
http://www.ipindia.nic.in/the-registration-process-gi.htm
The Copyright Office has been set up to provide registration facilities to all types of works
and is headed by a Registrar of Copyrights and is located at Plot no. 32, Boudhik Sampada
Bhawan, Sector 14, Dwarka, New Delhi- 110075. The applications are also accepted by post.
On-line registration through “E-filing facility” has been provided from 14th February 2014,
which facilitates the applicants to file applications at the time and place chosen by them. It
may take around 2 to 3 months time for registration of any work in the normal course.
Official website of Copyright Office is http://copyright.gov.in/
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority was established on 11th
November, 2005.Application for registration of plant varieties can be made in the office of
Registrar, PPV&FRA, Society Block, 2nd Floor, NASC Complex, DPS Marg, Opposite
Todapur, New Delhi – 110012.
Official website is http://plantauthority.gov.in/
The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry (SICLDR) is the office
where the applications on Layout-Designs of integrated circuits are filed for registration of
created IPR. The jurisdiction of this Registry is whole of India.
Official website is : http://sicldr.gov.in/

WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANISATION (WIPO) & IPRs

Established in 1970, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an international

organization dedicated to helping ensure that the rights of creators and owners of intellectual
property are protected worldwide, and that inventors and authors are therefore recognized
and rewarded for their ingenuity.

WIPO works closely with its Member States and other constituents to ensure the intellectual
property system remains a supple and adaptable tool for prosperity and well-being, crafted to
help realize the full potential of created works for present and future generations.
As part of the United Nations system of specialized agencies, WIPO serves as a forum for its
Member States to establish and harmonize rules and practices for the protection of
intellectual property rights. WIPO also services global registration systems for trademarks,
industrial designs and appellations of origin, and a global filing system for patents. These
systems are under regular review by WIPO’s Member States and other stakeholders to
determine how they can be improved to better serve the needs of users and potential users.
With the increasing globalization of trade and rapid changes in technological innovation,
WIPO plays a key role in helping these systems to evolve through treaty negotiation; legal
and technical assistance; and training in various forms, including in the area of enforcement.

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