Indian Economy Quiz: Intellectual Property Rights |3 Mar, 2021

The importance of intellectual property was first recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886).

Both treaties are administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (1967).

Source: WIPO

The term of every patent in India is twenty years from the date of filing the patent application, irrespective of whether it is filled with provisional or complete specification. However, in case of applications filed under the Patent Cooperative Treaty (PCT), the term of twenty years begins from the priority date.

Source: Sriram’s IAS

An invention is patentable subject matter if it meets the following criteria –

· It should be novel.

· It should have inventive step or it must be non-obvious

· It should be capable of Industrial application.

· It should not attract the provisions of section 3 and 4 of the Patents Act 1970.

Source: https://ipindia.gov.in/writereaddata/Portal/Images/pdf/Final_FREQUENTLY_ASKED_QUESTIONS_-PATENT.pdf

The process of brand trademark registration in India is now possible and convenient such that you can trademark any one of the below things or even a combination of the following:

· Letter

· Word

· Number

· Phrase

· Graphics

· Logo

· Sound Mark

· Smell or a mix of colors Source: https://cleartax.in/s/trademark-registration-procedure-

Madrid Agreement, 1881 – Governs the international recognition of trademarks.

Source: Sriram’s IAS

Budapest Treaty of 1980 – It made possible patenting for micro-organisms. Claimant is required to deposit his invention on micro-organisms with an Authority – ‘International depository of Micro-Organisms’ under WIPO.

Source: Sriram’s IAS

There are three main ways to protect a geographical indication:

· so-called sui generis systems (i.e., special regimes of protection);

· using collective or certification marks; and

· methods focusing on business practices, including administrative product approval schemes.

Source: Sriram’s IAS

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library is a collaboration – between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (Dept. of AYUSH), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.

· It manages a database of knowledge that exists in various local languages such as Sanskrit, Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Tamil.

· TKDL has also converted the database into five international languages in patent application formats.

· So far, over 2lakh medicinal formulations have been transcribed and the database is present in 30 million A4-size pages.

Source: TKDL

Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) organization is an attached office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is headed by Director General of Foreign Trade.

· Right from its inception till 1991, when liberalization in the economic policies of the Government took place, this organization has been essentially involved in the regulation and promotion of foreign trade through regulation.

· Keeping in line with liberalization and globalization and the overall objective of increasing of exports, DGFT has since been assigned the role of “facilitator”.

· The shift was from prohibition and control of imports/exports to promotion and facilitation of exports/imports, keeping in view the interests of the country.

· This Directorate, with headquarters at New Delhi, is responsible for formulating and implementing the Foreign Trade Policy with the main objective of promoting India’s exports.

· The DGFT also issues scrips/authorization to exporters and monitors their corresponding obligations through a network of 38 regional offices and an extension counter at Indore.

Source: TMH Ramesh Singh

Besides, economic reforms in various sectors, various Committees were set up from time to time (by the Government of India and by RBI) to discuss policy issues related to international trade and balance of payments.

Some of the important Committees were –

· Committee on Export – Import Policies & Procedures (Alexander Committee, 1978),

· Committee on Trade policy (Abid Hussain Committee, 1984),

· High – level Committee on Balance of Payments (Rangarajan Committee 1993), and

· Committee on Capital Account Convertibility (Tarapore Committee I 1997 & Tarapore Committee II 2006).

In 2003, the Vajpayee government forms a task force under Vijay Kelkar to recommend tax reforms. In 2004, Vijay Kelkar, then advisor to the Finance Ministry, recommends GST to replace the existing tax regime.

Source: TMH Ramesh Singh